Help! PCN from UK CPM for parking outside a designated bay

Sam007

Hi, I received a ticket about 5 months ago from UK CPM. The ticket stated that the vehicle was parked in a manner whereby the driver became liable for a parking charge notice. I called them to find out what this actually means, and they said that the vehicle was not parked in a marked bay. I contested this explaining that it was and end bay which looked exactly like the others, and they rejected this claiming the bay was not marked at the time.
At first I refused to appeal, but then within the 28 day period sent them an appeal as the keeper and stated that the vehicle was in a bay, and even if it was not the vehicle was there for less than 5 minutes. The car park is a small 10-15 car spaces outside local shops, and the main road outside it is undergoing major repair works, so I also explained that coming out would have meant at least 10-20 minutes to return, I went back and took photos of the bay and it was marked clearly.

When I didn't hear back I assumed that they had cancelled the ticket, but in the new year I received a letter from their debt recovery firm demanding £160, apparently they claim to have responded via email rejecting the claim 3 weeks after it was submitted, but I haven't received any email at all.

At this point I requested an appeal to the IAS and had to write to UK CPM to request this, but they only offered a non standard appeal which means paying £15 and firefighting my right to pursue this further and accept their decision. So I have now decided not to go through with this, and also submitted a subject access request SAR, and they sent me through the records they hold and the images etc.

I am now stuck with a dilemma as to whether to submit the IAS appeal, or wait until they pass this on to Gladstones which will be their next action. I did explain to them that I have a witness who can confirm that the space was a bay, and that the vehicle was there for less than 5 minutes, and that the vehicle was not left unattended at anytime.

When I spoke to the shop keepers they said that that bay was only turned into a bay 2 days after the ticket was issued. My point is that they've sent the ticket purely because their bay was not marked properly, and they want me to pay for that. Shopkeepers also complained that they are losing business because of them, and that although CPM still operate on the site, they have stopped using the cameras. The only issue is that non of the shopkeepers are willing to go beyond this and help me with a statement etc.

Should I just go ahead and pay? Or should I wait to be taken to court and defend my case? And if the latter what defence would I use? The signage was right in front of the bay the vehicle was parked in and did mention that vehicles must park in designated bays, so not sure a defence based on signage would work? I read through the forum but couldn't find anything similar. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you!

Umkomaas

No one will read a wall of text. Please break it up with some correct paragraphing.

The_Deep

Nine times out of ten this is a scam, do not pay them a penny unless a judge in court orders you to do so. Most people here recommend not appealing to the IAS.

Let them take you to court, only a few days ago a judge found aginst them and awarded the motorist £1250

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5959658/another-resident-got-1250-from-pcm

The whole industry is a scam, relying on threats of court, and the public's ignorance of the Law, A bill is currently before parliament which will regulate the scammers, many of whom are ex-clampers.

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially Smart}, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week), hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Second Reading in the Lords this month, and, with a fair wind, will l become Law later this year..

All five readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 7-8 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

Sam007

Thank you the supportive comment above. I couldn't agree more, they must be regulated, and stopped from scamming more and more people. My only concern is if they take me to court the fees will get inflated, and I will end up having to pay for it.

It would be great to be pointed to some guidance to deal with this. I am just not sure what to do at this stage, should I just sit and wait until I hear from their lawyers with court papers ? To clarify: my wife is the registered keeper, and I am helping her with this, and if she ends up in court, I would have to go with her and help her defend it. She is of course terrified of having a CCJ as a result.

The_Deep

My only concern is if they take me to court the fees will get inflated, and I will end up having to pay for it.

The fees are capped at c@ £200, unless one party gets it very wrong, read this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5959658/another-resident-got-1250-from-pcm

Umkomaas

My only concern is if they take me to court the fees will get inflated, and I will end up having to pay for it.

How much do you reckon?

She is of course terrified of having a CCJ as a result.

Read here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5849106/the-ccj-myth-and-threats-and-lies-told-by-debt-collectors-and-ppcs-exposed

Guys_Dad

Have they supplied you with any photographs showing your "transgression"?

Post them up if so,

Sam007

They sent me 2 photos, but I can't post the link. I keep getting the following message:

Sorry as a new user you are not allowed to post with links. This is done to stop spammers clogging up the site. Please edit your message below to continue.

Umkomaas

Sam007 wrote: »

They sent me 2 photos, but I can't post the link. I keep getting the following message:

Sorry as a new user you are not allowed to post with links. This is done to stop spammers clogging up the site. Please edit your message below to continue.

NEWBIES - HOW TO UPLOAD LINKS TO PHOTOS/SCANS TO MSE

To upload a photo/scan link, you first need to host it on a free photo hosting site (like Dropbox, Imurg or Tinypic), copy the URL, paste it here, but change the http to hxxp and we'll do the conversion. Newbies can't directly upload links to photos/scans until they've a few posts under their belt.

Sam007

Great, thank you! Here they are. Its the vehicle with the reg number covered.
hxxps://imgur.com/isI7AKv

nosferatu1001

https://imgur.com/isI7AKv

Edit the other one
Yove not covered the number plate.

Nothing there tells youeither way if it is a bay or not. Cant see a line to the LHS of the vehicle.