Appeal letter not received , now asking for full amount

sherer

Hi

Back story is my car broke down a few weeks ago on the entrance to my properly that is looked after by PCM (UK) LTD. 

I had no drive and my car was blocking the entrance, so I just about managed to push it on my own out of the entrance to the parking area for the Medical Practice, that's on my estate.  In hindsight probably leaving it blocking the entrance would have been the cheaper thing to do.

I havent seen a parking ticket issued in this area for months, im looking at a car now that's been parked for nearly 24 hours with no ticket and that's outside a bay.

Anyway I was issued a PCN, and I sent an appeal.  I claimed force majeure as with no drive, and lacking the ability to push the car uphill i had very little option but to leave the car where it was.  I moved it 90 mins later, and didnt even have time to leave a note before it was ticketed.  The reason we have PCM is no the non residents dont take up parking places and we can park here.  I claimed this and the fact i had no drive and was 100 yards from my property and my space as grounds for an appeal,  Strangely after asking PCM if I owed PCM money or not, they said i did.  

Apparently there was an appeal rejection letter, which i didnt receive, and now claim the full amount.  I'll post redacted PDFs shortly.   Im not sure the next letter is correct, as it doesnt mention anything about right of independent appeal , which I thought they had to offer, just pay us or we pass this onto a debt collection agency.

Im going to contact the land own and ask they cancel this, but would appreciate any other advice people here can give

sherer

Scans of PCN and letter attached

B789

How soon after you received the NtD did you appeal? Forget the bribe discount. PCM are IPC members so their "independent" appeals service, IAS, is useless. Don't even bother with them. 

You are now in a process where you should weather the inevitable storm of useless reminders and debt collector letters. If your Plan A, getting the landowner to get them to cancel doesn't work, then, if/when you get an LoC or a claim form, come back for advice. In the meantime, you can study the Newbies/FAQ thread where you will understand the process and what all the steps are.

You were not parked. There are several cases where this can be argued in a defence if it ever goes as far as a claim. Do you have any paperwork to show how you recovered or had the car repaired in order to continue using it? Keep that and use copies of that for your Plan A to get the landowner to get the PCN cancelled.

patient_dream

B789 is correct.  

Coupon-mad

Everyone gets rejected by the farce of a PCM 'appeal' - there was no appeal.  I'm astonished you and your neighbours might think this is a professional firm who listen to the residents and allow 'appeals' (...who told you that?).

Did you not know that in PCM, you actually have an ex-wheelclamper on site who were outed by Watchdog for making it up as they go along?

Outed as rogue traders with no appeal:
http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2015/05/is-it-pcm-uk-who-make-up-stuff-all-time.html?m=1

My Goodness they are not "looking after" your property!

Same advice as here, get them REMOVED and opt your bay out of their nasty little game:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80266109/#Comment_80266109

sherer

Thanks for the help so far.  I’m slightly confused as the newbie threads and others all mention notice to keep, letter before claim etc.

I appealed about 3 days after the PCN was left on my car.  I had no contact, but allegedly they sent a rejection letter.  I then received the above letter, but that looks totally different to other PCM letters I’ve seen on here.

are there any cases I can quote that show breaking down and parking aren’t the same ?  I can’t find any links / reference for that in the sticky threads 

Le_Kirk

That letter is a debt collector letter; if it had been (or even purporting to be) a formal letter of/before claim, it would have given you 30 days to respond not 14.

Coupon-mad

sherer said:

Thanks for the help so far.  I’m slightly confused as the newbie threads and others all mention notice to keep, letter before claim etc.

I appealed about 3 days after the PCN was left on my car.  I had no contact, but allegedly they sent a rejection letter.  I then received the above letter, but that looks totally different to other PCM letters I’ve seen on here.

are there any cases I can quote that show breaking down and parking aren’t the same ?  I can’t find any links / reference for that in the sticky threads 

You aren't being advised to pointlessly contact PCM again. You don't need cases to quote because you are not taking the bait.  Not responding further.

You did your bit already, by appealing.

The NEWBIES thread is clear what PLAN A is and it isn't appeal.  I also showed you exactly who PCM are and links that show you how to complain and get them removed.

At the very least I hope you are opting your bay out of this scam moneymaking rubbish next week.

sherer

Our property management company are changing this month.  I will contact them about PCM on Monday.  I know we don’t pay for them, and I’ve read other posts to see how corrupt they and the IAS are. 

B789 mentioned I wasn’t parked but broken down , so was trying to find other posts or cases that mentioned the same situation .

im drafting a letter to the current management company this weekend asking them to cancel the PCN, hopefully they see my side .

I’ll read the links and sticky posts again, second read my help explain it all a bit more.  

Coupon-mad

Residents never pay for them, that's not the point.

In fact, that's why it's a scam.  Protection Racket style business model "we'll look after your site for free, guv".

This industry is currently being regulated by the Government who gave declared it a 'market failure' and 'extorting money from motorists'.

Please don't just ask for your PCN to be cancelled.  My goodness there is so much more wrong with PCM being there at all, and it never ceases to amaze me that so many residents accept 'permit schemes' and let this rip-off thuggery by ex-wheelclampers happen under their noses.

Even if it was already in place, GET THEM REMOVED.

sherer

The annoying thing is I haven’t seen any tickets issued since before Covid.  Cars park in the wrong place all the time and nothing happens.  I’ve seen several cars parked all day where I was ticketed without getting a PCN.  I think mine was more visible from the road though. 

It gets confusing as I was ticketed under one management company, but since yesterday we are now covered by another.  Further to that this land is part of the doctor’s surgery and not the estate I live in, I THINK it’s the same management company though.