I won in court against PCM / Gladstones

Marm

tl:dr: i won my parking ticket case in court

4 years ago I registered on this forum and opened a thread to explain my case (see here). Unfortunately the thread got closed. I still want this forum to know what happened after that.

The answers from other users on that thread helped me a lot. This is what I did:

• I wrote to PCM and told them to stop ticketing my property
• I got ignored 
• I started to receive correspondence from a company called Trace UK
• I ignored them
• Letters from Gladstone's started to show in my mailbox
• I filed an SAR on PCM
• PCM failed to comply and a case was open with ICO
• ICO forced PCM to comply
• I filed an SAR on Trace UK
• I filed an SAR on Gladstone's 
• I filed a complaint all the way through the complaints process at DVLA
• I got ignored by DVLA
• Gladstone's moved forward with their threat and filed a court case
• I had spoken to my neighbours (as recommended here)
• 2 other neighbours had court cases; other decided to pay out of fear (credit score, mortgages, visas, etc.)
• Gladstone's employed a third party company to do the filing
• The third party company employed a contractor to come and represent them in court
• The judge didn't even let me speak, their case was dismissed from the get go
• My other two neighbours had the same experience
• The contractor was just a nice guy employed in the middle of PCM's mess
• The contractor told me he was just getting hour experience in court and that parking companies normally (I guess this is his own experience) lose in court
• He even told me (again, his experience) that private ANPR cameras can't be proof of parking unless a witness is identified and gives his/her testimony in court... quite revealing!
• This was just the start, having the case dismissed was proof PCM got hold of my information outside the terms of Law
• I'm now filing against DVLA for sharing my details to companies that had no legitimate right under UK GDPR

My learnings so far:

1. The legal person at PCM has to be the most incompetent person I've ever crossed paths with. She disclosed way too much information 
2. When one of this companies threatens you to take you to court. Do not come to the Internet trying to find out whether they will, I can tell you now, they do. It is their business to do so. Fear is what they live from. You need to come online and search if they actually win their court cases. The answer can be very different. Make sure you understand your case and search for similar cases but always ask what happened in court.

Bonus: I wrote to the landlord to let them know I was going to initiate legal action against them for 'breach of peace' by having agreed for random companies to try and collect money from me (and other neighbours). The Management Company lost the contract and PCM got cancelled within 48 hours  .

We have a much better Management Company now and no trace from parking cowboys, other than some sign posts that remain there for the joy of the neighbours. It makes me smile every time I see them 

Coupon-mad

Marm said:

i won my parking ticket case in court

4 years ago I registered on this forum and opened a thread to explain my case (see here). Unfortunately the thread got closed. I still want this forum to know what happened after that.

The answers from other users on that thread helped me a lot. This is what I did:

• I wrote to PCM and told them to stop ticketing my property
• I got ignored 
• I started to receive correspondence from a company called Trace UK
• I ignored them
• Letters from Gladstone's started to show in my mailbox
• I filed an SAR on PCM
• PCM failed to comply and a case was open with ICO
• ICO forced PCM to comply
• I filed an SAR on Trace UK
• I filed an SAR on Gladstone's 
• I filed a complaint all the way through the complaints process at DVLA
• I got ignored by DVLA
• Gladstone's moved forward with their threat and filed a court case
• I had spoken to my neighbours (as recommended here)
• 2 other neighbours had court cases; other decided to pay out of fear (credit score, mortgages, visas, etc.)
• Gladstone's employed a third party company to do the filing
• The third party company employed a contractor to come and represent them in court
• The judge didn't even let me speak, their case was dismissed from the get go
• My other two neighbours had the same experience
• The contractor was just a nice guy employed in the middle of PCM's mess
• The contractor told me he was just getting hour experience in court and that parking companies normally (I guess this is his own experience) lose in court
• He even told me (again, his experience) that private ANPR cameras can't be proof of parking unless a witness is identified and gives his/her testimony in court... quite revealing!
• This was just the start, having the case dismissed was proof PCM got hold of my information outside the terms of Law
• I'm now filing against DVLA for sharing my details to companies that had no legitimate right under UK GDPR

My learnings so far:

1. The legal person at PCM has to be the most incompetent person I've ever crossed paths with. She disclosed way too much information 
2. When one of this companies threatens you to take you to court. Do not come to the Internet trying to find out whether they will, I can tell you now, they do. It is their business to do so. Fear is what they live from. You need to come online and search if they actually win their court cases. The answer can be very different. Make sure you understand your case and search for similar cases but always ask what happened in court.

Bonus:
I wrote to the landlord to let them know I was going to initiate legal action against them for 'breach of peace' by having agreed for random companies to try and collect money from me (and other neighbours). The Management Company lost the contract and PCM got cancelled within 48 hours 

We have a much better Management Company now and no trace from parking cowboys, other than some sign posts that remain there for the joy of the neighbours. It makes me smile every time I see them 

That Bonus at the end is the icing on the cake!

WELL DONE.

And thank you for starting this thread, that proves that residential estates DO NOT NEED a parking firm. Kicking them out is the right thing.

I take it your estate isn't suffering from 'carmageddon'?  Is it near a station and/or in a biggish town - but no trespassers abuse it and everyone lives peaceably now?

Just quoting your position from your old thread. To summarise what PCM did to you:

- I own a parking space in the underground parking of my building that’s under the same lease of my flat in the same building.

- My lease makes no mention whatsoever in regards to a parking scheme, just the usual “not to use it other than to park a roadworthy motor car or motorcycle”, “not to carry out repairs” and “not to store petrol”

- PCM UK showed up one day in July and started hanging their famous parking restricted poster boards

- On the same day, they hand dropped on my letter box a parking permit for my specific parking bay (apparently they filmed this, says my MA, see later)

- The landlord and/or the MA never got in touch with me in regards to any changes of this nature

- I refuse and believe I am within my right not to stick any permits to my car because it identifies where my car is parked most of the time

- I got a first parking ticket that was never left on my car therefore a letter that states my charge has gone up. The letter was sent to me through the DVLA handing over details of me as the registered owner of the car

- Both the addresses given by MA/Landlord to identify my parking bay and given by DVLA to identify me are the same

- the same day I got the letter, I received another another parking ticket, this time I got it on my car.

patient_dream

What a great story and well done.

PCM are known as money scammers, just like the legal they use.