PCM Parking fine

london5354

Hi All

we received a parking fine in the carpark of which we are residents in we were waiting for our permit to arrive and received the fine on the same day as the permit arrived technically we paid for the permit before it arrived so it was active at the time but not displayed as yet.

PCM rejected our appeal initially and gave us access to the IAS however we tried to appeal but it wouldn’t accept the PCN details. Fast forward that deadline is now done we’re being chased by a Trace Debt recovery and not sure where to go from here either are helpful of course. We have just sent off an email to the managing agents/land owner so waiting to hear back.

The fine is in my partners name however I am the vehicle owner and driver she is not , unsure if that changes anything.

Some advise would be great thanks a lot !

Regards

Nellymoser

With regards to Trace debt recovery they can be ignored see advice in NEWBIES Announcement thread - POST 4 - Debt letters

Do you mean your partner doesn't hold a driving licence or she doesn't drive your car!

Le_Kirk

First of all it is not a fine - do not use that term when in correspondence with anyone about the issue. It is a speculative invoice issued by a bunch of chancers! As above, ignore debt recovery agents, they have no powers. You have dodged a bullet by not being able to appeal to IAS, they are a kangaroo court and always side with their paymasters, the parking company. The vehicle owner is irrelevant here, it is the registered keeper to whom the parking company will have sent the PCN. A complaint to the managing agents is the right thing to do. You have appealed, which shows you have engaged with the process. Wait now for the LBC and/or the N1SDT all as detailed in the NEWBIE sticky.

Coupon-mad

The recipient of the letters could reply and say something like the below, given yesterday's very welcome news from the CMA:

• By accepting a permit, residents are not agreeing to their underlying rights of way being superseded, and it is predatory for PCM to penalise known residents who have 'peaceful enjoyment' implied rights and freedoms which PCM have a duty to protect, not undermine.
• The operator's predatory conduct in issuing a PCN to a known resident during the interim period while they awaited the permit (all of these facts being in the knowledge of PCM, who were slow to issue the permit) is plainly unfair and breaches various consumer protection laws.
• The Joint Code of Practice is a self-serving triviality and irrelevant in cases where consumer protection laws have been broken, however where a resident has a permit, the CoP required PCM to accept £20 in settlement. This was not offered.
• Mike Marrs being president of the British Parking Association, arguably makes the aggressive pursuit and conduct led by his APN Group firms (Trace Debt and Moorside Legal, if the case continues on that conveyor belt) far worse.
• if PCM, Trace Debt and/or Moorside Legal persist in pursuing this unfair charge, all three firms and Mike Marrs (personally) will be reported to the Competition and Markets Authority, who this week sent the sector an Open Letter, warning the parking sector that one investigation has been opened and more are likely to follow, in cases demonstrating unfairness and lack of good faith.

Give them 14 days to confirm the PCN is cancelled or an immediate complaint to the CMA will be lodged without any further warning, urging that Regulator to specifically investigate:

a) PCM's operations at residential car parks, and

b) the conflict of interests surrounding the BPA President's personal role in APN Group and

c) the aggressive conduct of Trace Debt, who are not involved in anything that could be described as fair 'debt resolution' and merely run a'pay up or else' model and

d) who are known to split the proceeds of the £70 fake 'fee' with their clients so the argument that it is a fair and proportionate fee is a lie. This is the very fee that the CMA have already indicated is likely to be unfair and that they are keen to undertake 'more work' to investigate. By continuing with this case, Trace Debt and Mike Marrs are volunteering to be next in line to be investigated behind Euro Car Parks.