You are exactly where I expected you to be after sending the DRN/complaint. PCM have now done three things:
1. They have confirmed the DVLA pull and the dates they claim they issued letters (29/10/25 and 18/11/25) and that they then “escalated” it (05/12/25).
2. They have provided the attachments you asked for (photos + copies of the NtK/reminder) and they have corrected your address for service.
3. They have given you their standard boilerplate about “deemed served” and told you to contact the debt collector. Ignore that. It is irrelevant.
Where you are now
You are no longer in the “what is this allegation?” phase. You have the evidence and the paperwork.
You are also no longer at risk of a claim going to the wrong address because they have updated your address for service. That was the whole point of the DRN, and it has worked.
Now the only question is whether you want to (a) kill it via the landholder, (b) ignore the noise and be ready to defend if they ever issue a proper Letter of Claim/court claim, or (c) pay to make it go away. That choice is yours.
About their “deemed served” paragraph
They are quoting presumptions. A presumption is not proof.
Both the Interpretation Act 1978 and the PoFA wording they quoted only help them if they can first prove the preconditions, i.e. that the notices were properly addressed, prepaid and actually posted by the method they rely upon.
A compliance manager saying “I can confirm they were duly sent” is not proof of posting. A copy of a letter is not proof it was posted. A print date on a template is not proof it was posted. If this ever went to court, they would be put to strict proof of posting (for example, certificate of posting/mailing house manifest/batch logs that show your notice was in the mail run and the class of post used).
However, do not get too hung up on the service point in this case because you have already admitted your V5C was not updated. So the address they used (the DVLA keeper address at the time) will likely be treated as the correct address for service at that point in time. Non-receipt alone is rarely a silver bullet when the Keeper failed to update DVLA.
So you treat their “deemed served” paragraph as background noise, not as the main battleground. What matters now is the alleged contravention itself.
Your opening post already flags the most likely real issue: cinema/leisure sites often operate a “customers must register their VRM on a tablet/terminal” system. If someone forgets, or the tablet is not obvious, the operator issues charges even to genuine patrons. Those are very often cancellable by the landholder because the operator is harming the customer experience.
So your next moves are:
1. Do not contact any debt collector. Ignore them completely.
2. Get your proof of patronage together now:
• cinema booking confirmation / e-ticket email
• bank card transaction(s)
• any receipts
3. Contact the leisure facility (management, not a receptionist) and ask for factual confirmation first, then insist they instruct PCM to cancel. Keep it short and firm:
• confirm whether VRM registration on a tablet/terminal was required on 23/10/25
• where the tablet was located
• whether staff were instructed to tell patrons
• what the policy was for films running over two hours
• whether they will instruct PCM to cancel for a genuine customer
Do not write “I overstayed” or “I forgot”. Do not add admissions. You simply say you were a genuine patron and you require them to fix it.
4. If the landholder cancels it, it is dead.
If the landholder refuses or drags their feet, you then do nothing further unless you receive either:
• a formal Letter of Claim (LoC) (from PCM or a solicitor), or
• an actual county court claim form.
Debt collector letters are not either of those things. You can safely ignore all debt recovery letters. Debt collectors are not a party to the contract allegedly breached by the driver.
What to expect
If PCM want to litigate, you will get a formal LoC first. That is when you respond on the merits (signage/contract terms/tablet system/strict proof) and you put them to strict proof of posting and strict proof of the contravention. Until then, you do not waste your time dealing with useless threat-o-grams.
So, in plain terms: you have stabilised your address position, you have the evidence, and your best leverage now is the landholder with proof of patronage.
Quote from: Ermie2 22/12/2025, 10:19:09
Hi,
I have done what you suggested and emailed my complaint to PCM UK Ltd.
(I also don't know how to add a reply to the original thread.)
PCM UK Ltd have replied:
"Thankyou for your email. This email is for general advice and guidance. We are unable to assist with parking charge notices.
As your case has now been formally passed on to our debt recovery team, we are no longer able to assist directly or make changes from our side. At this stage, all further communication and resolution will need to go through them."
Then they conclude by providing phone numbers and links to various sites. :-\
What are your thoughts as to the next steps?
What PCM have sent you is a standard brush-off. It has no legal effect and it does not change your position.
PCM cannot wash their hands of this by saying it has been “passed to debt recovery”. That is simply not how it works. PCM remain the parking operator, the alleged creditor, the principal, and the data controller. A debt collector is just a letter-sending agent. They have no authority to decide liability, no authority to handle disputes, and no authority to refuse a complaint on PCM’s behalf.
So, what happens now is this...
First, you ignore the debt collector completely. Do not write to them, do not phone them, do not “explain” anything to them. They are irrelevant and powerless. They exist only to scare people into paying.
Second, you go straight back to PCM and escalate. You do not accept their attempt to shut you down. You tell them, calmly and firmly, that:
– You have not received any Notice to Keeper or prior correspondence from them.
– Your first awareness of any allegation is a debt collector letter.
– Their statement that they “cannot assist” is rejected.
– Passing a matter to a debt collector does not remove their obligation to deal with a dispute, a complaint, or a data rectification request.
– They remain fully responsible for providing the details of the allegation and the evidence they rely on.
You also include a clear Data Rectification Notice. This is important. Because you failed to update your V5C, PCM may hold an old address. You must instruct them to:
– update their records with your current address for service, and
– erase all other addresses they hold for you.
Those words matter. Address for service. Erase all others. You are protecting yourself against a claim being issued to the wrong address.
Third, you force PCM to particularise the allegation. Right now, you do not even know what they say you did wrong. That is unacceptable. You require them to supply:
– a copy of the original PCN / Notice to Keeper and any reminders,
– all photographs with full timestamps,
– the exact location and bay/area alleged,
– the exact allegation (overstay, failure to register on a tablet, etc),
– the payment or registration log for your vehicle on that date,
– the signage terms relied upon at the material time and a site plan.
You make it clear you will not engage with any payment demand unless and until they do this.
Fourth, you tell them this is a formal complaint and must be handled under their complaints procedure. You also put them on notice that any continued escalation while they refuse to provide basic information will be treated as unreasonable conduct.
That is it. That is your position.
Separately, for your own preparation, you gather proof of patronage. Cinema booking, card transactions, receipts, anything that shows you were a genuine customer and roughly how long you were there. You keep this ready. You do not send it yet unless it becomes useful.
Do not contact the leisure facility to “ask them to cancel” at this stage. If needed later, you ask them factual questions only about the parking scheme in place on that date (tablet or not, time limits, what customers were told). No pleading, no admissions.
The aim at this stage is very simple: pin PCM down to one clear allegation, one set of evidence, and one set of terms. Once they do that, the case becomes easy to assess and deal with. If they refuse again, that refusal itself becomes evidence of unreasonable behaviour.
You are not late. You are not in trouble. You are not obliged to pay anything just because a debt collector has written to you. The next move is entirely with PCM, not their hired bully.
Send the following formal complaint to dataprotection@pcmuk.com; enquiries@pcmuk.com and CC yourself:
Subject: Formal complaint and data rectification notice – alleged PCN/Trace reference [xxxxx]
Dear Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd,
I write to formally escalate my complaint and to serve a Data Rectification Notice.
I do not accept your response stating that you are “unable to assist” because the matter has been passed to debt recovery. That position is incorrect.
You remain the parking operator, the alleged creditor, and the data controller. The involvement of a third-party agent does not remove your obligation to deal with a dispute, to particularise an allegation, or to ensure the accuracy of personal data.
No prior notice received
I have not received any Parking Charge Notice, Notice to Keeper, or any prior correspondence from you. My first awareness of any alleged parking charge was a third-party demand dated 15 December 2025 and received on 19 December 2025.
Data rectification – address for service
You are required to update your records to show my correct address for service as:
[INSERT FULL CURRENT ADDRESS]
You must erase all other addresses you hold for me and confirm in writing that this has been done.
Particularisation of the allegation
I require you to provide, by return, full details of the allegation you are pursuing, including:
(a) a copy of the original PCN/Notice to Keeper and any reminder(s), including dates of issue
(b) all photographs relied upon, with full unredacted timestamps
(c) the precise location (site name, full address, and the specific area or bays alleged)
(d) the exact allegation being made (for example, overstay, failure to register a vehicle on a terminal, or any other alleged breach)
(e) the payment, registration, or validation log for the date in question and the vehicle registration
(f) the signage terms relied upon at the material time, together with a site plan showing sign locations
Put on hold
This matter is formally disputed. You are required to place the case on hold while this complaint is investigated and the above information is supplied.
Any continued escalation while refusing to provide basic particulars and evidence will be treated as unreasonable conduct.
Yours faithfully,
[NAME]
The parking operator only has one place to get your details: the DVLA keeper database. If your V5C address was wrong, the Notice to Keeper was sent to whatever address DVLA had on file.
You are legally required to keep your V5C up to date. If you don’t tell DVLA about changes, you can be fined because the vehicle register must be accurate. This has nothing to do with your driving licence. The V5C is about the registered keeper of the vehicle, not your driving entitlement.
The next lesson for you is the fact that you should never, ever, EVER identify the driver. You have managed to spectacularly do that with your opening post. To get around this point without lying, is to only ever refer to the driver in the third person. NI "I did this or that", only "the driver did this or that".
Trace have made simple credit reference search to obtain your correct details. however, that does not mean that PCMUK will not use the correct address to issue a claim against you, the Keeper. Because they hold two possible addresses, you must send a Data Rectification Notice (DRN) to the PCMUK (ignore Trace) Data Protection Officer (DPO) instructing them to update their records with your current address for service and to erase all other addresses they may hold for you. The highlighted words are there for a reason, so use them.
As for Trace or any other powerless debt collector, you can safely ignore them. All debt collectors are powerless to do anything except to try and intimidate the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying out of ignorance and fear.
Send a complaint to PCM UK Ltd now (not Trace) that forces them to disclose what the allegation actually is and what evidence they say supports it, without adding any driver narrative.
State that:
1. You have not received any Notice to Keeper or any prior correspondence from PCM UK Ltd, and your first awareness of any allegation is a debt collector demand dated 15 December and received 19 December.
2. You require PCM UK Ltd to supply, by return, a full copy of:
(a) the original PCN/Notice to Keeper and any reminder(s), including the dates of issue,
(b) all photographs (ANPR or warden images) and the full unredacted timestamps,
(c) the location identification (site name, full address, and the specific area/bays where the vehicle is alleged to have been),
(d) the exact allegation (overstay, failure to pay, failure to register on a tablet/terminal, leaving site, or any other supposed breach),
(e) the payment/registration/validation log for that date and vehicle registration (including whether any terminal entry was recorded and at what time),
(f) a copy of the signage terms relied upon at the material time, and a site plan showing sign positions.
3. Put them on notice that you will not engage with any payment demand unless and until they properly particularise the allegation and provide the evidence they rely upon.
4. Tell them to treat this as a complaint that must be handled under their complaints procedure, and that any continued escalation (including further debt collection activity) while you are disputing and seeking basic evidence will be raised as unreasonable conduct.
5. Separately, you should obtain your own contemporaneous proof of patronage for that evening and keep it ready:
(a) cinema booking confirmation or ticket email,
(b) bank card transaction(s) showing you were at the venue,
(c) any receipt(s) from the facility,
(d) if possible, a screenshot or email from the leisure facility confirming whether a “register your vehicle on a tablet” system was in place on that date and what the rules were.[/indent]
Do not ask the leisure facility “to cancel” as your first move. Ask for factual confirmation of the parking scheme on that night:
• whether parking was limited to 2 hours or otherwise,
• whether customers had to register a VRM on a tablet/terminal,
• where the tablet was located,
• whether staff were instructed to tell patrons,
• what happens if the tablet fails or a VRM is entered incorrectly,
• whether they can provide an audit log or written confirmation of the policy.
If PCM’s allegation turns out to be “failure to register on the tablet”, your response is then straightforward: you challenge whether that term was clearly communicated on entry and at the bays, and you require strict proof that the system was operational and that the signage made the requirement prominent. If the allegation is “overstay”, you require proof of the actual parking period (not merely entry/exit images) and strict proof that the terms, including the charge, were adequately brought to the driver’s attention.
The practical outcome you are aiming for at this stage is simple: pin PCM down to one clear allegation, one set of evidence, and one set of terms, so you can then rebut it cleanly (and, if needed, complain to the landholder with proof of patronage).