Free Traffic Legal Advice

Dear Sir/Madam

I am the keeper of the vehicle which received this purported 'parking charge'. There will be no admissions as to who was driving and no assumptions can be drawn. I am not liable and I believe that your signs fail the test of 'large lettering' and prominence, as established in ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis. Your unremarkable and obscure signs are in small print and the onerous terms are not readable. There was no clear signage to indicate a parking restriction. 4 hours of parking were paid for as evidenced thus the alleged contravention did not occur.

Further, I understand you do not own the land and you have given me no information about your policy with the landowner, to cancel such a charge. So please supply that policy as required under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Should you fail to cancel this Parking Notice immediately, I require the following information in order to assess the validity of your claim:

1.      What is the full legal identity of the landowner whom you claim to be contracted by?
2.      As you are not the landowner, please provide a contemporaneous and unredacted copy of your contract with the landholder that demonstrate that PCM (UK) Ltd. have the authority of the landowner to both issue parking charges and legislate in your own name or on behalf of the landowner.
3.      Does your charge represent damages for breach of contract? Answer yes or no.
4.      Please provide dated photos of the signs that you say were on site, which you contend formed a contract.

If you refuse to provide the information requested above, please confirm that you will cancel the charge. If you choose to reject this challenge, please provide me with a POPLA code so I can escalate the matter.

Please also note I do not give you consent to process any data relating to me, or this vehicle. I deny liability and will not respond to debt collectors. You must consider this letter a Section 10 Notice under the DPA, and should you fail to respond accordingly, your company will be reported to the Information Commissioner.

It has also been noted that you are in breach of the BPA Code of Practice in the use of the term PCN, which was not mentioned in any of your signs. Under section 14 ‘Misrepresentation of Authority’ the BPA clearly states:
14.3 The abbreviation ‘PCN’ is also used to mean a ‘penalty charge notice’ in the regulated environment. Unless you have previously defined a PCN as a ‘parking charge notice’ on your signs and notices, you must avoid using the term ‘PCN’ to avoid confusing drivers about the nature of your parking enforcement

Thank you for your cooperation and I look forward to receiving your response advising of the cancellation of this bogus parking charge within the relevant timescales specified under the British Parking Association Ltd Code of Practice.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in reference to Parking Charge Notice (PCN) PCXXXXXX, which was issued on 26/09/24. I submitted an appeal for this parking charge on 01/10/24, and I received confirmation from your company that my appeal had been received on 01/10/24.

However, despite the passage of considerable time, I have not received any communication from you regarding the outcome of my appeal. Instead, I have now received a further notice via post dated 26/11/24, which appears to be a reminder or further demand for payment.

As per the guidelines set out in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the codes of practice of your industry’s governing bodies, including the British Parking Association (BPA) or the International Parking Community (IPC), parking operators are required to respond to appeals within a reasonable time frame (usually within 14 days).

Since I submitted my appeal on 01/10/24, it is my understanding that I should have received a decision within the prescribed period. The failure to respond within this time frame, combined with the sending of a new notice after my appeal, constitutes a failure to process my appeal in accordance with the rules set out by the governing bodies.

In light of this, I respectfully request that you review my case once again, taking into account the timeline for responding to appeals, and confirm the outcome of my appeal. Furthermore, I ask that you cancel this PCN, as it seems you have not followed the correct procedure in handling my appeal and there is no basis for the ticket to be issued due to lack of signage where the alleged contravention occurred.

If you do not uphold this request, I would appreciate your written explanation, and I will be escalating the matter to an independent appeals service such as POPLA or IAS.

I look forward to receiving your response within the next 14 days.