Free Traffic Legal Advice

That was very much the conclusion I had come to but I haven’t been able to find anything definitive, legal context wise, to support that view and I don’t want to be just interpreting it in a way that suited the circumstances I’m looking at currently.

So it’s good to see someone else with considerably more experience than me, sharing that view.

Search mediation call and you’ll find a brief prepared by b789 which will run you through the process - it’s all a waste of time but you are expected to attend albeit using the brief it will last minutes at most - just another step along the path towards discontinuance.

Stick with it as regards fighting this one, the advice on here is spot on and if followed will be successful in this case. It’s important to hold your nerve, it can seem scary and it certainly isn’t a quick process but it will be successful in the end.

We all have to fight back against the parking scum and their pet debt collectors and legal wannabes- you’re in the right place to do so.

Put them through all the hoops until they finally give up and with the help of this forum, look for and exploit any opportunity to complain, maybe even seek compensation for any illegal actions, the support will be there if you have the will to see it through.

I’ve helped a couple of people using advice on here and have a couple ongoing currently, steel yourself and join the fight back.

The whole industry runs on the fear that threats of fines and potential court action creates in people who don’t have the knowledge of how to fight back. I know for example that it would work in relation to some of my family if I wasn’t there to reassure them.

It’s disappointing when someone finds their way here but then lets this fear over rule the advice and pays anyway. It will happen I guess, but hopefully only very infrequently.

I’ve been involved helping family/friends in a few cases, so only very limited experience compared to our regular posters but over time you do build confidence and get into the rhythm of the nature of the posts. Unfortunately for many I guess a visit here is a one off or at least only very occasional so I can understand why some find the responses more challenging.

But we do have to always remember that the posters here, provide their considerable time and expertise for free and with their help we build a bigger and stronger body of people who can help people fight back against what is an inherently dishonest industry.

A further update

We issued a SAR previously.

We didn’t get a response as such to the SAR but did get the following email response;-

“Good Afternoon,
 
This PCN has been issued in error, please accept our apologies for this and any undue stress caused, we have cancelled the PCN and redacted your details.
 
 
Kind Regards”

In response to this and to have a bit of fun with Bank we have responded as follows;-

“Thank you for your email of 17 October.

I would like to set out the series of events and correspondence that you have completely unnecessarily created for me, as a direct result of your incompetence.
You sought, without cause, to obtain the RK details for the vehicle from DVLA, as parking had already been prepaid.
You contacted the RK, a hire company, who provided my details and charged me an admin fee for having done so.
You then issued a PCN to me on 25/7/25. I should also point out that this Notice is not compliant with Sch 4 PoFA 2012 as it did not enclose any of the documents referred to in the Notice, providing further evidence of your incompetence.
I then lodged a complaint with you, which your private parking sector single code of practice says should also, where appropriate, be treated as an appeal.
Your response was to direct me to use your appeal process which was completely unnecessary and both a further waste of my time together with providing now mounting evidence of your collective incompetence.
So despite holding an unresolved complaint/appeal you then issued a final reminder dated 8/8/25.
On 18 August, as I had no confidence of your ability to link the already existing complaint with the relevant PCN, I did then, in desperation complete the online appeal form and try to link it to the previous complaint.
On 3/9/25 I had to issue a follow up, via your online contact form, as my complaint was still unresolved.
You provide a mindless response on 3/9/25, and I replied to you on the same date, reminding you of what had happened previously as you were clearly too stupid to make the link on your own.
On 10/9/25 you provided a response from your appeals department to confirm that the PCN had been cancelled. There has never been a proper response to my complaint, presumably because you don’t have anyone with the required intelligence to write one.
On 26/9/25 you then, with unsurprising stupidity, issued a Notice of Debt Collection for the previously cancelled PCN.
On 1/10/25 I issued an email FTAO the Data Protection Officer which constituted a valid Subject Access Request.
Your email response of 17/10/25 confirmed that the PCN was issued in error and apologised for any undue stress caused.

Please note that your email of 17/10/25 does not constitute a reply to what was a valid Subject Access Request, which remains outstanding with an initial timescale still running and which expires on 31 October 2025.

In an attempt to finally bring this to a conclusion I am now giving you the opportunity to provide me with compensation, both for the actual admin fee that I incurred and for the undue stress that you identified having caused me.

This whole process was completely unnecessary, had you have acted with proper due diligence and identified that I had prepaid for the parking for which you then incorrectly issued the PCN.

Dealing with you has been both stressful and enormously frustrating, due very much to your collective incompetence. I have spent a number of hours researching this process and identifying where you couldn’t be bothered to follow it correctly.

I require you to pay £70 in compensation to bring this matter to a conclusion. Please note this is not a negotiation, it is simply an opportunity for you to conclude the matter while limiting your direct and opportunity costs. Once confirmed, I will provide my details to you to enable you to make payment.

If you fail to respond with the next 14 days or do so without providing agreement to the proposed settlement figure, I will;-
Require a full response to the valid Subject Access Request, failure to do so will result in a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Require a proper response to the issues set out in my formal complaint. If you fail to do so I will report this matter to the BPA.
Require a full explanation by what is meant by “redacted your details”.
Be making a complaint to DVLA about misuse of your KADOE contract as you did not have reasonable cause to begin this process, had you have taken the necessary care to check that I had already prepaid.
Be complaining to my MP to get them involved post consultation and as further evidence of why this cowboy industry needs proper independent regulation.
Be Registering a claim with the Small Claims Court for my direct costs and any resulting fees to bring the case to the court.

Many thanks everyone, lots of good solid advice here and some very useful learning from my perspective.

I’ll need to talk through the various options with my friend and see where they want to go.

As always I am very grateful to everyone who has given their time to contribute.

Assuming no practical way of a broader claim for inconvenience and time wasting, that is the only clearly identifiable and evidenced cost identified to date.