Free Traffic Legal Advice

Are you the registered keeper of the car and, if so, is the address on the V5C for the car correct?

@Dannyboy71, welcome to the forum. Please stop panicking over this. If you follow the advice you won't be paying a penny to these scammers.

Before we proceed with the necessary advice, please tell us whether the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) you received was a windscreen Notice to Driver (NtD) or a postal Notice to Keeper (NtK)? Which unregulated private parking company has issued this PCN?

As for the previous posters question about the address on your V5C is because it is often the case that when someone changes address, they update their drivers licence details with the DVLA but are unaware or forget to update their V5C address separately. The parking operator will only send the PCN to the address on the V5C but a debt recovery company will do a simple credit reference check to obtain a current address, which is why the first you know about this PCN is when you receive the debt recovery letter.

You can safely ignore any and all debt recovery letters. Debt collectors are powerless to do anything, no matter how threatening their letters may seem. All they can do is try and persuade the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree to pay up out of ignorance and fear.

Never, ever enter into any communication with a peerless debt collector. Ignore them.

For now, wended to see the PCN you received. Only redact your personal info and the PCN reference number. Leave everything else visible, especially all dates and times. We also need to know what you wrote to the parking company. This is important because you may have made some mistakes by contacting them before receiving advice. However, that does not mean that it is fatal to your case.

Invariably, if you follow our advice, these cases will reach litigation but will eventually be struck out or discontinued.

You should email the following formal complaint to UKPC at complaints@ukparkingcontrol.com and also CC yourself:

Subject: Formal Complaint – Failure to Serve Notice to Keeper / Disability Considerations

Parking Charge Reference: [Insert Reference]
Date of Alleged Contravention: 22/03/2025
Location: Beckton Triangle Retail Park, 5 Claps Gate Lane, London, E6 6LG

Dear UK Parking Control Ltd,

I am writing a formal complaint regarding the above parking charge. I am the registered keeper of the vehicle. I was only made aware of this charge when I received a letter dated 23/04/2025 demanding £170. Prior to that date, I did not receive a Notice to Keeper (NtK) by post.

Had I received a NtK, I would have appealed it promptly. The charge has now been arbitrarily increased to £170, despite the fact that no opportunity has been given to make representations. This is both procedurally unfair and contrary to the expectations set out in the Private Parking Single Code of Practice, specifically:

Section 8.1.2(e) – Note 2:

“A notice sent by post is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been delivered on the second working day after the day on which it is posted... Therefore, parking operators must retain a record of the date of posting of a notice, not simply of that notice having been generated (e.g. the date that any third-party Mail Consolidator actually put it in the postal system).”

Accordingly, you are put to strict proof that the original NtK was posted in accordance with the above standard, including evidence of the actual date of posting (not just generation), such as a Royal Mail manifest or proof from your mail handler.

The driver is disabled and a valid Blue Badge holder. The vehicle was parked in a disabled bay, albeit slightly outside the bay lines due to the adjacent vehicle encroaching into the space at the time of parking. This was necessary to allow safe access due to their disability and did not cause any obstruction to other vehicles. This context should have been taken into account when assessing the circumstances.

Resolution Sought

I therefore request that UKPC:

1. Cancel the parking charge, taking into account your obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the clear lack of proper notice;
OR
2. Re-issue the Notice to Keeper, restarting the process and granting the Keeper the opportunity to appeal properly.

I also request that any escalation or further enforcement action be placed on hold pending the resolution of this complaint.

Failure to respond substantively will result in a formal complaint to the DVLA, the British Parking Association (BPA) and may be brought to the attention of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if there is evidence that personal data has been mishandled or letters were sent to the wrong address.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[Email if applicable]

Received the  below email and the attached letter

also on teh attached letter it now has different location and different date. Should i just pay it cause I'm getting concerned

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Why on earth would you consider paying a scammer when we've already told you that if you follow our advice, you won't be paying penny to UKPC.

Did you send the formal complaint letter as advised? Have you had a response to that?

As they have used the same evidential photo for the two notices, one a reminder and one a debt recovery notice, you first need to make a formal complaint to the DVLA. Here’s how to make a DVLA complaint:


The DVLA is required to record, investigate and respond to every complaint about a private parking company. If everyone who encounters a breach took the time to submit a complaint, we might finally see the DVLA take meaningful action—whether that means curtailing or removing KADOE access altogether.

For the text part of the complaint the webform could use the following:

I am submitting a formal complaint against UK Parking Control Ltd (UKPC), a BPA AOS member with DVLA KADOE access, for misusing my personal data following its release.

UKPC has misused my DVLA keeper data. Without issuing a Notice to Keeper (NtK) they sent me two letters—first a Reminder Notice to Keeper dated 23/04/2025, then a Final Debt Recovery Notice dated 05/06/2025—both claiming to relate to the same alleged contravention, but quoting completely different details, yet using the exact same evidential photo.

The Reminder states the location as Beckton Triangle Retail Park, 5 Claps Gate Lane, London E6 6LG on 22/03/2025 at 12:30:30.

The debt recovery letter states the location as Bell Green Retail Park, Bell Green, Sydenham SE26 4PU on 06/02/2025 at 10:43:24.

Both letters use the exact same photographic evidence. This proves they have either fabricated the contravention details or are reusing the same DVLA data to pursue two fundamentally contradictory events. I did not receive the original Notice to Keeper. I submitted a formal complaint to UKPC asking them to cancel or reissue the NtK. They ignored it entirely and escalated the matter instead, which is also breach of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP).

This conduct shows either corruption, gross incompetence or a combination of both, and UKPC is clearly unfit to hold KADOE access. The DVLA must investigate, sanction UKPC, and if this turns out to be systemic, report its own regulatory failure to the ICO.

I have attached a supporting statement and copies of both letters. Please confirm a reference number.

Then you could upload the following as a PDF file for the formal complaint itself:

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Complaint to DVLA – Breach of KADOE Contract and PPSCoP

Operator name: UK Parking Control Ltd (UKPC)
Date of PCN issue: Unknown – only a Reminder NtK was received on 23/04/2025
Vehicle registration: [INSERT VRM]

I am submitting this complaint to report a misuse of my personal data by UKPC, who obtained my keeper details from the DVLA under the KADOE (Keeper At Date Of Event) contract.

Although the parking company may have had reasonable cause to request my data initially, the way they have used that data afterwards amounts to unlawful processing. This is because they have acted in breach of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP), which is a mandatory requirement for access to DVLA keeper data. The PPSCoP forms part of the framework that regulates how parking companies must behave once they have received keeper data from the DVLA.

The KADOE contract makes clear that keeper data may only be used to pursue an unpaid parking charge in line with the Code of Practice. If a parking company fails to comply with the PPSCoP after receiving DVLA data, their use of that data becomes unlawful, as they are no longer using it for a permitted purpose.

UKPC has issued two notices purporting to relate to the same contravention, using the same photographic evidence, but the details are completely different.

The first notice, a Reminder Notice to Keeper dated 23/04/2025, claims the alleged incident occurred at Beckton Triangle Retail Park, 5 Claps Gate Lane, London E6 6LG on 22/03/2025 at 12:30:30.

The second notice, a Final Debt Recovery Notice dated 05/06/2025, claims the alleged incident occurred at Bell Green Retail Park, Bell Green, Sydenham SE26 4PU on 06/02/2025 at 10:43:24.

Despite the differences in location, date and time, both letters include the exact same evidential photograph of my vehicle. This means UKPC has either fabricated one of the alleged contraventions or is using the same evidence to support two different claims. Either way, it shows they are pursuing incompatible claims using my DVLA data.

I never received the original Notice to Keeper (NtK). I lodged a formal written complaint to UKPC, demanding that they cancel the charge or reissue the NtK so I could appeal. UKPC ignored my complaint entirely and, instead, escalated the matter by issuing a debt-recovery notice that quoted a different site, date and time while re-using the same photograph.

Such conduct can only be explained by outright corruption, gross incompetence, or a combination of both. Either way, UKPC falls nowhere near the standard expected of any operator trusted with live KADOE access to DVLA data.

This behaviour breaches the Private Parking Single Code of Practice, which requires accurate notices, proper complaint handling and fair escalation. It also breaches the KADOE contract because my keeper data has been used in a manner that is inaccurate, misleading and wholly outside the “reasonable cause” for which it was supplied. The same facts put UKPC in breach of UK GDPR Articles 5(1)(b) and 5(1)(d).

I expect the DVLA to investigate immediately, confirm the breach and impose meaningful sanctions. UKPC’s KADOE access should be suspended or terminated. If the DVLA allows this to continue it is failing in its own duties as data controller and must account for that to the ICO.

I have attached both letters as evidence. Please confirm receipt and provide a reference number for this complaint.

Name: [insert full name]
Date: [insert today’s date]

You also send the following to UKPC in an email to complaints@ukparkingcontrol.com and you also CC in yourself:

Subject: Formal Complaint – Misuse of DVLA Data and Instruction to Cancel PCN: [PCN number]

Dear Sirs,

This is a follow-up to my previous formal complaint sent on [date you sent original email], which you failed to respond to. I never received the original Notice to Keeper(NtK), only a reminder notice dated 23/04/2025, and I raised this with you in writing, requesting either cancellation of the charge or reissue of the original NtK so I could appeal. You ignored the complaint entirely.

You have now issued a debt recovery notice dated 05/06/2025, that not only escalates the charge unfairly, but also refers to a completely different location, date and time than your earlier notice. Both letters use the exact same photographic evidence. This proves you are either fabricating contravention details or reusing the same image to support conflicting claims. That alone invalidates your entire case.

This conduct is either outright corruption, complete incompetence, or both. You are misusing my personal data and clearly acting outside the terms of the KADOE contract. You are also in breach of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) and the UK GDPR. Your behaviour falls well short of the standards expected of any operator with access to DVLA data.

I have now reported this matter to the DVLA and asked them to investigate and consider suspension or termination of your KADOE access. A formal complaint has also been submitted to the BPA. While I do not expect much from your tame ATA, I will be pressing for full sanctions.

You are hereby instructed to cancel this Parking Charge Notice immediately. If you do so, it will not undo your breach, but it may be regarded as a first step toward mitigating your liability in this matter.

If you fail to cancel the charge or continue to escalate it, I will treat it as deliberate harassment and unlawful processing of my personal data.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[Vehicle Registration]

Hello, Had a response from DVLA and a new letter from a new debt recovery organisation. I've uploaded both letters.
do you think I need to sit tight and wait for a summons. Someone mentioned a statutory declarations but not sure if this would apply?
again any advice/suggestions would be much appreciated.
all the best, Danny

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Thank you, that's much appreciated