PCM Parking – Appeal Guide

PCM Parking Control Management are a private parking company that usually leave hand written notices on drivers windscreens. PCM Parking used to be members of the Brittish Parking Association but recently switched their membership to the Independent Parking Committee. In 2014, PCM parking moved away from a breach model of issuing PCN’s to a contractual model. A well worded contract under the contractual model is hard to beat at apepal, so the driver (or keeper) needs to prove one of the following:
1. It was not a contractual model at all, but rather it is a breach model purporting to be a contractual model.
2. There were other procedure errors made in the processing of the PCN (such as failing to comply with POFA 2012).

PCM Parking – example sign

Here is an an example of one of PCM Parking’s contractual model signs.  Note how it says “by parking or remaining at this site otherwise than in accordance with the above you, the driver, are agreeing to the following contractual terms: …”. And here is the corresponding Parking Charge Notice that is placed on the vehicle’s windscreen.   Again, this PCM Parking notice is trying to enforce the contractual model by saying “.. has identified this vehicle parked in a manner which atracts a Parking Charge …”.  In the past, it would have said “.. identified this vehicle parked in breach of the terms and conditions of the car park”.  However, the PCM Parking notice slips up at the bottom where it says “photographic evidence relating to this breach”.  The word breach is a giveaway that it is not a genuine contractual model at all, and hence GPEOL applies.

PCM Parking are know to issue a large number of PCN’s in private estates.  This is meant to control unathorised parking in these estates, but often ends up in the apartment owners or leaseholders being given parking fines by PCM Parking for parking in their own parking space.  These PCN’s are often issued in “self ticketing” mode, which means that it’s not an employee of PCM Parking who issues the notice, but rather a member of the body corporate or perhaps even a tenant of the building.  The giveaway that it is self ticketed is that it will usual be hand-written.

PCM Parking appeals to IAS

It is important to realise that IAS is a kangaroo court, in that IAS does  not hold up to the rules of law.  As such, if you are going to go to the trouble of appealing your PCM Parking fine to IAS, you need to be prepared for the fact that there is an 80% chance your appeal will be rejected.  If your appeal is rejected you need to be prepared to sweat it out and ignore all the debt collector notices you will receive.

PCM Parking and Liverpool Airport

PCM Parking also issue a lot of notices at Liverpool Airport.   These notices are very beatable handled the right way.  This means that you do not admit who the driver was.  Because Liverpool Airport is government land on which by-laws apply, the POFA 2012 does not apply, which means that PCM Parking cannot use the POFA 2012 legislation to hold the keeper liable for the charge.  Therefore  all you need to do is appeal the notice stating that you are the keeper and refuse to nominate the driver.  PCM Parking is then stopped in tracks and has no way of finding out who the driver was.  Not only that, since the bye laws set an amount of penalty for failure to comply with them; a further amount based on your own assessment is unlawful at best and perhaps even fraudulent.   A set of the byelaws are held by Liverpool City Council, which sets out the airport’s stance on roadway use, or misuse. It also lays down a penalty upon summary conviction for a breach of the byelaws of £5 for the 1st offence and a further amount of 40 shillings for a continued daily breach.