PCN from council paid by car hire company-London

Hi

So I am a UK citizen but living abroad.

I came to visit the England for a wedding and hired a car for the trip. During that time I received an automated PCN related to parking in a bus lane. There were parking signs allowing this and the photo on the PCN even shows other cars parked in the same space.

I only received the PCN via the hire company, after they had already paid the penalty 'on my behalf'.

When I attempted to contest the ticket I was unable to as it had already been paid. The PCN clearly states this too, if you wish to contest it you must not pay.

The hire companies own terms and conditions state they will only pay this fine if they are unable to transfer it to me which I have asked and they refuse to provide any evidence that they even attempted to do so.

On top of the £80 ticket they add a £60 'admin' fee.

It seems like this is a scam to grab more money.

Am I right in saying that as they removed my right to contest the ticket from the issuing body I am able to contest it directly with the rental company? Should they also have made an attempt to transfer the ticket to me, or at least allow me knowledge of it and the ability to pay it before they did so?

I have asked them these questions multiple times and they keep just threatening me with debt reclamation and have provided no evidence they did anything, other than repeatedly sending me their terms and conditions which clearly state they should have tried to transfer the PCN to me.

Any help is appreciated. I can pay the fine if needed but their actions feel like very dubious legal ground but of course I'm not a lawyer.

Thanks!

Post the T&Cs about PCNs.

But the main issue is it isn't your PCN. The owner/keeper is liable.

So I am a UK citizen but living abroad.

What permanent address did you give the hire company and what licence i.e. issued by which country did you provide when hiring?

Please post up the paperwork, only cover your name and address

This case well illustrates the complete anomaly in the law as, in moving traffic contraventions under the 2003 Act, the company automatically (or should) get it cancelled and another PCN is sent to the hirer.  So, hire companies often exploit this situation even though they are responsible.  A mess.

Which council is this?

IMO, The Road Traffic (Owner Liability) Regulations 2000 apply to moving as well as parking road traffic contraventions. All hire agreements should comply because they provide the basis for the 'vehicle hire agreement' grounds.

Pursuing a debtor in another jurisdiction is complex and probably something councils would like to avoid. Similarly hire companies probably want to avoid a protracted enforcement process should a non-UK address cause their reps to be rejected. But in this case the OP says that reps were not made.


Under the regs a permanent address is required. As far as I can see, a non-UK address would not be grounds for an authority to reject reps, but maybe one of our posters knows.