Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: Bhpcn on March 02, 2026, 10:31:33 am
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For the record, I'm quietly confident that we can word a single appeal point POPLA appeal which they will find very difficult to rebut.
Let's deal with that once you reach that stage.
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I appreciate everyone’s advice so far, I’ve sent off the appeal response mentioned above. I know nothing is a failsafe argument to get it cancelled but it’s worth a try!
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Unfortunately it's far from that straightforward and trying to suggest it is wont help people get their PCNs cancelled. All it does is give people the belief they have a slam dunk reason an appeal would be granted when the reality is the opposite.
Everyone who comes here seeking advice essentially has two options available to them; just pay the invoice or embark on a challenge, the first stage of which is an appeal.
Any appeal has to have grounds. I'm happy to be corrected but the strongest ground in my opinion is the fact that the document they have received is defective insofar as it cannot transfer liability from keeper to the unknown driver due to the omission of mandatory wording.
If it ends up before a District Judge it's quite a compelling argument if you ask the parking company's legal representative to highlight exactly where clause xyz is on their documentation.....I suspect that's why so many of these cases get canned at the point of paying the court fee.
I have tried to caveat advice elsewhere on this forum with "you should expect any appeal to fail" so if I have given any impression otherwise I apologise.....I personally think the whole appeals process (primary and secondary) to be a charade but it's one of the hoops to jump through to reach the end goal.
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Unfortunately it's far from that straightforward and trying to suggest it is wont help people get their PCNs cancelled. All it does is give people the belief they have a slam dunk reason an appeal would be granted when the reality is the opposite. Generally this type of appeal is only useful if the keeper is going through the motions of running the clock down to (hopefully) a discontinuation before court.
I've also had formal legal advice regarding the specific wording of a PCN to make it POFA compliant and that advice was not the same as one other regular poster had. We really wont know until a judge rules on a claim relying on this particular point and even then it is only applicable to the claim being considered and does not set a precedent for other claims.
If there are better grounds for appeal it is better to use them especially in a first stage appeal.
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On what grounds do you suspect the PCN has been incorrectly issued?
There is no invitation to the RK to pay the invoice.
Use the appeal above and it'll quickly move to step 3 in DWMB2's post above. If you're happy to play the waiting game hoping they will discontinue before court then that's fine. If you want to make it go away at first or second appeal stage you'll need something a lot stronger than telling Parking Eye they don't know how to word a PCN.
But the issue is that ParkingEye don't - their invoice fails to include the mandatory invitation to keeper to pay the charge required by POFA Schedule 4, para 9(2)(e).
POFA isn’t optional. If any of the statutory elements are missing, the NTK is non‑compliant and keeper liability cannot be created. In this case, the NTK simply does not contain the required invitation to the keeper to pay the charge or to name the driver.
That is a complete POFA failure, not a stylistic one. ParkingEye are therefore limited to pursuing the driver only, and as they do not know who that is, the keeper cannot be held liable.
Whether they discontinue before court is up to them, but the legal position is straightforward: no POFA compliance = no keeper liability.
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The driver of the vehicle absolutely did overstay, though it wasn’t their fault. Could they potentially ask the vendor who was running late to cover the costs, yes I suppose so.
But then, having heard in the past about PCNs being scare tactics for lack of a better phrase, I thought I’d turn to people with more experience than me to see if it was easily contestable rather than asking a small business to pay up.
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On what grounds do you suspect the PCN has been incorrectly issued? From what you've told us so far you simply overstayed the free stay period breaching the car park rules, hence the PCN.
Use the appeal above and it'll quickly move to step 3 in DWMB2's post above. If you're happy to play the waiting game hoping they will discontinue before court then that's fine. If you want to make it go away at first or second appeal stage you'll need something a lot stronger than telling Parking Eye they don't know how to word a PCN.
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@Bhpcn to give you a brief overview of the process you can expect challenging the notice:
- Initial appeal: Probably (almost certainly) rejected. If so:
- POPLA appeal: Probably (less certainly) rejected. If so:
- Debt Collector letters: Probably for some months. These can be ignored. Probably followed by:
- Letter of Claim: Either from ParkingEye directly, or solicitors acting on their behalf. Then:
- Court Claim: If handled by the third party DCB Legal, this will probably be discontinued. If ParkingEye run the claim themselves, they're more likely to go all the way to a hearing.
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I am the registered keeper.
As your notice is not PoFA compliant I will not be accepting any liability for the outstanding parking charges.
The driver is not known to you and I will not be providing any driver details.
Your options are;
Cancel the notice
OR
Waste further money by providing a POPLA referral code.
I am sorry that I am unable to help you further.
Many thanks,
xxxxxx xxxxxxxx
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Apologies - see below!
https://image2url.com/r2/default/images/1772451220654-07e9a401-0735-47e0-ba6c-a1a5f73320f6.jpeg
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And the back of the PCN please?
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Should be the signage as well, this is from Google Earth so a year old though.
https://image2url.com/r2/default/images/1772450214510-29f51f6c-2a83-4277-a918-462320496383.blob
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I was struggling to upload a pic on here - hopefully the url below works!
https://image2url.com/r2/default/images/1772449892769-873ce397-90ec-4c4a-83b7-7450b9f8e68e.jpeg
I had an appointment at a neighbouring unit, the PCN states Farmfoods so I assume it’s owned by them, but there are 3-4 different shops on the car park.
I can go back there and take a picture of the signage if necessary!
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Can you post up a copy of the PPN with personal details redacted?
Also, photos of the signage.
Who does the car park belong to, is it Farmfoods?
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Welcome to FTLA.
To help us provide the best advice, please read the following thread carefully and provide as much of the information it asks for as you are able to: READ THIS FIRST - Private Parking Charges Forum guide (https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/read-this-first-private-parking-charges-forum-guide/)
Our normal first bit of advice is to contact the landowner and ask them to intervene, although from your account it's not immediately clear what 'appointment' the driver could have had at a Farmfoods store...
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Morning,
I’ve received a PCN in the post today from parking eye as the registered keeper of the vehicle in question, would appreciate any advice please!
On 22nd February, the driver entered the car park and found a space, parked up, and went for their appointment. The appointment ran over due to the vendor running late, and when the driver left the car park they had exceeded the maximum parking period.