Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: AMG on April 27, 2026, 02:52:46 pm
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At this point I would just ignore them.
The 'reasonable assumption that you were the driver' argument went out with flared trousers but they continue to spout this nonsense because there is no other option available to them.
These charges are virtually unenforceable in my opinion and pretty much every case gets defeated in Court when properly defended.
Come back for more advice when you receive a Letter Before Claim.
There will be begging debt letters but these are utterly powerless and meant to frighten people into paying.
VCS and Excel are the same company and, once again, they suffered another humiliating defeat in Court when a totally unqualified member of the public stood up to them and defender her corner - read about it here;
https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/excel-parking-court-defeat-8753941
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How is this possible when we paid for the parking and found it difficult trying to find where it is and then charge me twice !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because it’s VCS and all they care about is getting £100 from you.
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How is this possible when we paid for the parking and found it difficult trying to find where it is and then charge me twice !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Urgent wondered if I could kindly get some help. they have finally responded with the following and would like to know the next steps with this:
Vehicle Control Services Limited
24/06/2026
Site: Leeds Bradford Airport Roadways Post Code: LS19 7TU
Contravention Date: 12/04/2026
We refer to your appeal in respect of the above Charge Notice (CN) received on 09/06/2026.
Having considered the points you have raised and reviewed our records, we are unable to accept your appeal.
Our main reason(s) for this decision are as follows:
The signs at the entrance to Leeds Bradford Airport and the access roads within, clearly state "No Stopping, Picking Up or Dropping Off", giving clear notice that the land is private property and that a Charge of £100 will be levied if vehicles do stop. The above detailed vehicle stopped in a zone where stopping is prohibited and the driver became liable to pay that Charge.
In your appeal it is unclear who the driver was when your vehicle was seen to be stopped on the access road. You state that our Notice is not compliant with the Protection Of Freedoms Act (POFA) 2012 on the Notice issued to you; however we have not cited POFA 2012 nor stated that you are liable for the Charge as the vehicle keeper.
It is important we highlight that we will continue to pursue this matter on the reasonable assumption that you were the driver of the vehicle on the date in question until information/evidence to the contrary is provided.
A review of our CCTV evidence has confirmed that on the date in question, your vehicle stopped for an unreasonable amount of time in any area where stopping for any reason is strictly prohibited. As stated, the signs near to the location your vehicle was observed clearly stated "No Stopping, Picking Up or Dropping Off" and warned that if you
did so, you were liable for the Charge advertised.
There are numerous high profile signs advising drivers of the Terms and Conditions on site, and advising that if the Terms and Conditions are not adhered to, a charge of £100 is payable. The signs exceed recognised industry standards, have been audited by the International Parking Community and have been deemed fit for purpose.
Signs are positioned on entry and throughout the airport site; they are reflective (to ensure visibility in periods of darkness or poor visibility) and positioned to face oncoming vehicles and the text size used is relative to the average approach speed of a vehicle in relation to the speed limit in force at that location. It is a motorist's sole responsibility to ensure they adhere to the Terms and Conditions clearly displayed, and leave site if they are unable to do so.
We have fully reviewed this case and we are satisfied that the Charge Notice was correctly issued.
We are unable to accept the mitigating circumstances raised in your representations, your appeal is therefore rejected and the Charge will stand; photographic evidence which supports this can be viewed at www.myparkingcharge.co.uk
What you should do next - Either:
1. Pay the Charge Notice (CN): In order to settle the Charge, the payment of £60 to reach us by 08/07/2026 or £100
to reach us by 22/07/2026 must be made. Failure to pay this charge within the stated times, may result in Debt
Recovery Action being taken and further costs up to an additional £70 being incurred. Payments can be made online
at www.myparkingcharge.co.uk by following the links for "Pay Now", or over the phone by calling 0845 226 9138 by
using a valid Credit or Debit Card.
OR:
2. Appeal to the Independent Appeals Services (IAS): If you believe this decision is incorrect, you are entitled to
appeal to the IAS. In order to appeal, the IAS will need the following information (which is also contained in the subject header of this correspondence).
Appeals must be submitted to the IAS within 28 days of the date of this correspondence. Please visit www.theias.org
for full details on how to submit an appeal online.
It is important you note that if you do make an appeal to the IAS, the reduced charge offered above will no longer apply. You should also be aware that if a payment is made prior to an appeal being made to, or adjudicated by, the IAS AND this is accepted as Full and Final settlement against the CN, the appeal will automatically be dismissed and the matter will be deemed closed. Should you appeal to the IAS and it is unsuccessful, the full amount outstanding (£100.00) will become payable within 14 days of the date the IAS decision is notified to you. Failure to pay this sum in the 14 day period will result in debt recovery costs of up to £70.00 being added to the outstanding balance.
It is important we also highlight that no further appeals will be accepted at this office; any such appeal must be made to the IAS.
Please also note that further costs may be incurred should it be necessary for us to subsequently recover any outstanding charge using further debt recovery and/or court action.
Yours sincerely
Appeals Administration Team
CENTRAL PROCESSING OFFICE
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Looks good.
But be warned, VCS do like to go through the motions in terms of letters etc.
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Thank you all for your invaluable, quick and professional assistance it is greatly appreciated as always:
I have tried to take your helpful inputs and amended.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write further to your letters of 27 May 2026. Their contents are noted.
I have no further representations to make, and I decline your invitation to identify the driver. My reasons are set out below so that my position is unambiguous and on record.
1. There is no existing route to keeper liability.
You expressly acknowledge in your own letters that responsibility “lies with the driver.” Leeds Bradford Airport roadways are not “relevant land” within the meaning of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, being subject to statutory control. PoFA keeper liability is therefore unavailable to you, and you have not purported to invoke it. There is accordingly no lawful mechanism by which I, as registered keeper, can be held liable for an alleged contravention by the driver.
2. I am under no obligation to identify the driver, and I will not.
Absent applicable PoFA provisions, no statute or contract compels a keeper to name the driver in these circumstances. Your request that I supply my insurance policy, the driver’s full name and serviceable address, or a signed authority is a request I am entitled to refuse, and I exercise that right.
For the avoidance of any doubt, my silence is the deliberate exercise of a legal right in circumstances where the law imposes no duty to speak—it is not, and should not later be characterised as, any admission as to the identity of the driver. In this regard, I note the decision in Vehicle Control Services Ltd v Edward, in which the Court of Appeal confirmed that where keeper liability under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is unavailable, there is no general obligation upon a registered keeper to identify the driver and no automatic basis upon which liability can be transferred from driver to keeper. My decision not to identify the driver should therefore not be treated as evidence that I was the driver, nor as giving rise to any presumption of liability.
3. No contract was formed as alleged.
Your case rests on an alleged contract with the driver. You have neither identified the driver nor established that the asserted terms were communicated and accepted such that any contract arose. That is a matter you would have to prove; it is not for me to disprove.
I note your “goodwill” offer and your schedule of escalating sums and threatened debt-recovery costs. I do not accept that any sum is lawfully due. Should you nonetheless pursue this, I will rely on this correspondence, and I put you on notice that I consider continued pursuit in these circumstances to be without merit.
I consider this matter closed and do not intend to enter into protracted correspondence.
Yours faithfully,
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As above break it up, it looks better and easier to read.
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Given this involves VCS, you could also bolster point #2 by referencing VCS v Edward (https://www.scribd.com/document/676990739/VCS-Limited-v-Ian-Mark-Edward).
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Looks good.
Maybe introduce some spacing!
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Good morning again I would be very grateful if you could assist by reviewing my response:
Appeal Details
Your Reason for Appealing the Charge Notice: Please complete the following screen, outlining the reason for your appeal. Please provide as much information as possible that will help our team to investigate the matter and attach any evidence you may have that supports your case. When supplying attachments we accept photographs in JPEG
format and will accept documents in either scanned pdf format or word documents. We cannot accept zip files.
Reason: * Selected : Contravention Not Occur - There was no signage at the car park/location indicating any restrictions Explanation:
Dear Sir/Madam, I write further to your letters of 27 May 2026. Their contents are noted. I have no further representations to make, and I decline your invitation to identify the driver. My reasons are set out below so that my position is unambiguous and on record. 1.There is no existing route to keeper liability. You expressly acknowledge in your own letters that responsibility “lies with the driver.” Leeds Bradford Airport roadways are not “relevant land” within the meaning of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, being subject to statutory control. PoFA keeper liability is therefore unavailable to you, and you have not purported to invoke it. There is accordingly no lawful mechanism by which I, as registered keeper, can be held liable for an alleged contravention by the driver. 2.I am under no obligation to identify the driver, and I will not. Absent applicable PoFA provisions, no statute or contract compels a keeper to name the driver in these circumstances. Your request that I supply my insurance policy, the driver’s full name and serviceable address, or a signed authority is a request I am entitled to refuse, and I exercise that right. For the avoidance of any doubt, my silence is the deliberate exercise of a legal right in circumstances where the law imposes no duty to speak — it is not, and should not later be characterised as, any admission as to the identity of the driver. 3.No contract was formed as alleged. Your case rests on an alleged contract with the driver. You have neither identified the driver nor established that the asserted terms were communicated and accepted such that any contract arose. That is a matter you would have to prove; it is not for me to disprove.
I note your “goodwill” offer and your schedule of escalating sums and threatened debt-recovery costs. I do not accept that any sum is lawfully due. Should you nonetheless pursue this, I will rely on this correspondence, and I put you on notice that I consider continued pursuit in these circumstances to be without merit. I consider this matter closed and do not intend to enter into protracted correspondence.
Yours faithfully,
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Thank you both
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Be careful of any drop down box asking for driver, appeal as the keeper.
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Option 2
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Much appreciated with all your help and wanted to check what I should do
1- Send a letter to the office
2- Or go through the appeal on the system for each charge
It is not clear what the process is and would be really grateful if I could get clarification
Kind regards
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Thank you all so much for assisting which is greatly appreciated
Kind regards
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Why not?
At a later stage (when VCS threaten court action) they will say that if the keeper was not the driver then they would have provided alternative driver details - by including the highlighted text we are creating evidence which the OP can use at a later stage to refute a significant point which the Claimant might raise.
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I wouldn't be including that bit!!
Parking Charge Notice Number -
To whom it may concern,
I have recently received your previous communication relating to the above parking charge and have duly noted its contents.
In this instance I have no further representation to make.
My understanding (after taking legal advice) is that there is no legal requirement to provide the information which you are asking for.
At present there is no existing route to liability in this matter and providing further information would potentially create a route to liability - as such I am simply exercising my legal right to say nothing in a situation where the law does not require me to provide the details which you are requesting.
I would also point out that there is no method by which your company could have formed a contract with the driver in the circumstances which you appear to be claiming.
I feel that this sets out my position in this matter and I am sorry that I cannot help you further.
Best wishes,
xxxxxx xxxxxxxxx
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Parking Charge Notice Number -
To whom it may concern,
I have recently received your previous communication relating to the above parking charge and have duly noted its contents.
In this instance I have no further representation to make.
My understanding (after taking legal advice) is that there is no legal requirement to provide the information which you are asking for.
At present there is no existing route to liability in this matter and providing further information would potentially create a route to liability - as such I am simply exercising my legal right to say nothing in a situation where the law does not require me to provide the details which you are requesting.
I would also point out that there is no method by which your company could have formed a contract with the driver in the circumstances which you appear to be claiming.
I feel that this sets out my position in this matter and I am sorry that I cannot help you further.
Best wishes,
xxxxxx xxxxxxxxx
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Yes thank you for the reminder just not sure how to respond.
Kind regards
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A very good example of a fishing exercise to ID the driver. Do not ID the driver.
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Yes of course
1- We appealed the 2 notices using the exact wording and submitting this for both notices:
Your Reason for Appealing the Charge Notice:
Please complete the following screen, outlining the reason for your appeal. Please provide as much information as possible that will help our team to investigate the matter and attach any evidence you may have that supports your case. When supplying attachments we accept photographs in JPEG format and will accept documents in either scanned pdf format or word documents. We cannot accept zip files.
Reason: *
There was no signage at the car park/location indicating any restrictions
Explanation: *
I am appealing this charge on the following legal grounds:
As the registered keeper, I wish to make clear that VCS cannot hold a registered keeper liable for any alleged contravention on land that is under statutory control. As a matter of fact and law, VCS will be well aware that they cannot use the PoFA provisions because Leeds Bradford Airport is not 'relevant land'.
If Leeds Bradford Airport wanted to hold owners or keepers liable under Airport Byelaws, that would be within the landowner's gift and another matter entirely. However, not only is that not pleaded, it is also not legally possible because VCS is not the Airport owner and this 'parking charge' is not and never attempts to be a penalty. It is created for VCS's own profit and VCS has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.
The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. The Notice to Keeper can only hold the driver liable. I require this charge notice to be cancelled immediately.
Yours faithfully
2- Please find the wording of the 2 letters that they have sent us on the 27th of May:
Re: Parking Charge Notice Number: VCS - Vehicle:
Site: Leeds Bradford Airport Roadways Post Code: LS19 7TU
Contravention Date: 12/04/2026
We refer to correspondence received from you concerning the above numbered Charge Notice.
Please note that responsibility for this Charge lies with the driver of the vehicle at the time the parking contravention
was observed. However, it appears from what you have stated in your appeal that you were not the driver on the date
in question.
We therefore require documentary evidence of your insurance policy, confirming any individuals who are authorised
to drive your vehicle in addition to yourself.
In addition, in order for us to process your appeal correctly, please follow the instructions below:
1. If you were the driver on the day in question, please confirm this within your next correspondence.
2. Notify the driver of the vehicle that they will need to appeal to us directly, including their FULL NAME (Forename
and Surname) and a valid FULL SERVICEABLE ADDRESS within 14 days.
3. If you are representing the driver we require a signed and dated statement from the driver of the vehicle confirming
that you are authorised to appeal on his/her behalf; this needs to be an original signature and not a photocopy or a
stamp. The statement MUST contain the drivers FULL NAME (Forename and Surname) and a valid FULL
SERVICEABLE ADDRESS.
Please ensure that correspondence is submitted through the portal www.myparkingcharge.co.uk in order to correctly
adhere with the appeals process.
OR
4. Pay the PCN. Payments can be made online at www.myparkingcharge.co.uk by following the links for "Pay Now",
or over the phone by calling 0845 226 9138 and using a valid Credit or Debit Card to make payment. It is your
responsibility to ensure that payment is received within our office by the date specified.
As a gesture of goodwill we have placed the charge on hold for an additional period of 14 Days to enable one of the
above actions to be complied with.
We are willing to re-offer you the original discounted charge of £60 as full and final settlement of this Notice, if
payment is received within our office on or before the 10/06/2026.
If payment is not received by this date, the amount payable will revert to £100, payable by 24/06/2026. Failure to pay
this charge within the stated times, may result in Debt Recovery action been taken and further costs up to an
additional £70.00 being incurred.
Yours sincerely
Appeals Administration Team
CENTRAL PROCESSING OFFICE
Kind regards
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Resolution of your images makes them difficult or impossible to read properly.
What exactly was in your appeal?
Please give us a timeline of what you did and when.
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Good afternoon
Would appreciate your valuable assistance on how to respond to the following 2 appeal letters I want to ensure the exact wording so this can be cancelled.
https://i.postimg.cc/PxgCFn9Z/1-appeal-reply-2026.png
Kind regards
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What stage are you up to?
If it is the initial appeal, then the suggested wording in the case jfollows linked you to will suffice. You'll need to submit two appeals, one for each case.
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Good evening, I’m really struggling at the moment and was wondering if anyone could assist me with exactly how to appeal these two fines.
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Appeal as per b789's post in the linked thread. If VCS reject, then you could appeal to IAS, but they are not known for independence, and may also reject. Then it's just a case of waiting it out for a court claim and defending it from there. Or pay up to make it go away....
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I would appreciate how to proceed.
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Good morning
Firstly I would like to thank you both for your responses and input its greatly appreciated I am still not sure of the next steps but looks like your suggestion is that we try going down an appeal firstly and waiiting. Unfortuntaely i have to be perpared for a rejection.
Kind regards
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In my opinion, these no stopping zones are pretty much unenforceable by private parking companies as they are unable to establish a contractual basis for the charge.
That won't stop them pursuing you as keeper but you'll probably win if you follow advice.
You could initially appeal on the basis that the keeper cannot be held liable due to lack of PoFA.
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Search the forum, eg https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/vcs-invoice-leeds-bradford-airport/msg17647/#msg17647
VCS and Jake Burgess won’t fold, though.
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Hi all,
I’ve just received 2 separate Charge Notice from Vehicle Control Services for “stopping in a zone where stopping is prohibited” at Leeds Bradford Airport in the space of 3 minutes.
I have not paid the charge.
This relates to a very brief stop on the airport roadway while trying to locate a passenger for pickup. On the day, I had already paid the airport’s pickup/drop-off fee (£8), which added to the confusion as it wasn’t clear where stopping was actually permitted versus restricted, particularly given the layout and traffic flow.
Details of the 2 separate charges attached:
Location: Leeds Bradford Airport roadways
Operator: VCS
Charge: £100 (£60 if paid within 14 days)
Reason: stopping in a prohibited zone
Evidence: CCTV stills
From my perspective, this appeared to be normal pickup activity, rather than anything that would attract a penalty.
I have included the redacted document showing both chages.
https://i.postimg.cc/85V7W7Qq/MG-BRWDC567BC24E92-000074-Redacted.png
Before taking any action, I’d appreciate advice on:
Whether this is worth appealing
The usual grounds (signage, byelaws, etc.)
Best strategy at this stage
Thanks in advance.