Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: Portia on April 29, 2026, 05:43:09 pm
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Thank you @jfollows. The hirer will appeal, using the text you have provided below. There were no other documents included in the letter.
I will report back once the matter is concluded.
Thank you so much for the amazingly fast reply, it is appreciated.
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Presumably there were no additional documents included with the notice to hirer.
No, the driver doesn’t want to appeal, but the hirer can appeal:
Dear Sirs,
I have received you Notice to Hirer [(PCN number)] for Vehicle Registration Mark [VRM]. I am the hirer of the vehicle. There is no obligation for me to name the driver at the time and I will not be doing so.
To hold me liable for the charge as the hirer of the vehicle, you must meet the conditions specified in Paragraph 14 of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“the Act”). I note from your correspondence that you have failed to meet these conditions. These failures include (but are not limited to):
A failure to serve a Notice to Hirer containing all the information required by 14(5) of the Act.
A failure to include the additional documents mentioned by 13(2) of the Act.
As a result of this, you are unable to recover the specified charge from me, the hirer. As I do not have liability for this charge, I am unable to help you further with this matter. I therefore look forward to your confirmation that the charge has been cancelled.
Stop talking about the driver! The key point of the appeal is that the driver is not identified and liability can not be transferred to the hirer.
See https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/schedule/4
Hire vehicles
13(1)This paragraph applies in the case of parking charges incurred in respect of the parking of a vehicle on relevant land if—
(a)the vehicle was at the time of parking hired to any person under a hire agreement with a vehicle-hire firm; and
(b)the keeper has been given a notice to keeper within the relevant period for the purposes of paragraph 8(4) or 9(4) (as the case may be).
(2)The creditor may not exercise the right under paragraph 4 to recover from the keeper any unpaid parking charges specified in the notice to keeper if, within the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which that notice was given, the creditor is given—
(a)a statement signed by or on behalf of the vehicle-hire firm to the effect that at the material time the vehicle was hired to a named person under a hire agreement;
(b)a copy of the hire agreement; and
(c)a copy of a statement of liability signed by the hirer under that hire agreement.
(3)The statement of liability required by sub-paragraph (2)(c) must—
(a)contain a statement by the hirer to the effect that the hirer acknowledges responsibility for any parking charges that may be incurred with respect to the vehicle while it is hired to the hirer;
(b)include an address given by the hirer (whether a residential, business or other address) as one at which documents may be given to the hirer;
(and it is immaterial whether the statement mentioned in paragraph (a) relates also to other charges or penalties of any kind).
(4)A statement required by sub-paragraph (2)(a) or (c) must be in such form (if any) as may be prescribed by the appropriate national authority by regulations made by statutory instrument.
(5)The documents mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) must be given by—
(a)handing them to the creditor;
(b)leaving them at any address which is specified in the notice to keeper as an address at which documents may be given to the creditor or to which payments may be sent; or
(c)sending them by post to such an address so that they are delivered to that address within the period mentioned in that sub-paragraph.
(6)In this paragraph and paragraph 14—
(a)“hire agreement” means an agreement which—
(i)provides for a vehicle to be let to a person (“the hirer”) for a period of any duration (whether or not the period is capable of extension by agreement between the parties); and
(ii)is not a hire-purchase agreement within the meaning of the Consumer Credit Act 1974;
(b)any reference to the currency of a hire agreement includes a reference to any period during which, with the consent of the vehicle-hire firm, the hirer continues in possession of the vehicle as hirer, after the expiry of any period specified in the agreement but otherwise on terms and conditions specified in it; and
(c)“vehicle-hire firm” means any person engaged in the hiring of vehicles in the course of a business.
14(1)If—
(a)the creditor is by virtue of paragraph 13(2) unable to exercise the right to recover from the keeper any unpaid parking charges mentioned in the notice to keeper, and
(b)the conditions mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) below are met,
the creditor may recover those charges (so far as they remain unpaid) from the hirer.
(2)The conditions are that—
(a)the creditor has within the relevant period given the hirer a notice in accordance with sub-paragraph (5) (a “notice to hirer”), together with a copy of the documents mentioned in paragraph 13(2) and the notice to keeper;
(b)a period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the notice to hirer was given has elapsed; and
(c)the vehicle was not a stolen vehicle at the beginning of the period of parking to which the unpaid parking charges relate.
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Hello all
I hope this is a relatively straightforward case so posting here for help.
So as there is no confusion of dates of issue of PCN I will add a bit of background. Date of event 2 April. The vehicle is leased and lease company informed the registered keeper of the PCN on 16th April and that they had passed these details onto the parking company and to wait to receive the PCN before responding. The PCN has arrived today and redacted photo is attached here: https://ibb.co/wNgkMcxn (https://ibb.co/wNgkMcxn)
The issue is this: the reason for issue states Overstay.
Time in the car park is stated as 5hrs and 8 minutes but the driver paid for 6 hours. There was no overstay and the driver can't understand how this has been issued in the first place. The driver cannot go back to the car park and check signage as it was in Cornwall, a 4 hour drive away but a quick google shows the charge for 4 hours to be £4.80 and 6 hours = £6.00.
The driver has an online banking transaction showing payment was made to Napier Parking within 5 minutes of entering the car park for 6 hours of parking.
Obviously the driver wants to appeal but is it just a straightforward appeal or is there something the driver has missed/a 'gotcha' somewhere?