Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: Combo44 on February 17, 2025, 04:37:00 pm
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Appeal deadline is Thursday 6th March. If you have not heard back from PALS by then, follow these instructions and send the appeal by email to appeals@localparkingsecurity.co.uk and CC in yourself.
Make sure that the unknown drivers identity is not revealed. There is no legal obligation on the known keeper (the recipient of the Notice to Keeper (NtK)) to reveal the identity of the unknown driver and no inference or assumptions can be made.
The NtK is not compliant with all the requirements of PoFA which means that if the unknown driver is not identified, they cannot transfer liability for the charge from the unknown driver to the known keeper.
Use the following as your appeal. No need to embellish or remove anything from it:
PCN No: [PCN number]
Vehicle Registration Mark [VRM]
I am the keeper of the vehicle and I dispute your 'parking charge'. I deny any liability or contractual agreement and I will be making a complaint about your predatory conduct to your client landowner.
As your Notice to Keeper (NtK) does not fully comply with ALL the requirements of PoFA 2012, you are unable to hold the keeper of the vehicle liable for the charge. Partial or even substantial compliance is not sufficient. There will be no admission as to who was driving and no inference or assumptions can be drawn. Smart Parking 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. Your NtK can only hold the driver liable. Smart have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.
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Cheers for your advice.
I called PALS this morning and following an eternity on hold I was told to email my appeal over to them so they 'could pass it to the car park company'...
Literally wasn't given any scope to appeal it with them there and then on the phone. Didn't feel too promising.
So I sent across my email appeal referring simply to 'the driver' and myself as the keeper. Appealed to their better nature and just gave the facts, didn't ask any questions re. profit etc.
She said it might take a month for me to hear back with a decision! This would take me over the 28 days of payment that LPS have said I have to pay the ticket ???
Presumably if they come back and reject my request to cancel the ticket I'll need to up the ante and contact LPS/Smart Parking directly..?
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Not really. Tell it as it is. It was not obvious to the driver that the location was a staff only car park. The driver had a valid reason to be at the hospital. The driver paid for the period of parking. Also ask whether the parking operator keeps any money paid to them for the charge? Because if this were to ever escalate to a claim, you would be requiring them to evidence their contract with the parking operator to show that "Contracts should not be let on any basis that incentivises additional charges, for example ‘income from parking charge notices only’".
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Thanks a lot for your reply, much appreciated.
Is there a specific angle or things to say when appealing to PALS to have it cancelled?
The main reason the charge feels unfair is it wasn't the keeper driving, it wasn't clear the parking space wasn't suitable for non-staff members, and the parking machines still allowed payment to be made for the parking (even though it wasn't a valid space to be parked in!)
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Before you do anything else, as the Keeper, you try Plan A. Plan A is to get the hospital PALS to get the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) cancelled.
Just in case you get any resistance, remind them of the NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles#:~:text=Free%20car%20parking%20for%20those,in%20accordance%20with%2C%20that%20guidance)
The is section in particular:
Contracted-out car parking
NHS organisations are responsible for the actions of private contractors who run car parks on their behalf.
NHS organisations should act against rogue contractors in line with the relevant codes of practice where applicable.
Contracts should not be let on any basis that incentivises additional charges, for example ‘income from parking charge notices only’.
If necessary go right to the top of the NHS Trust board. Glen Burley is the CEO and his email address is Glen.Burley@swft.nhs.uk
When you've actioned Plan A, come back and we can advise further.
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Hello all,
Hoping for some help please:
Upon attending Warwick Hospital on the 27th January, the driver found a car park space and attended A&E. It was an extremely stressful day as they were suffering from serious heart problems. When they had been seen to and treated, they left the hospital, paying for their parking on the parking machine as they exited.
Last week, I, the registered keeper, received a PCN through the post stating the driver had parked in a staff car parking bay. I'm sure some signage exists that states this, but it wasn't clear and the driver was completely unaware this was the case.
The PCN has been issued by LPS (Local Parking Security), now part of Smart Parking.
I've attached photos of the front and rear of the ticket.
Can I please have some advice on how to successfully contest this?
Many thanks for your help
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