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Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: norton on February 25, 2025, 02:18:08 pm

Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on June 12, 2025, 11:10:12 am
Amy Smith was the moderator.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: DWMB2 on June 12, 2025, 11:01:11 am
Out of interest, what was the name of the assessor? Different assessors seem to take wildly different approaches to landowner authority and what they will and won't accept as evidence.

Seems you got a good one - well done!
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on June 12, 2025, 09:20:14 am
I finally got a decision on my appeal! Success!! Thank you to all that were involved and helped me, some really good advice on this forum. For interest, I'll post the assessor summary and comments below.


Assessor summary of your case
The appellant has raised the following points from their grounds of appeal which have been condensed for the purpose of my report: • The Notice to Keeper fails to comply with the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) – there is no keeper liability. They say close analysis shows that the notice is not fully compliant and must be absolute for keeper liability to comply. They say the operator has failed to meet Schedule 4 Paragraph 9 (e) (i) as there is no invitation for the keeper to pay, it does not meet (f) as there is no timeline. They say the wording of the PCN is incorrect and misleading as saying that £100 must be made within 28 days of the date issued is incorrect and there are two conflicting payment deadlines leading motorists to believe payment is required earlier than expected and legally required. They say 9 (2) (b) has not been met as the circumstances are not described. They say that 9 (2) (f) has not been met. They say the operator has failed to identify he creditor and Britania Parking is not a legal entity and does not appear on Companies House. Therefore, not meeting 9 (2) (f). They say 9 (4) has not been met as there has been no demonstration that the keeper was posted and this also does not meet the Private Parking Single Code of Practice in section 8.2 (e) note 2. • No valid contract formed – inadequate and unclear signage. They say the signs are not sufficient, displayed in prominent and visible locations, containing clear and legible wording or communicating the requirement to validate in 10 minutes. They say there must be a site map, photos of the signs from a driver’s perspective at the entry and kiosk and a sign containing the 10 minute requirement and the £100 charge. • They mention the Supreme Court Case heard between Parking Eye Ltd v Beavis 2015. They mention the 10 minute requirement being a core contractual condition and does not meet 7.2.3 of the code. They say the charge was not prominent and was unclear, failing to be distinguishable from the rest of the text. • The operator is put to strict proof of a valid contract with the landowner. It must have a current, valid contract with the landowner ‘Botley – The Dolphin’, confirms it can take action in its own name and the contract covers the required period. After reviewing the operator’s evidence, the appellant reiterates their grounds of appeal in further detail. The appellant states the landowner document is so heavily redacted it is impossible to confirm whether the contract is valid, PoFA requirements have not been met, the signs do not contain the 10 minute requirement and the operator has not responded to their concerns.


Assessor supporting rational for decision
I am allowing this appeal, with my reasoning outlined below: The burden of proof lies with the operator to prove the PCN has been issued correctly. In this case the PCN was issued as the vehicle parked without a valid payment. The appellant questions whether operator is properly authorised by the landowner and whether it holds a valid contract to enforce PCNs. They say the operator is put to strict proof of a valid contract with the landowner. It must have a current, valid contract with the landowner ‘Botley – The Dolphin’, confirms it can take action in its own name and the contract covers the required period. The Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice (The Code) sets the standards its parking operators need to comply with. Section 14.1 of the Code states that where controlled land is being managed on behalf of a landowner, written confirmation must be obtained before a parking charge can be issued. In this case the operator has provided POPLA with a copy of contract, however this evidence does not confirm that there is an agreement with the landowner as the name and address of the landowner is fully redacted. Whilst it confirms the address, in the absence of the landowner’s name and address, I cannot conclude that the operator had a valid contract with the owner of this land on the date of the event. It is within the operator’s gift to provide POPLA with evidence to fully rebut the appellant’s grounds raised and in this instance, I am not satisfied the copy of the contract does rebut their grounds. POPLA’s role is to assess if the operator has issued the PCN in accordance with the conditions of the contract. As the operator failed to provide a full copy of a compliant agreement with the landowner , I am not satisfied that the operator has issued this PCN correctly, and accordingly the appeal is allowed. The appellant has raised other grounds in their appeal, but as I am allowing the appeal, it is not necessary for me to address these.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on April 08, 2025, 05:01:59 pm
Just use the following as your rebuttal which you can copy and paste into the POPLA response webform:

Quote
This is my rebuttal to Britannia Parking’s evidence.

Britannia has failed to properly respond to the main points raised in my appeal. Their evidence pack contains large amounts of generic text and irrelevant photographs, but it does not address the actual legal arguments that were presented.

The Notice to Keeper is not compliant with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA). Britannia repeatedly claim that their notice is PoFA compliant, but they fail to address the specific breaches pointed out in the appeal. Merely repeating that a notice is compliant does not make it so. Just as someone cannot be partially or even mostly pregnant – they either are or they aren’t – a Parking Charge Notice cannot be partially or even mostly PoFA compliant. It either is or it isn’t. This is a binary issue, and in this case, the notice is not fully PoFA compliant.

The Notice to Keeper fails to include the statutory wording required under paragraph 9(2)(e)(i) of PoFA. That paragraph states that the notice must invite the keeper to do one of two things: either pay the unpaid charge or notify the creditor of the name and current address of the driver. The use of the word “invite” is deliberate and important. It reflects the fact that there is no legal obligation on the keeper to identify the driver to a private company. The law does not permit any implied obligation. The notice must make this position explicitly clear.

Britannia’s NtK does not include any such invitation. Instead, it states that the driver is required to pay the charge in full and that the keeper should provide the driver’s details. This is not what PoFA requires. There is no statement that the keeper is invited to pay the charge. Nor is there any recognition that naming the driver is optional. The word “invite” does not appear anywhere in the relevant section of the notice.

This is not a minor issue. Paragraph 9(2)(e)(i) is a mandatory condition. If the notice fails to meet this requirement, then keeper liability under PoFA cannot apply. Partial or assumed compliance is not good enough. The law requires the invitation to be clearly and expressly stated. Britannia has failed to include it, and they have failed to address this omission in their response. Their repeated assertion that the NtK is PoFA compliant does not make it so.

They have also misrepresented the 28-day statutory period under paragraph 9(2)(f). The notice says the keeper has 28 days “from the date given,” which they define as two working days after posting. However, the law requires that the 28-day period begins the day after the notice is deemed “given.” Britannia wrongly uses the “given” date as Day 1. This shortens the statutory response period by a full day and misleads the recipient.

The notice does not clearly identify the creditor as required by paragraph 9(2)(h). It simply refers to “Britannia Parking,” which is not a legal entity. There are at least four different companies in the Britannia group, including Britannia Parking Group Ltd, Britannia Parking Services Ltd, Britannia Parking Management Ltd, and Britannia Parking Ltd. Each is a separate legal entity. The notice does not name which one is the creditor, nor does it include a company number or registered address. The assessor cannot be expected to guess which company is claiming the charge. The notice must clearly identify the legal entity to whom the charge is owed.

There is no valid proof of posting. Britannia has submitted a printout from a third-party mail company showing the date the notice was generated and passed to them. That is not a proof of posting. There is no Royal Mail receipt or confirmation that the notice was actually posted. Furthermore, Britannia admits using “2–3 day delivery,” which is second class post. Second class mail does not trigger the two-working-day presumption of delivery under the Interpretation Act 1978. Without valid proof of posting by first class mail, they cannot rely on the 14-day service window under PoFA paragraph 9(4).

Britannia has not provided a single clear sign showing the 10-minute validation requirement in a prominent and legible way. Their evidence pack includes multiple photos, but most are taken from wide angles or are too blurry or distant to show any meaningful content. The key condition that supposedly forms the basis of the £100 charge – that the driver must validate their stay within 10 minutes – is not shown in any image as a clear and prominent term. That is a breach of the Private Parking Single Code of Practice, and it means no contract could have been formed on those terms.

The contract with the landowner is so heavily redacted that it is not reliable. The termination clause is completely blacked out, meaning it is impossible to tell whether the contract was valid and in force on the date of the alleged contravention. POPLA requires operators to prove that they had authority at the relevant time. Britannia has not shown this.

The evidence pack contains many irrelevant images, including photos of walls, street furniture, plumbing fixtures and other background items that have no connection to the signage or the terms and conditions. These appear included just to bulk out the submission and confuse the issue. They do not support the operator’s case and should be ignored.

Most importantly, Britannia has not responded directly to the points made in the appeal. Instead, they have copied and pasted large amounts of standard text and made generic statements about their compliance. They have not rebutted the detailed PoFA breaches, nor have they proven that a contract was formed or that they had authority to issue the charge.

Conclusion: The Parking Charge Notice is not PoFA compliant. The signage is inadequate. The landowner contract is incomplete. The operator has not addressed the appeal arguments or provided the evidence required. This charge must be cancelled.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: H C Andersen on April 08, 2025, 04:56:35 pm
Where does the prominent sign in evidence refer to '10 minutes' with the same clarity as the other major terms?

If 10 minutes applies, then the breach occurred at 18.14, not at any other time. I'm still baffled at to when the breach occurred.

..nearly as baffled as to why the OP didn't provide a receipt. If we're talking of evidence then there is none that any person in the vehicle actually patronised the pub.

And on a point of accuracy, PoFA does not specify that a NTK must include details of by when payment of the charge is to be paid, in fact it's quite vague:
b)inform the keeper that the driver is required to pay parking charges in respect of the specified period of parking and that the parking charges have not been paid in full;

(c)describe the parking charges due from the driver as at the end of that period, the circumstances in which the requirement to pay them arose (including the means by which the requirement was brought to the attention of drivers) and the other facts that made them payable;


(d)specify the total amount of those parking charges that are unpaid, as at a time which is—

(i)specified in the notice; and

(ii)no later than the end of the day before the day on which the notice is either sent by post or, as the case may be, handed to or left at a current address for service for the keeper (see sub-paragraph (4));


The only reference to a period in this context is the warning regarding at what point the creditor may hold the keeper liable. Just because this states 28 days does not mean that payment of the charge has to be made within the same period. The latter has been drawn from the former, but it's not stipulated. Imputing a meaning is one thing, but it doesn't make it mandatory or directory. 

IMO, there's too much enphasis placed on this in the appeal.

Similarly, trying to draw a distinction between the effects of '28 days from the date given' and '28 days beginning on the date after that on which the notice is given'. IMO, these are the same. 'From' excludes the trigger event IMO. There's case law on this. 'From' and 'within' and their variants exclude the trigger event which is why the form of words 'beginning on the date of' are used when this is intended to be conveyed.

And 'must state' does not mean must carry the words verbatim, this is established in case law, but it does mean that whatever is written must convey the correct meaning and not mislead.

IMO.

OP, I suggest you shift your focus.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on April 08, 2025, 04:15:49 pm
You need to provide public access. Just make sure that all your personal data is redacted. Do not redact any dates or times.

Apologies. We'll get there in the end. Please try now. Have removed all personal details.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on April 08, 2025, 04:11:26 pm
You need to provide public access. Just make sure that all your personal data is redacted. Do not redact any dates or times.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on April 08, 2025, 04:03:03 pm
I refuse to download large PDF files when you could simply host it as suggested and then I don't have to clutter up my HD with other people data. It's not difficult.

That's fair enough. No problem. here is the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/14xYdUOt-hivUcN7Ti_CxdqmM80iIvhVl/view?usp=drive_link

Appreciate your help.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on April 08, 2025, 03:51:27 pm
I refuse to download large PDF files when you could simply host it as suggested and then I don't have to clutter up my HD with other people data. It's not difficult.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on April 08, 2025, 03:26:47 pm
Please host the redacted evidence pack on DropBox or Google Drive.
Should be attached to the previous post as as PDF. Can try a different link if you can't download it.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on April 08, 2025, 02:43:52 pm
Please host the redacted evidence pack on DropBox or Google Drive.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on April 08, 2025, 02:21:11 pm
This is the evidence they've sent to POPLA, quite a big document!
Do I need to comment on this? I have the option to.

[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on April 01, 2025, 11:44:21 am
Amazing! Thank you so much! The appeal was submitted this morning, so lets see what happens. I owe you a beer :-)
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on March 31, 2025, 04:31:13 pm
Here is a draft POPLA appeal you could use:

Quote
POPLA Verification Code: 6010905045
Vehicle Registration: P777 AJN
Parking Charge Number: 13927702
Location: Botley – The Dolphin
Date of Alleged Contravention: 07/02/2025
Date of NtK Issue: 13/02/2025

Grounds of Appeal:

1. The NtK fails to comply with PoFA Schedule 4 – Keeper liability cannot apply.
2. Inadequate evidence that a legally binding contract was capable of being formed.
3. Failure to clearly communicate key contractual terms, including the 10-minute validation requirement.
4. The operator is put to strict proof of a valid and contemporaneous contract with the landowner.

1. The NtK fails to comply with PoFA Schedule 4 – Keeper liability cannot apply.

Britannia Parking cannot rely on keeper liability under PoFA 2012 due to multiple breaches of Schedule 4, including but not limited to:

• Failure to include the statutory invitation to the keeper to pay or name the driver (PoFA 9(2)(e)(i)).

The Notice to Keeper entirely omits the mandatory wording required by paragraph 9(2)(e)(i) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This provision obliges the operator to explicitly invite the keeper to either pay the parking charge or provide the name and address of the driver. This is not optional wording, nor can its meaning be inferred from context or from the fact that the notice is addressed to the keeper. The legislation requires a clear and unambiguous invitation to be present on the face of the notice.

Britannia’s NtK fails to include this statutory invitation at all. There is no mention of any choice being offered to the keeper to name the driver or pay the charge. The courts have been clear that PoFA is not a matter of assumed or implied compliance: if any required paragraph is not followed to the letter, keeper liability cannot arise. The operator’s repeated references to paragraph 9(2)(b) — which simply states that the NtK must describe the circumstances — do not and cannot substitute for compliance with 9(2)(e)(i). Their failure to include this key provision is a fatal defect that voids any attempt to transfer liability to the registered keeper.

• Misrepresentation of the statutory payment period (PoFA 9(2)(f)).

Paragraph 9(2)(f) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 requires that a Notice to Keeper must inform the keeper that after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after the notice is given, the creditor will have the right to recover the unpaid parking charge from the keeper (if all other conditions are met and the driver has not been named). The legislation is precise: the 28-day period must begin the day after the notice is deemed to have been 'given', not the date the notice was issued or the date it was received.

The NtK issued by Britannia Parking fundamentally misrepresents this statutory requirement. It states:

“You are advised that if, after 28 days from the date given, (which is presumed to be the second working day after the date Issued), the Parking Charge has not been paid in full… we have the right to recover the charge from the registered keeper.”

This is legally incorrect and misleading on multiple fronts:

PoFA defines the start of the 28-day period as the day after the notice is 'given'. Britannia defines the 28 days as running from the ‘date given’. This unlawfully shortens the statutory grace period by one full day.

Britannia relies on the presumption of service (two working days after posting) to calculate the ‘date given’, but instead of commencing the 28-day period the day after this date (as required by law), they treat the ‘date given’ itself as Day 1. This is a clear and deliberate misstatement of the legislation.

The compounded effect of this error is that the recipient is misled into believing enforcement may lawfully commence a day earlier than is permitted by statute — a breach of the transparency obligations under both PoFA and the Private Parking Single Code of Practice.

Furthermore, the notice gives the impression that keeper liability automatically arises if the charge is not paid within the shortened period, regardless of whether the conditions of PoFA have been met. This is not only false but arguably an act of misleading or aggressive commercial practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

To summarise: PoFA 9(2)(f) requires 28 full days to elapse starting the day after the notice is 'given'. Britannia unlawfully counts the ‘date given’ itself as Day 1, thereby shortening the keeper’s statutory period to respond. This is not a minor technicality — it is a direct and material misstatement of the law which renders the NtK non-compliant and invalidates any claim to keeper liability.

• Failure to clearly identify the creditor to whom the charge is owed (PoFA 9(2)(h)).

Paragraph 9(2)(h) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 requires that a Notice to Keeper must “identify the creditor”—meaning it must clearly and unambiguously state the legal entity to whom the unpaid parking charge is owed. This is a mandatory statutory requirement and is critical to establishing any enforceable liability under PoFA.

The NtK issued by Britannia Parking fails this requirement. It refers throughout to “Britannia Parking” without any indication of the specific legal entity issuing the charge or to whom payment is owed. “Britannia Parking” is not itself a legal entity and does not appear as such on the Companies House register. Instead, there are multiple similarly-named companies listed, including but not limited to:

• Britannia Parking Group Limited
• Britannia Parking Services Limited
• Britannia Parking Management Limited
• Britannia Parking Limited

The NtK fails to specify which of these corporate entities is acting as the creditor. There is no registered company number given on the face of the NtK, no reference to which Britannia company is party to the alleged parking contract, and no corporate identifier that would enable a reasonable recipient to determine who is legally owed the charge.

This omission is not trivial. The obligation under PoFA 9(2)(h) is to identify the creditor—not simply to imply or assume it, or to rely on generic branding. It is not enough to use a trading style or group brand name where there are multiple companies with the same brand but different legal personalities. The requirement exists precisely to ensure transparency and certainty regarding who the alleged debt is owed to, in the same way a contractual counterparty must be properly identified for a contract to be enforceable.

The failure to identify the creditor means the NtK does not meet the conditions for keeper liability under PoFA. No such liability can arise unless all mandatory elements are present and correct. By omitting this essential information, Britannia Parking has rendered the notice invalid for the purposes of Schedule 4 and cannot lawfully pursue the registered keeper.

• Failure to prove the Notice to Keeper was actually posted (PoFA 9(4), PPSCoP 8.1.2(e), and the Interpretation Act 1978).

Britannia has failed to demonstrate that the Notice to Keeper was actually posted, as required by PoFA 9(4), which states that the notice must be given (delivered) to the keeper within 14 days, or presumed delivered in accordance with the postal provisions under the Interpretation Act 1978.

Britannia relies on what they call a “certificate of posting,” but this is in fact not a "proof of posting certificate" at all. It is merely a system-generated confirmation from a third-party mail consolidator, showing only that Britannia transferred the notice to that consolidator for processing. This does not prove that the notice was physically posted — i.e., handed to Royal Mail or entered the postal system on the same day. It simply proves that it was generated and sent electronically to a bulk print/mail provider. That is not the same thing as posting, and it does not satisfy PoFA.

This precise failure is anticipated and directly addressed in the Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP), Clause 8.1.2(e), Note 2, which states:

“Operators must retain a record of the date of posting of a notice, not simply of that notice having been generated (e.g. the date that any third-party Mail Consolidator actually put it in the postal system).”

Britannia has provided no evidence that the notice was actually entered into the Royal Mail system on the stated issue date, or even within the required period to be able show presumption of delivery within the 14 day period. They have not shown a Royal Mail receipt, dispatch log, or any other physical evidence that confirms the notice was posted.

Worse still, Britannia have confirmed that their delivery class is “2–3 day delivery.” This is clearly second-class post, not first class. Under the Interpretation Act 1978, only first class post triggers a statutory presumption of delivery two working days after posting. Second class post has no such two-day presumption, and may be presumed delivered not less than 3 working days after posting. Therefore, Britannia’s own admission about the postal class destroys their ability to rely on the PoFA 14-day service rule via presumption.

In summary:

• The “certificate of posting” proves nothing about actual posting.
• No evidence has been provided to confirm that Royal Mail accepted or handled the notice.
• The delivery method was second class, which does not support a two-working-day presumption of delivery.

Therefore, Britannia has not complied with PoFA 9(4), the PPSCoP, or the Interpretation Act.
Without actual proof of posting via first class mail, Britannia cannot rely on any presumption of service, and the notice must be considered delivered outside the 14-day window. Keeper liability under PoFA therefore does not apply.

Because Britannia has failed to comply with multiple mandatory conditions, keeper liability does not apply. POPLA has no alternative but to uphold this appeal on this point alone.

2. Inadequate evidence that a legally binding contract was capable of being formed.

The alleged contravention is based on a failure to validate the stay by entering the vehicle registration into a kiosk within 10 minutes of arrival. For such a contractual obligation to be enforceable, Britannia Parking must prove that:

• There was sufficient signage on site,
• Displayed in prominent and visible locations,
• Containing clear and legible wording,
• Communicating the material terms of the alleged contract, including the requirement to validate within 10 minutes, and the consequences of not doing so.

They are not required to prove that the driver actually read the signs, but they are required to demonstrate that the signage was such that a reasonable driver would have been aware of the terms before being deemed to have accepted them. This is the minimum threshold for contract formation under the principle of incorporation of terms by notice, as affirmed in ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67.

To date, Britannia has not supplied any evidence of the signage at the site, including:

• A site map showing the location of signs relative to the vehicle’s route and the kiosk,
• Photographs of the signage as seen from a driver’s perspective, particularly on entry and at the kiosk,
• A readable image of the sign displaying the 10-minute validation requirement and warning of the £100 charge.

Without such evidence, POPLA cannot be satisfied that the signage met the standard required to convey binding contractual terms to a reasonable motorist. Furthermore, if the validation requirement was buried in small print, not visible from a moving vehicle, or not immediately apparent upon parking, then no contract can be said to have been formed.

It is not open to Britannia to assert that a contract existed unless they provide compelling proof that their signage was capable of creating one. In the absence of such proof, no contractual liability can arise, and the Parking Charge Notice must be cancelled.

3. Failure to clearly communicate key contractual terms, including the 10-minute validation requirement.

Britannia asserts that motorists must enter their vehicle registration into a kiosk within 10 minutes of arrival or face a £100 charge. This is not a minor procedural detail — it is a core contractual condition, the breach of which allegedly triggers the charge. It therefore must be given particular prominence on the signage, in accordance with the Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) Clause 7.2.3, which states:

“Terms that may result in charges or other liabilities must be made clear and prominently displayed at the locations where they apply. These terms must be clearly identifiable as the key terms and distinguishable from less important information.”

Britannia has failed to provide any evidence that this 10-minute validation requirement is:

• Displayed in large, prominent font;
• Unambiguous and clearly stated as a condition precedent to avoiding a charge;
• Highlighted in any way (e.g., bold, contrasting colour) to differentiate it from general terms;
• Located at key decision points, such as the car park entrance or payment kiosk.

Without this evidence, POPLA cannot possibly conclude that any contract was capable of being formed on these terms. The Supreme Court in ParkingEye v Beavis upheld the enforceability of a parking charge specifically because the £85 charge was prominently displayed in large text and the key terms were clear. That case cannot be used as a blanket justification for signage that hides its most critical term in small print or makes it discoverable only after a breach has occurred.

If the 10-minute condition is not sufficiently visible and distinguishable from surrounding text, then the operator cannot reasonably assert that any motorist — let alone one arriving in a moving vehicle — would be aware of it in time to comply. It is not enough to bury the requirement somewhere in dense text or expect that the motorist will seek it out unaided. The burden lies squarely with the operator to prove that the signage communicated this term clearly and prominently.

In the absence of any such evidence, Britannia has not met the evidential threshold required to demonstrate that a contract was properly offered or that its terms were fairly and prominently communicated. Accordingly, the Parking Charge Notice cannot be enforced.

4. The operator is put to strict proof of a valid and contemporaneous contract with the landowner.

The burden lies with Britannia Parking to demonstrate that they have the necessary legal standing to issue Parking Charge Notices and to offer contracts to motorists at the site in question. POPLA has consistently held that operators must provide evidence of their authority to operate on the land, not merely generic or assumed authority.

Britannia is put to strict proof that:

• They have a current, valid contract with the landowner of the site known as "Botley – The Dolphin";
• That this contract grants them the right to issue Parking Charge Notices and to take legal action in their own name;
• That the contract is held by the specific Britannia entity pursuing the charge, not merely “Britannia Parking” as a group or brand;
• That the contract covers the relevant period, including the date of the alleged contravention.

As previously stated, “Britannia Parking” is not a legal entity. There are multiple companies registered at Companies House using the “Britannia Parking” brand or variants thereof. POPLA must be satisfied that the exact corporate entity issuing this charge has the contractual right to do so. An operator cannot rely on presumed or umbrella authority. There must be a clear and direct chain of authority between the landowner and the specific party enforcing the terms.

If the operator fails to produce a suitably redacted copy of this contract, or otherwise fails to meet the evidential burden of proving landowner authority, the appeal must be allowed.

Conclusion:

The Notice to Keeper is fundamentally non-compliant with multiple mandatory provisions of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Britannia Parking has failed to:

• Include the statutory invitation required by PoFA 9(2)(e)(i);
• Accurately convey the 28-day period under PoFA 9(2)(f);
• Identify the correct legal creditor under PoFA 9(2)(h);
• Prove the notice was posted in accordance with PoFA 9(4), the Interpretation Act, and PPSCoP 8.1.2(e).

In addition, Britannia has failed to demonstrate that a legally binding contract could have been formed due to the absence of evidence of adequate signage clearly communicating the 10-minute validation condition. They have also not provided proof of landowner authority for the specific corporate entity pursuing the charge.

All of these are fatal defects. Britannia's template-style responses demonstrate a refusal to engage with the specific legal points raised and a complete disregard for statutory and code compliance.

For all the above reasons, I request that POPLA allow this appeal and require Britannia Parking to cancel this unenforceable Parking Charge Notice.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on March 31, 2025, 03:14:45 pm
Well it seems our friends at Britannia have not given up and are digging their heels in. I've just received another reply and got my POPLA code along with another fake "proof of posting" Please see attached. Any further advice gratefully received.

[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: DWMB2 on March 25, 2025, 05:29:40 pm
Of all the operators, Britannia has to be one of the most haphazard in their responses to appeals - it's a lucky dip which logo they'll put on their letterhead, let alone what bizarre response they'll churn out. I really can't figure them out.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on March 25, 2025, 04:25:20 pm
Ha! I like the tone of that. I have replied exactly as you suggest. Many thanks again for your input. I will let you know what response I receive :-)
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on March 25, 2025, 03:30:54 pm
Just respond with this:

Quote
Subject: Re: Parking Charge 13927702 – Your Ongoing Failure to Address Statutory Non-Compliance

Dear Britannia Parking Appeals Team,

Thank you for your latest non-response dated 25 March 2025.

Once again, you have entirely failed to address the specific and serious legal deficiencies I raised. Instead of engaging with the substance of my appeal, you continue to parrot irrelevant excerpts from Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, as though simply quoting it somehow validates your position.

Let me help you understand, since this seems to be a recurring problem for you.

PoFA is not a “best efforts” checklist. It is an all-or-nothing statute. You cannot be “mostly PoFA compliant” any more than someone can be “mostly pregnant.” It’s binary: you either fully comply, or you don’t. And since I’ve already itemised your multiple and fatal failures—including your omission of the mandatory invitation wording under 9(2)(e)(i), the misrepresentation of the statutory deadline under 9(2)(f), your failure to identify the creditor under 9(2)(h), and the absence of proof of actual posting in line with PPSCoP 8.1.2(e)—your NtK is, quite simply, not compliant. Therefore, no right to pursue the registered keeper arises under PoFA.

Now, as for your persistent attempts to pressure me into naming the driver:

Please get it into your intellectually malnourished minds that I am under no legal obligation whatsoever to identify the driver to an unregulated private company. PoFA confers the right to pursue the keeper only if all statutory conditions are met. Since you have failed to meet those conditions, I owe you nothing—not money, not information, and certainly not the driver’s details.

You can repeat your misguided assertions about keeper liability until the cows come home. It won’t make them true. Burying your heads in the sand and hoping I’ll eventually capitulate is not a strategy; it’s a delusion.

If you insist on continuing to demand the driver’s identity despite your glaring lack of entitlement, I can only refer you to the answer famously given in Arkell v Pressdram (1971).

Your options remain unchanged:

• Cancel this unenforceable charge and cease the unlawful processing of my data.
• Issue a formal rejection along with a POPLA code, so I can highlight your repeated breaches and PoFA non-compliance in full detail to an independent assessor.

I expect a substantive reply that responds to each specific point already raised, not another irrelevant boilerplate paragraph. Do not insult my intelligence with a third non-answer.

Yours insincerely,

[Your Name]
Registered Keeper
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on March 25, 2025, 10:19:40 am
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions, I did as you suggested. I received the attached today. They seem to have ignored all my previous responses and still want me to name the driver.

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Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: td89 on March 18, 2025, 12:20:04 pm
You too? I also got one from the Dolphin pub!

https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/britannia-pcn-overstayed-dolphin-pub-botley/msg60714/#msg60714

I contacted the publican who didn't sound that interested seeing as we weren't customers at that time.

@b789 thanks for these templates, I'll borrow these to handle my PCN too.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on March 17, 2025, 03:39:10 pm
Why are you trying to conduct this without following the advice and using all sorts of wording that indicates to them that you are a likely mug, ripe for picking off the gullible tree?

Simply respond with the following:

Quote
Subject: Re: Appeal Rejection – Britannia’s Continued Non-Compliance

Dear Magdalena,

Thank you for your response, which demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of PoFA, the PPSCoP, and basic legal principles. You’ve managed to completely ignore every single failure of your own Notice to Keeper (NtK), instead parroting a legally baseless assumption that merely claiming PoFA compliance somehow makes it so.

Unfortunately for Britannia, PoFA is not a pick-and-mix buffet where you get to cherry-pick compliance. Either an NtK meets all mandatory conditions, or it doesn’t. And yours doesn’t. It’s like pregnancy—you either are, or you aren’t. There’s no such thing as being ‘a little bit PoFA compliant.’

Since you evidently failed to properly read my initial appeal properly, let me spell it out again:

• Your NtK does not contain the mandatory PoFA 9(2)(e)(i) wording. The statute is clear... There can be no implied obligation. The invitation to the keeper must be included. Your omission alone is enough to invalidate keeper liability.
• Your payment deadline misrepresents PoFA 9(2)(f). The legally prescribed 28-day period starts from the day after the notice is given, not from the arbitrary internal deadline you’ve made up.
• You have failed to clearly identify the creditor, breaching PoFA 9(2)(h). Simply naming Britannia Parking somewhere in the notice does not meet this requirement.
• Your 'proof of posting' is worthless. A mail consolidator’s hybrid email receipt is not proof that the notice entered the postal system on the stated date. As per PPSCoP 8.1.2(e) Note 2, which very clearly states: "Therefore, parking operators must retain a record of the date of posting of a notice, not simply of that notice having been generated (e.g. the date that any third-party Mail Consolidator actually put it in the postal system.)" So, your consolidators receipt is not evidence of the date they put the notice into the postal system. Without this proof, the presumption of service cannot apply.

Now, onto the blatant misinformation in your response. Your claim that I am liable for the charge unless I name the driver is utter nonsense. Liability under PoFA does not arise simply because Britannia wants it to—it only arises if you have met all statutory conditions. Which, as demonstrated above, you have not.

Your pathetic attempt to intimidate me into disclosing the driver’s details is noted. It won’t work. I am under no legal obligation to assist Britannia in identifying the driver, and given your clear non-compliance with PoFA, there is no valid claim against me as the keeper.

You now have two choices:

1. Cancel this unenforceable charge now, saving Britannia the embarrassment of having it formally discredited at POPLA.
2. Press ahead with a doomed POPLA appeal, where I will dismantle your case, highlighting every regulatory breach in excruciating detail.

Either way, this charge is dead in the water. But by all means, feel free to waste your company’s money. I’d almost feel bad for Britannia Parking—if they weren’t such a predatory, incompetent outfit.

Yours insincerely,

[Your Name]
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: G6PRK on March 17, 2025, 12:42:08 pm
You're right to be suspicious of their angle - but it's not completely unheard of for these sorts of things to be dropped.

If they can get into their tiny minds "this person was a genuine customer and only overstayed for a few minutes, therefore we'd have no hope in court" they may well drop it.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on March 17, 2025, 12:25:44 pm
In this particular car park it was a 3 hour "free" limit, and then you had to pay to go beyond that. So it's not really relevant if I had a ticket or not, the time was a few minutes over the 3 hours, so not sure what angle they were trying to take with this one.
Point taken about the stages, I guess by this, I meant that I was going to validate the ticket as the registered keeper before I went on to identify the driver... which of course I won't be doing :-)

I'm guessing from your profile name you're an amateur radio user?
De M0OOS

73 :-)
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: G6PRK on March 17, 2025, 12:17:09 pm
I think you may be overthinking this - which is certainly better than under-thinking it!

You may be right that they're trying to catch you out, but on the off chance they are willing to consider evidence that the driver had a right to be there, there's no harm in supplying it. Just be careful with your wording

i.e. "Further to your email XYZ, and referring to appeal XYZ, the driver has supplied me with the following receipt. I trust this will be enough for PCN to be cancelled"

--

As an aside, I note in your appeal and reply you are talking about "getting to the driver identification stage" - to be clear there is no such stage. You do not need to identify the driver. If there is no POFA compliance, they cannot transfer liability from the unknown driver to the known keeper. If there were POFA compliance they could, but you will still likely appeal as the keeper, not shift liability of your own accord.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: jfollows on March 17, 2025, 12:15:17 pm
The things they’re asking for can never be proof of who the driver was, although I’m sure they’d like you to divulge this by accident. Surely a passenger can buy food or drink in a pub?
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on March 17, 2025, 12:01:26 pm
Sorry, just been through my sent items and I don't seem to have the original appeal wording. I guess its not in email form, and I didn't save a copy... however I did get this initial reply to my appeal.


Thank you for your appeal. Please provide us proof of purchase at the pub (E.g receipt showing
food/drink was purchased or a bank statement) and we will review this with your appeal.
 We have placed the Parking Charge on hold for 14 days to allow for you to send this information.
Please be aware due to awaiting for additional evidence your appeal response may exceed our 28
day deadline.
 Please email your additional evidence to parkingcharges@britpark.com referencing your Parking
Charge Number and Vehicle Registration or send it to our registered head office address in Poole


I assume here that they were trying to get me to admit to being the driver, since if I had a receipt it would prove I was there!

I replied as follows :-

Hi
Thanks for your message.
I am responding as the registered keeper of the vehicle. We are still at the stage of verifying the legality of your notice before we move on to identifying the driver.
Please provide the proof of postage I requested. You are obliged to have got this notice to me within 14 days which you failed to do.
Once we have addressed this plus other breaches of the standards you need to comply with, we can move on.
Unless you can provide proof of postage I don’t think we will get to the driver identification stage.



Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: G6PRK on March 17, 2025, 11:32:00 am
Would be useful to see the actual wording of your appeal.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on March 17, 2025, 11:16:37 am
Thanks both for your replies. Unfortunately I didn't see your messages in time, so replied broadly on the same lines without the detail. I complained about the quality of the "photo evidence" and that the letter had arrived outside the specified time frame.

I got the reply below today - please see their attachment for the "proof of postage" I've replied with the information you gave above, and also stated that this "Unity 5" document does not qualify as proof of postage - this seems to be a third party cloud based app they use to process their letters. It doesn't prove it entered the royal mail system who delivered the letter.


Good Morning,

Thank you for your email.
 
Please be aware that you have been notified under paragraph 9(2)(b) of schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that the driver of the motor vehicle is required to pay this parking charge in full.

You are advised that if, after 28 days from the date given, (which is presumed to be the second working day after the date Issued), the Parking Charge has not been paid in full and Britannia Parking do not know both the name and current address of the driver, we have the right to recover any unpaid part of the Parking Charge from the registered keeper. This warning is given to you under Paragraph 9(2)(f) of schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and is subject to our compliance with the applicable conditions under Schedule 4 of that Act.

Should we be provided with an incorrect address for service, we will pursue the registered keeper for any Parking Charge that remains unpaid. Therefore, after 28 days if you have not provided us with the driver’s name and address you will be liable to pay the Parking Charge, regardless of whether you were the driver at the time or not.

Please be aware that this site is an ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) controlled car park. It is not feasible to calibrate the ANPR system to recognise the driver.

Our cameras are designed to only capture the vehicle and the registration plates.

Due to GDPR, should the images capture motorist faces, we will black these out. Therefore, we are unable to provide you with photographic evidence of the driver at the time of the contravention.

It is the keeper’s responsibility to make sure that only authorised individuals are entitled to use their vehicle.

Please provide us full details including name and address of the driver at the time of the contravention otherwise, as registered keeper you may hold liable for the Parking Charge.

Please see attached requested postage certificate.

Please be informed that the Parking Charge has been issued and sent to you on 13/02/2025 the contravention had place on 07/02/2025, therefore Parking Charge has been issued and sent within 14 days.

Britannia Parking cannot be held responsible for postal correspondence once they have entered Royal Mails postal system.
 






Kind Regards,
 
 
Magdalena
Client Services Administrator
 
Britannia Parking, 7th Floor, County Gates House, 300 Poole Road, Poole, BH12 1AZ
Tel: 01202 555888
Web: www.britpark.com   

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Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: DWMB2 on March 07, 2025, 05:26:05 pm
Quote
Misuse of DVLA data by pursuing a charge where PoFA conditions have not been met.

Perhaps "Misuse of DVLA data by falsely claiming keeper liability, when PoFA conditions have not been met"

They're entitled to use DVLA data to issue a parking charge - what they can't do is claim to be able to recover from the keeper when they haven't met the necessary conditions to do so.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on March 07, 2025, 05:08:39 pm
Appeal as the Keeper with the following:

Quote
I am appealing this Parking Charge Notice as the registered keeper of the vehicle.

Your Notice to Keeper (NtK) fails to comply with all the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA), meaning you cannot hold me liable for the charge. Partial or even substantial compliance is not sufficient.

It also fails to meet all the mandatory requirements of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP). As you are fully aware, compliance with both PoFA and the PPSCoP is a condition of your KADOE contract with the DVLA, and your failure to adhere to these conditions not only renders this charge invalid but will be highlighted in a formal complaint to the DVLA for investigation.

Your NtK fails to meet the following statutory conditions in order to transfer liability to the keeper, including but not limited to:

• PoFA 9(2)(e)(i): Fails to include the mandatory ‘invitation’ wording for the keeper to pay or name the driver.
• PoFA 9(2)(f): Incorrect payment deadline, failing to allow the full 28 days before further enforcement action.
• PoFA 9(2)(h): Fails to clearly identify the creditor to whom the charge is owed.
• PoFA 9(4): Serious doubt over whether the NtK was posted on the date of issue, as it was received significantly later than expected under the presumption of service.

Since PoFA liability is only enforceable if ALL mandatory conditions are met, and your notice fails multiple key requirements, you cannot lawfully hold me liable for this charge.

Your NtK also fails to meet the standards set out in the PPSCoP, including but not limited to:

• Incorrect payment deadline, failing to allow the required 28-day period before enforcement action.
• Misuse of DVLA data by pursuing a charge where PoFA conditions have not been met.
• Failure to comply with the mandatory conditions of PoFA Schedule 4, which means keeper liability cannot be enforced.
• Failure to clearly and properly identify the legal entity acting as the creditor.
• Doubt over whether the NtK was actually posted on the stated issue date, raising concerns about misleading documentation.

As I fully expect this appeal will inevitably be rejected, regardless of its merit, as that is the standard practice of rogue/cowboy private parking operators, I do not intend to expand on these breaches in this initial appeal. However, if Britannia wish to waste their money funding a full POPLA appeal, where you are bound to fail, then be my guest. At that stage, I will expand on each and every failure in full, including why continuing to process the DVLA data when the NtK itself is non-compliant, Britannia is acting unlawfully.

Alternatively, you can do the sensible thing, save us both a complete waste of time and cancel this unenforceable PCN now.
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on March 07, 2025, 02:38:48 pm
Got the first reminder through today, looks like I'm going to have to do something. Anyone have any further advice for me?
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on March 03, 2025, 10:01:14 am
Hi - Thanks for the advice. I've attempted plan A and contacted the pub but I don't seem to have got very far with that. The manager seems to be ignoring me. Appreciate any advice as to my next step. :-)
Title: Re: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: b789 on February 25, 2025, 06:42:59 pm
Have you tried Plan A yet? Go to the pub and ask the management why, as a patron of their pub you have received a speculative invoice for £100 from an ex-clamper, unregulated private parking company. As the pub most likely contracted Britannia to "manage" their parking, they can also get them to cancel the Parking Charge Notice (PCN).

Whatever you do, you are asking them as the Keeper of the vehicle. No one but you knows who the driver was. You simply refer to the driver in the third person ("the driver did this or that").

The Notice to Keeper is not fully compliant with all the requirements of PoFA to be able to hold the Keeper liable. It also has some sirups breaches of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) which can also be relied on at POPLA if necessary.

You can also send them a formal complaint about their PPSCoP breaches and put them to strict proof that they actually posted the notice within the statutory time to be given in accordance with the PoFA timeframe. They are required to be able to provide proof of the actual date the notice entered the postal system, not just the date they send it by hybrid mail to their mail consolidator. They won't have this and will make up all sorts of pathetic excuses but it does make their life a tiny bit more miserable and gives us all some Schadenfreude knowing that "they don't like it up 'em!"
Title: Britannia Parking overstayed 3 hour limit.
Post by: norton on February 25, 2025, 02:18:08 pm
Received this today. I used to be quite familiar with the procedures to deal with these, but its been a long while since I received one.
The driver visited a pub which apparently had a 3 hour time limit, and the customer was supposed to register to stay longer. The driver was not aware of this and didn't see any signs, although they could well be there. entry and exit to the car park was at night, in a badly lit car park. The photos are not clear to show the vehicle and/or driver. The alleged overstay was for 17 minutes. The date of the overstay was 07/02 and the letter arrived 25/02. Is there a 14 day rule that applies here?
Any advice would be appreciated as the registered keeper of the vehicle in question. Please see attached PDF of the notice

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