Phew! Good... Please confirm whether the copies of the following documents were included with the Notice to Hirer that was received:
• 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;
• a copy of the hire agreement;
• a copy of a statement of liability signed by the hirer under that hire agreement; and
• a copy of the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) that was sent to the hire/lease company.
I doubt they were but assuming they weren't, this is an easy one to deal with… as long as the unknown drivers identity is not revealed. There is no legal obligation on the known Hirer (the recipient of the Notice to Hirer (NtH)) to reveal the identity of the unknown driver and no inference or assumptions can be made.
The NtH 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 Hirer.
Use the following as your appeal. No need to embellish or remove anything from it:
I am the Hirer 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 Hirer (NtH) does not fully comply with ALL the requirements of PoFA 2012, most notably paragraph 14(2), you are unable to hold the Hirer 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. UKPS has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.
The Hirer cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtH can only hold the driver liable. UKPS stand no chance of success should you be so unwise as to pursue litigation in this matter, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.