Free Traffic Legal Advice

Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: terminator x on May 07, 2025, 12:26:31 pm

Title: Re: Penalty Notice from APCOA "use of private car park without making a valid payment"
Post by: b789 on June 18, 2025, 07:34:44 pm
It is not a "legal letter'. It is a debt recovery letter which you can safely ignore. Debt collectors are powerless to do anything except to try and persuade the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree to pay up out of ignorance and fear. Never, ever, enter into any communication with a powerless debt collector. Ignore.

You have been advised that the Penalty Notice is fake. It is a criminal attempt to defraud you.

If it were a real Penalty Notice issued under Railway Bylaws, the ONLY way they can enforce it is through the Magistrates court by laying an information. They can't, because they are not the authority that can prosecute this. Even if they were, they would not receive a penny of any fine that would be imposed by the court, assuming they were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were the "owner" of the vehicle. How do you suppose they can prove that? There is no official register of vehicle "owners" and they cannot assume that you are the owner because you are the registered keeper because if you care to inspect the front of your V5C, it says in bold white letters that the V5C is not proof of ownership.

Now they are threatening to try and recover the "debt" through the civil procedure as a breach of contract. They can't have it both ways.

Personally, if I were to ever receive one of those Penalty Notices, I would report them to the police under the Fraud Act 2006, section 2.

You are not merely reporting a civil dispute about a parking ticket—you are alleging that:

• A known private company (e.g. APCOA or SABA)
• Has issued what purport to be Penalty Notices
• Using the language, structure and implied authority of statutory enforcement
• But in fact, these are not statutory fines and no legal power exists to demand payment in this way
• There is an intention to deceive recipients into paying under the false belief that this is a criminal or statutory penalty
• This aligns with the criminal offence of fraud by false representation (Fraud Act 2006, s.2) and possibly even blackmail (Theft Act 1968, s.21), particularly if there is an implicit or explicit threat of legal or financial consequences unless payment is made.

Title: Re: Penalty Notice from APCOA "use of private car park without making a valid payment"
Post by: terminator x on June 18, 2025, 04:09:45 pm
Thank you for this I can now rest a bit easier.

They have sent a "legal" letter though which I assume I also just ignore? Many thanks.

(https://i.ibb.co/ksFDsC80/Scan-0196-Redacted.jpg)

(https://i.ibb.co/W4G2qWZr/Scan-0197.jpg)

TX.
Title: Re: Penalty Notice from APCOA "use of private car park without making a valid payment"
Post by: b789 on May 07, 2025, 09:28:25 pm
Search the forum for recent APCOA Penalty Notice threads. The PN you received is fake and an illegal attempt to defraud you.

Search for DVLA complaints about this and you could also report them to the police (not Action Fraud).
Title: Re: Penalty Notice from APCOA "use of private car park without making a valid payment"
Post by: DWMB2 on May 07, 2025, 12:42:53 pm
I then replied using my "standard wording" for private companies which usually results in them cancelling, not this time though.
As a slight aside, the standard wording you refer to is only suitable in certain circumstances. You claim for example that the notice was not delivered within the relevant period of 14 days, but with an issue date of 4th April it would be presumed delivered 8th April, within the 14 day period. It's also not styled as a Parking Charge Notice but as a Penalty Notice, which they claim is issued under byelaws.

Have a search on hear for APCOA penalty notices, you will see much discussion about the issues with their setup. APCOA don't do court, and in this case if they're alleging a breach of byelaws it'd need to be magistrates court, which they'd get nothing from, so even less incentive.
Title: Penalty Notice from APCOA "use of private car park without making a valid payment"
Post by: terminator x on May 07, 2025, 12:26:31 pm
Ok so I use this train station car park a lot and this one day forgot to pay by Ringo. As soon as I remembered I paid but that was in the afternoon and I parked in the morning. A few days later this arrives:

https://i.ibb.co/zhHpHfWS/Capture1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/sYcg7vJ/Capture2.jpg

I then replied using my "standard wording" for private companies which usually results in them cancelling, not this time though.

My wording:

I have just received your PN xxxxx for vehicle VRM xxxx

The car park appears to be not relevant land as defined by paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 of The Protection Of Freedoms Act 2012, being subject to byelaws. You cannot, therefore, transfer liability for the alleged charge from the driver at the time to me, the keeper.

Even if it were relevant land, you have failed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of The Protection Of Freedoms Act 2012 namely, but not limited to, failing to deliver the notice within the relevant period of 14 days as prescribed by section 9 (4) of the Act.

There is no legal requirement to name the driver at the time and I will not be doing so.

I do not expect to hear from you again, or your debt collectors, except to confirm that no further action will be taken on this matter and my personal details have been removed from your records.


They have now written back rejecting the above with only option they say being to pay or go to POPLA with an appeal. Their letter:

https://i.ibb.co/S4ZZYBVf/Capture3.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/rG95kG5D/Capture4.jpg

Can I ignore or do I need to appeal as they suggest?

TX.