As noted above, APCOA are generally a benign bunch.
What you want to get ahead of is your hire company doing something daft and trying to make you carry the can for it.
dispute that the fee is payable under the wording of the rental agreement I signed, which refers to fixed penalties/penalty charge notices and offences.
The wording the OP has shared from his rental agreement does refer to parking charges.
I agree that while the rental agreement is in force I will be liable as owner/hirer of the vehicle, or any replacement vehicle, for any fixed penalty offence, penalty charge notice to owner, parking charge notice for that vehicle under s66 Road Traffic offenders Act 1988 Schedule 6 Road Traffic ACT 1991 Traffic Management Act 2004, Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and any other relevant legislation.
What it is seemingly silent on (unless it is specified elsewhere), is how much the 'administration charges' also referred to are. In any event £60 would seem to be entirely disproportionate.
Offer the rental company morons £100 for every occurrence of the words “fine” or “offence”. If they are unable to accept this free offer, then simply cancel the card you used or get your bank to charge back the amount they have debited, as you dispute it.
The hire company cannot say you were the driver because they simply do not know. All they do know is that you are the Hirer and all they have to do is transfer liability to you as the Hirer as specified in PoFA 2012 and they are the off the hook. Once they have done that, you must wait for a Notice to Hirer (NtH) to arrive in your name.
As soon as that arrives come back and we will give you the winning appeal. APCOA are benign and do not do court anyway.
You can write to Tempest with the following:
Subject: APCOA private parking charge – request to transfer liability & dispute of admin fee
Rental agreement: [Agreement No.] | Vehicle reg: [ABC123] | APCOA ref: [if known] | Hire dates: [dd/mm/yyyy – dd/mm/yyyy]
Dear Tempest Rentals,
I write regarding your message about an APCOA private parking charge issued in respect of the above rental. This is not a criminal “offence” or a statutory “fine”; it is a contractual Parking Charge Notice issued by a private company.
1) Transfer liability under PoFA 2012
Please discharge your duty under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, paragraphs 13–14, by providing APCOA with the hirer’s details (mine) together with the required hire documents. I do not authorise you to pay this private charge on my behalf. Kindly confirm once liability has been transferred and no further action will be taken by you.
2) Dispute of £60 “admin fee”
Your email describes a “Parking Fine (Assignable, T5)” with a £50 admin fee plus £10 VAT. As this is not a statutory fine, I dispute that the fee is payable under the wording of the rental agreement I signed, which refers to fixed penalties/penalty charge notices and offences.
Accordingly, please:
• Cancel the £60 admin fee, or at minimum place it on hold pending the outcome of APCOA’s process; and
• Provide (a) the precise contractual clause you rely upon for charging an admin fee in respect of private parking invoices, and (b) an itemised VAT invoice (if you maintain the fee is due).
For the avoidance of doubt, any attempt to debit my card for this disputed fee will be challenged.
Please respond in writing within 7 days confirming (i) that liability has been transferred in full compliance with PoFA 2012 and (ii) that no payment will be taken for the disputed “admin fee” unless and until the matter is resolved.
Yours faithfully,
[Full name]