Free Traffic Legal Advice

Funnily enough, I had another company vehicle get an identical "PCN" at the same location a few days later.

I sent the same appeal for both "PCN"s.

One appeal was rejected, one was accepted.

The reply to the accepted appeal;

We write to acknowledge receipt of your recent online appeal against the issuing of a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) to your vehicle.
                                                                                                                           
Please be advised that on this occasion your appeal has been upheld and the above PCN has now been cancelled. We have now removed your details from this PCN.

Quickly sent the rejected one to IAS to make sure CPM pay their fee.

I thought removing the time stamp would make the letter untraceable in case any friends from District were browsing. There is a single time behind the redaction.

No period of parking stated on the "PCN", as per screenshots.

I'll suggest they kick rocks and see how that goes.

Received a "PCN" from District Enforcement Ltd, will follow with a picture of the front and back soon.

I replied stating the identity of the driver is unknown to me as the car is shared amongst a few family members. If I really wanted to, I could probably drill down and work out who was driving the car, but that seems like a lot of effort that will only end in District Enforcement's favour.

They have replied saying "however if you are unable to provide the details of the driver at the time of the contravention, as the notice was sent in line with PoFa we can hold the keeper of the vehicle responsible for the Parking Charge Notice."

Is this accurate? Unsure how much effort to put into this over £35!

As expected...

I will post my thoughts later, bit busy this morning!

Dear Mr XXXX,
Re: Parking Charge Notice Number XXXX (Vehicle: XXXX)

Site: Gunnersbury Park
Contravention date: 18/10/2024
You recently contacted us to appeal the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) XXXX that was issued to the above vehicle
registration on 18/10/2024 at Gunnersbury Park, London, W54NH. This PCN was issued because the vehicle broke the
following parking regulation: Failure to Pay for Duration of Stay.

Our letter dated the 19/11/24 requested you to supply information regarding the driver from the date in question and advised
that proof was to be supplied within 14 days To date you have failed to provide sufficient evidence showing this therefore we
will continue to pursue this Charge.

Having considered all grounds for the appeal you will understand that sadly we are unable to accept your appeal.

You have now reached the end of our internal appeals procedure and therefore you now have two options: You can pay the
total amount due or you can appeal to an Independent Appeals Service within 21 days. Should you wish to make a second
appeal, this can be done through IAS – the independent appeals service – at www.theias.org/appeal.

By law we are also required to inform you that Ombudsman Services (www.ombudsman-services.org/) provides an alternative
dispute resolution service that would be competent to deal with your appeal. However, we have not chosen to participate in
their alternative dispute resolution service. As such should you wish to further appeal then you must do so to the IAS, as
outlined here.

Please note that if you wish to appeal to the IAS, you will regrettably no longer be able to pay the charge at the discounted rate of £60.00. Should the IAS's decision not go in your favour, you will then be required to pay the full amount of £100.00. When
parking on private land, the motorist agrees to abide by any clearly displayed conditions of parking in return for permission to
park. This location is private property and is managed by Gemini Parking Solutions London Ltd on behalf of the land owner.

Gemini Parking Solutions fully complies with the guidelines set by the International Parking Community. Please note that
photographic evidence is taken with every PCN that is issued.

Payment at the discounted rate £60.00 can be made within 14 days from the date of this letter. Regrettably payments made
after this period will be for the full amount of £100.00. Failure to pay the amount may result in further costs being incurred and
may also result in Gemini Parking Solutions Ltd, reluctantly instructing a Debt Collection agency to collect any sum due.
Please make Cheques / Postal Orders payable to: Gemini Parking Solutions London Ltd Send Cheques / Postal Orders to:
Payments Department, PO Box 815, Wigan, WN1 9WX. Please write your Name, Address and Parking Charge Notice Number
(PCN) on the rear of all cheques and postal orders. When making payment by post we recommend using the Royal Mail’s
‘Recorded – Signed For’ or ‘Special Delivery’ services. Cash should not be sent through the post.
Yours sincerely,
Appeals Department
Gemini Parking Solutions London Ltd.

As expected, they've pushed back with the following; (my thoughts after)

We refer to correspondence received from you concerning the above numbered Charge Notice.
Please note that responsibility for this Charge lies with the driver of the vehicle at the time the parking contravention was
observed. However, we are unable to ascertain who the driver was on the date in questions from the information given within
your appeal.
In order for us to process your appeal correctly, please follow the instructions below:
1. Notify the driver of the vehicle that they will need to appeal to us directly, including their FULL NAME (Forename and
Surname) and a valid FULL SERVICEABLE ADDRESS within 14 days.
2. If you are representing the driver we require a signed and dated statement from the driver of the vehicle confirming that you
are authorised to appeal on his/her behalf; this needs to be an original signature and not a photocopy or a stamp. The
statement MUST contain the drivers FULL NAME (Forename and Surname) and a valid FULL SERVICEABLE ADDRESS.
Please ensure that correspondence is sent to APCOA Parking, PO Box 815, Wigan, WN1 9WX in order to correctly adhere
with the appeals process.
OR
3. Pay the PCN. Payments can be made online at www.geminiparkingsolutions.com by following the links for "Pay Now" It is
your responsibility to ensure that payment is received within our office by the date specified.
As a gesture of goodwill we have placed the charge on hold for an additional period of 14 Days to enable one of the above
actions to be complied with.
We are willing to re-offer you the original discounted charge of £60 as full and final settlement of this Notice, if payment is
received within our office on or before the 03/12/24.
If payment is not received by this date, the amount payable will revert to £100, payable by 17/12/24. Failure to pay this charge
within the stated times, may result in Debt Recovery action been taken and further costs up to an additional £70.00 been
incurred.
Yours sincerely,
Appeals Department

I'm not too familiar with this side of PCNs/fines/etc (I'm a lot better at dealing with councils!), but I imagine they're trying to corner me into declaring who the driver is. My understanding is, that if I continue to refuse to do so, they won't actually have anyone that they are able to fine. Is this correct?

I was excited about the prospect of the PCN going to TEC and all the associated processes, but today I received this from Harrow;

Thank you for writing to us.
It is now too late for you to challenge, or continue challenging, your Penalty Charge Notice
(PCN). The Enforcement Notice form we sent you gave you 28 days to challenge your PCN,
but this time has now passed.
We sent you a PCN because our camera evidence shows your vehicle in a bus lane at a
time when only buses are allowed there.
The bus lane is clearly sign- posted and marked out on the road surface. The legend ‘BUS
LANE’ is marked on the road, and there is a solid white line running along the right-hand
edge of the bus lane for its full length. The onus is on the driver to be aware of the bus lane
and its restrictions. The signage and markings meet all the statutory requirements as set
down in the latest Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions. Please note the onus is on
the driver to be aware of provisions relating to Bus Lines in the Highway Code rule 141 and
142. These restrictions apply Any time (Monday - Sunday).
I have reviewed your case, and although your payment was made late, we have decided to
accept the amount you have paid as payment in full.
Please be advised that this does not set a precedent for future notices, as each case is
treated on its own merits. It is imperative that motorists always comply with traffic sign and
regulations, and payment is made on or before the 14 days statutory period. I can confirm
that the notice is now closed.

Thanks all - an interesting discussion for sure.

I think the language on the NIP is of note, I've taken a photo of the relevant bit, which may feed the discussion a touch. It's attached to this post.

We have named Robert as the "possible driver", and it's now up to him to thrash it with the police.

The car was allocated to Robert and we, as vehicle owners, can't be sitting there with him 24/7 checking if he's driving it. It's the fact that we don't know who this third person is that's set off alarms - if he'd said another employee was driving the vehicle at the time then maybe this whole discussion wouldn't be happening!