Author Topic: Stansted Airport  (Read 738 times)

0 Members and 4 Guests are viewing this topic.

Stansted Airport
« on: »
Hi everyone, I’m new here and after some advice regarding a Notice to Keeper at the infamous Southgate parking Stansted Airport.

I received a Notice to Keeper stating that the driver of my vehicle was parked incorrectly, see attached PCN.

I appealed to MET Parking as follows;

“I am the registered keeper. MET cannot hold a registered keeper liable for any alleged contravention on land that is under statutory control. As a matter of fact and law, MET will be well aware that they cannot use the PoFA provisions because Stansted Airport is not 'relevant land'.

If Stansted Airport wanted to hold owners or keepers liable under Airport Bylaws, that would be within the landowner's gift and another matter entirely. However, not only is that not pleaded, it is also not legally possible because MET is not the Airport owner and your 'parking charge' is not and never attempts to be a penalty. It is created for MET’s own profit (as opposed to a bylaws penalty that goes to the public purse) and MET has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.

The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtK can only hold the driver liable. MET have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.”

Of course Met Parking declined my appeal and gave me a POPLA verification code. However I have been working away for over 3 weeks and have now unfortunately missed the 28 day appeal deadline (deadline was 23 May but I only got home on 31 May).

Have I missed the opportunity to defeat these crooks or would anyone be able to kindly point me in the right direction of what to do next?

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook


Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #1 on: »
POPLA codes are actually valid for 32 or 33 days, you may still be in time
Sorry, even if they are you’re still too late, I misread your dates originally.

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #2 on: »
Thanks for your reply. Yes unfortunately it’s past that now.

Would love to hear if anyone knows what my options are

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #3 on: »
The ball is essentially in MET's court, as far as next steps.

They will pass the matter to a debt collector. This debt collector will send various scary-sounding letters in an attempt to get you to pay. Debt collectors are powerless, and can be ignored. Eventually, the debt collector will get bored and pass the matter back to MET, who may decide to take the matter to court. If they do, they'll probably farm this out to one of the various incompetent legal firms that handle these bulk cases. If you receive a 'Letter of Claim' from one of these legal firms, return here for advice.

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #4 on: »
Thanks so much for the advice. Is there any chance it could turn in to a costly court / legal battle?

I’m loathed to pay them a penny but also don’t want to spend a fortune trying to beat them.

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #5 on: »
Thanks so much for the advice. Is there any chance it could turn in to a costly court / legal battle?

I’m loathed to pay them a penny but also don’t want to spend a fortune trying to beat them.
No, it’s usually only a paperwork battle, so as long as you keep on top of things and observe deadlines (with advice here) you’ll be good.

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #6 on: »
Great, thanks so much. Will keep posting updates here and hopefully defeat these scammers!

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #7 on: »
Follow the advice and you won't be paying a penny to MET. Yes, this will go to litigation but it will never reach a court hearing as it will either be struck out or discontinued.

They hope you are low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree and will end up paying out of ignorance and fear.

MET have no right to pursue the Keeper if they do not have any identity for the driver. They are using the Keepers data unlawfully and you should report them to the DVLA. Here’s how to make a DVLA complaint:

• Go to: https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/complaints
• Select: “Making a complaint or compliment about the Vehicles service you have received”
• Enter your personal details, contact details, and vehicle details
• Use the text box to summarise your complaint or insert a covering note
• You will then be able to upload a file (up to 19.5 MB) — this can be your full complaint or supporting evidence
That’s it.

The DVLA is required to record, investigate and respond to every complaint about a private parking company. If everyone who encounters a breach took the time to submit a complaint, we might finally see the DVLA take meaningful action—whether that means curtailing or removing KADOE access altogether.

For the text part of the complaint the webform could use the following:

Quote
I am submitting a formal complaint against MET Parking Services, a BPA Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) member with DVLA KADOE access, for breaching the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) after obtaining my personal data.

While the Operator may have had reasonable cause at the time of their KADOE request, their subsequent misuse of my data—through conduct that contravenes the PPSCoP—renders that use unlawful. The PPSCoP forms an integral part of the DVLA’s governance framework for data access by private parking firms. Continued access is conditional on compliance.

The DVLA, as data controller, is obliged under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 to investigate and take enforcement action when data is misused following release. This complaint is not about whether the data was obtained lawfully at the outset, but whether its subsequent use breached the terms under which it was provided.

I have prepared a supporting statement and included an official airport boundary map annotated to show that the location of the alleged contravention is under statutory control and not relevant land for the purposes of PoFA. I request a full investigation and confirmation of receipt with a reference number.

Then you could upload the following as a PDF file for the formal complaint itself:

Quote
SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Complaint to DVLA – Breach of KADOE Contract and PPSCoP

Operator name: MET Parking Services
Date of PCN issue: 07/04/2025
Date of alleged contravention: 01/04/2025
Vehicle registration: [INSERT VRM]

I am submitting this complaint to report a misuse of my personal data by MET Parking Services, who obtained my keeper details from the DVLA under the KADOE (Keeper At Date Of Event) contract.

Although MET Parking Services may have had reasonable cause to request my data initially, their use of that data afterwards amounts to unlawful processing. This is because they have acted in breach of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP), which is a mandatory requirement for access to DVLA keeper data. The PPSCoP forms part of the framework that regulates how parking companies must behave once they have received keeper data from the DVLA.

The KADOE contract makes clear that keeper data may only be used to pursue an unpaid parking charge in line with the Code of Practice. If a parking company fails to comply with the PPSCoP after receiving DVLA data, their use of that data becomes unlawful, as they are no longer using it for a permitted purpose.

In this case, MET Parking Services has breached the PPSCoP as follows:

• They claimed keeper liability despite the location of the alleged contravention (Southgate Park, Stansted Airport) falling within the boundaries of land under statutory control and therefore not qualifying as “relevant land” under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

This directly contravenes PPSCoP Section 8.1.1(d), which prohibits operators from stating or implying that a keeper is liable under PoFA when the land is not relevant land.

This is not a minor or technical oversight. It is a clear misrepresentation of legal liability and a breach of the terms under which DVLA data is provided. It follows that MET Parking Services is now using my data unlawfully because their purpose (to pursue the keeper under PoFA) is not a valid one.

I have attached:

• A copy of the official Stansted Airport boundary map showing that the alleged contravention location lies within the airport’s statutory boundary
• A copy of the Notice to Keeper issued claiming Keeper liability where it is not lawful to do so
• This supporting statement

The DVLA remains the Data Controller for the data it releases under KADOE and is therefore responsible for ensuring that personal data is not misused. I am requesting the DVLA to investigate this breach and to take appropriate enforcement action. This may include:

• Confirming that a breach has occurred
• Taking enforcement action against the operator
• Suspending or terminating their KADOE access if warranted

Please confirm receipt and provide a reference number for this complaint. I am happy to provide further details if needed.

Name: [INSERT YOUR NAME]
Date: [INSERT DATE]

Also append this map to the supporting statement:

Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #8 on: »
Thank you so much, I’ve only just seen this but will certainly make the complaint to the DVLA as you have recommended.

I have now received a debt recovery letter (see attached). Should I just ignore it?

Thanks again for everyone’s help to defeat these crooks!

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #9 on: »

I have now received a debt recovery letter (see attached). Should I just ignore it?

Thanks again for everyone’s help to defeat these crooks!
Yes

Re: Stansted Airport
« Reply #10 on: »
Thank you. Will update further if I hear any more