Author Topic: 10m grace period, app-only payment, registering requires agreeing to 5k word T&Cs...  (Read 1820 times)

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Recently the recipient of a parking ticket where they have evidence of my vehicle parked 11 minutes apart, exceeding the (presumably) 10 minute grace period. Not my first rodeo, know all the standard tricks from PePiPoo, MSE, etc.

Call me weird, but (as the keeper) I'm interested in exploring the novelty that this car park is strictly app-only (no machine, no call/text, etc) which means one has to create an account with some third party application before they're able to pay.

This (in theory) significantly increases the time required to pay for parking, as you have to get internet connectivity, download an app, register for it, and then actually go through the payment flow.

Of particular interest is the classic wall-of-text terms and conditions, which prospective payees have to agree to when creating an account; surely the grace period has to account for the time taken to diligently read and digest these terms (google says 5k words is ~15m of reading). In my mind, they form part of the parking contract (in conjunction with the sign wording) as there is no other way to pay.

I'm lucky enough that the prospect of losing at all of the appeal/court stages and having to pay a couple hundred pounds isn't too big of a financial hit; reckon it's worth a shot? Be nice to contribute some new 'case law' to the parking fine fighting community.


NTK and signage attached, don't see anything wrong with the NTK; the clarity of the PCN amount on the sign is a little unclear - looks more like an icon than an amount, in an attempt to stand out it actually blends in more.

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« Last Edit: May 12, 2024, 08:22:57 pm by Clear-Egg-673 »

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At ** on ** the driver entered the car park and left at *** having paid £**/not paid etc.

OP, pl just tell us what happened. Then we can look at 'why' after we know the 'what'.

Pl reinstate everything in the PCN other than personal details.

Be nice to contribute some new 'case law' to the parking fine fighting community.
From what you've shared so far there doesn't appear to be very much that is overly novel about the case. Consideration periods as set out in the relevant codes of practice are not law, and there have been many cases that have argued that the time allowed by the parking company was insufficient - how successful these arguments are depends on the circumstances of each case.

This (in theory) significantly increases the time required to pay for parking, as you have to get internet connectivity, download an app, register for it, and then actually go through the payment flow.
If the matter does get to court, what will matter is what happened in practice, not what could have happened in theory. So far, we don't know what actually happened.

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If the matter does get to court, what will matter is what happened in practice, not what could have happened in theory. So far, we don't know what actually happened.

It is entirely plausible that the company behind the app will have every single event timestamped. A SAR might get those, if they are of any benefit at all, if the company plays ball with the UK or EU GDPR legislation...

The only way a county court judgment can apply to case law is if there is a successful appeal and, even then, it would only be “persuasive”, not “binding” on the lower court. To make a judgment binding, it would have to be from a higher court or more likely, the Supreme Court.

The parts of the NtK you have shown only provide a limited amount of the necessary information to check if the keeper can be liable for the charge. By redacting the dates, you are making it difficult to assist.

There are technical defects in the NtK that mean that the NtK is not PoFA compliant but that is not likely to help you unless you manage to persuade a POPLA assessor of this point or, more likely, a judge. The sign you have shown is also defective in that it does not adequately bring the £100 charge to the notice of the driver. It is lost in a wall of text.

If the PCN was issued for failing to “pay in time” but the amount actually paid more than covered the period of parking, then it would, in fact, be a penalty, which is not allowed.

You are dealing with Premier Park who are a notorious firm of ex-clamper thugs but easily warded off if they try to take this all the way to a court claim.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

Thanks all for the responses so far. Regarding 'case law', poor choice of wording on my part considering this is a legal forum - I'm merely suggesting an extra appeal point that may or may not be successful, a brief search around hasn't shown up any instances of people using the time taken to register for an app as an appeal point before (maybe there's a reason why!).

I'll quieten down and leave it to the experts from here on out; as requested a less redacted letter is attached, vehicle is a short term hire car, no sticker left on windscreen, evidential image of the sign attached too (it's quite high...).

Don't have exact timings as there's no ANPR etc, but images in the evidence pack range from 13:45:59 to 13:56:34 (including lots of photos of the vehicles blank windscreen, can't see the VIN in it if that matters? example attached).

After parking shortly prior to the timestamp in the first image, the driver downloaded the app in question, signed up for an account, but was unable to successfully pay for parking. This is because they had rejected the apps 'precise location' request as they felt this was an invasion of their privacy (GDPR necessity etc etc), especially as a location code is provided on the sign (and inputable into the app). They have a screen recording of the app malfunctioning without this permission, timestamped at 13:55 (ie. during the evidential period). The driver departed later that day.

On a subsequent day, the driver of the vehicle parked in the same area, and attempted to use the app; again it malfunctioned without the 'precise location' permission but they decided to part with their privacy to avoid getting a parking ticket; ironic really. May be a stretch but potentially it shows a genuine attempt to pay was made considering a driver later did for that vehicle?

Thanks





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Another potential angle, the postcode specified in the NtK is E20 1BA (Cheering Lane) but the vehicle was parked at E20 1FN (Scarlet Close), a number of streets away. Each cul-de-sac is private land/parking, connected by the main council-owned highways with standard council permit parking (ie. they are not connected/joined in any way, nor is the entire area private land).

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…vehicle is a short term hire car, no sticker left on windscreen…

This is now becoming convoluted. In your opening post, you stated:

Recently the recipient of a parking ticket where they have evidence of my vehicle

Call me weird, but (as the keeper)

If the vehicle was hired, who is the NtK addressed to? Has the hire company simply forwarded the NtK to you? Can you see why this is now confusing?

In 99.99% of PCNs issued to hire/lease vehicles, they are what are known as “golden tickets” because the PPCs fail to follow the strict requirements of PoFA to be able to transfer liability from the driver to the hirer… as long as the hirer does not identify the driver.

So, because you now mention that the vehicle was a hire car, that would mean that the original NtK would have been sent to the hire company who are usually the registered keeper. Please tell us who is the NtK you have shown addressed to. The hire company as the keeper or the hirer, in which case it is an NtH.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2024, 12:46:23 am by b789 »
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

The NtK is addressed to a finance company (not the hire company), the letter we have seen thus far was emailed to me by the hire company on the 11th.
Presumably I should expect a NtH in the post later this week? Will report back.

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Presumably I should expect a NtH in the post later this week? Will report back.
Your hire firm should name you as the hirer, leading to you receiving a notice to hirer in due course, yes.

@DWMB2, IMO no, and here are the legal references and reasoning which lead to this conclusion:

PoFA is a unique piece of statute which interferes in a centuries-old principle that only the parties to a contract have rights and liabilities under said contract.

In short:
4(1)The creditor has the right to recover any unpaid parking charges from the keeper of the vehicle.

...except

(7)The right under this paragraph is subject to paragraph 13 (which provides for the right not to apply in certain circumstances in the case of a hire vehicle).


However.

14(1)If—

(a)the creditor is ......unable to exercise the right to recover from the keeper any unpaid parking charges mentioned in the notice to keeper, and

(b)the conditions mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) below are met,

the creditor may recover those charges (so far as they remain unpaid) from the hirer.


Not transfer of liability, but a separate stand-alone prospective right available to a creditor against the hirer.

In my opinion..

..this does not create a legal structure which permits liability to be passed ad infinitum like a parcel.

Liability as regards reliance upon PoFA ends at the person who is specified by the registered keeper as the hirer. *

OP, in short:
The hirer of the car on this occasion has no liability under PoFA and the creditor cannot pursue you as such....but they can pursue the hire company who cannot offload their liability using PoFA.
So, no NTH to you - a purely PoFA inspired creation.

You as hirer from the PoFA 'hire company' have NO liability under PoFA, but the creditor could take a punt on you being the driver, especially if the hire company puts your name in the frame.

What email accompanied the NTK sent by the hirer company?

..which isn't to say that the creditor wouldn't be stupid enough to send you some hybrid PCN claiming that they have rights under PoFA! But cross this bridge later.

*- unlike local authority law which specifically includes the hirer as a prospective 'keeper' in its definitions.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2024, 09:36:31 am by H C Andersen »

I'm not sure why you believe the above prevents the hire company from naming the OP as the hirer.

Whether that leads to the hire company being able to recover the charge from him is another matter (it almost certainly doesn't, given how often all parties involved usually misunderstand and mi's-apply the relevant legislation).

Edit: Just seen your edit. I agree that the parking company will be unlikely to be able to hold the OP liable, but the hire company are likely to name him as the hirer, and he is likely to receive a notice in his capacity as hirer.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2024, 09:55:11 am by DWMB2 »

The registered keeper may relieve themselves of liability by invoking 4(7) which is to provide the creditor with specified documents showing that the vehicle was on hire etc. This is the RK's defence.

This right applies to the registered keeper only.

There is no such provision available to the hirer under para. 14. Therefore the person named by the registered keeper who has signed a statement accepting liability cannot pass their liability to anyone else under PoFA because the Act doesn't allow this as a defence.

They could pay and sue their hirer, they could authorise their hirer to appeal on their behalf but they cannot offload their liability using any provision within PoFA,

In my opinion.

If someone could point me to such a provision - without saying that for the purposes of PoFA the hirer under the 'hire agreement' referred to at 4(7) suddenly becomes the effective RK under para. 4 and therefore entitled to those rights, for which there is no legal basis IMO, then I should appreciate it.

I'm not disagreeing with that. If the OP receives a notice in his name he can appeal on the basis that he has no liability for the matter.

I'm not sure how any of this runs at odds with what I said, which is that if the company name the OP as the hirer, the parking company are likely to write to him.

To clarify, we're saying that the Finance Company (as the RK) names the Hire Company as the hirer; but the hire company is then unable to recursively name me as the hirer.

This is because the POFA only makes provision for the RK to name a hirer?

Could the Finance Company be able to name me as the hirer directly under guidance from the Hire Company perhaps? Presumably not as there isn't a statement signed by the Finance Company and I per 13(1)(a).

In any case, full wording of the Hire Companies email to me attached - some relevant bits highlighted, sounds like liability will pass from the Finance Company to the Hire Company; and then they'll pass the hirers details to Premier Park (I'm assuming their wording of driver is poorly chosen here, how can they know who was driving).

We'll ignore the fact that a private invoice is not a 'road traffic offence, penalty charge, or fine' for now - one case at a time (I've already said I don't authorise the deduction, will be disputing it, etc etc).


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