Hi all,
I'd really appreciate some advice before I submit any appeal.
Parking Company: APCOA Parking
Location: East Midlands Airport – Rapid Drop Off
Date of alleged contravention: 5 July 2026
Date of PCN: 11 July 2026
Issue date of PCN: 11 July 2026
I've attached both sides of the Parking Charge Notice.
There is no dispute that the vehicle used the Rapid Drop Off area.
The issue is that payment cannot be made while you are actually there. Instead, you have to leave the airport and then either pay online or by telephone afterwards.
The driver had every intention of paying the charge. The driver has medically diagnosed ADHD, which affects prospective memory (the ability to remember to carry out something in the future). The driver was frustrated while still at the airport because they recognised that requiring payment after leaving created a real risk that they would forget. Had there been any facility to pay before leaving the site, the payment would have been made immediately.
Instead, the driver had to leave the airport, join the M42 and continue the journey home. There was nowhere obvious or safe to stop immediately after leaving the airport to make the payment. Unfortunately, exactly what the driver feared would happen did happen, and the payment was inadvertently forgotten until the Parking Charge Notice arrived.
One additional point I'd appreciate views on is whether the Equality Act 2010 has any relevance here. The driver feels that a system which only allows payment after leaving the site, without providing an opportunity to pay while still present, may have placed them at a substantial disadvantage because of their disability. The driver wonders whether any reasonable adjustment should have been made, or whether this is simply not the correct avenue to pursue.
I'm very happy to follow the forum's advice and won't submit an appeal until I've had the benefit of your experience.
Many thanks.
