Hi all.
I have been contacted by Tempest Rental cars via their Fleetworks system to tell me that they have been contacted by APCOA to alert them to a parking offence whilst I was renting their car.
They are wanting me to pay a £50 admin fee with £10 VAT for this inconvenience.
I have found the APCOA offence and it is for overstaying in a TESCO car park - I want to challenge the parking offence as the ticket validation for the TESCO car park run by APCOA was not in service on that day.
What is my first approach here? Obviously I don't want to have to ay a £60 admin fee for a parking ticket that I don't agree with?
I have looked on the form here and on moneysavingexpert - it seems that I need to get the rental company to give my details to APCOA - but I need to challenge the Admin fees as well. Any advice?
Here is the wording of the email from Tempest / Fleetworks.
The charge applied for these offences and/or fines is:
Parking Fine (Assignable, T5) - Admin 50.00
Parking Fine (Assignable, T5) - Fine 0.00
VAT 10.00
Total Charge 60.00
You may still be required to pay any fine.
Where applicable VAT will be charged at 20%. Any fines paid on your behalf will be exempt of VAT. An invoice is available on request. These fees will be documented in the terms and conditions of the hire.
Your signature on the rental agreement will normally provide the rental operator with authorisation to process charges for administration fees for violations incurred during your rental. These charges will normally be applied to your credit/debit card.
What happens next?
Heathrow will attempt to seek payment for the charges from the card used as a security deposit at the start of hire
if the offence is re-assignable then Heathrow will write to the relevant issuer telling them you were the driver and the issuer will normally re-issue the notice directly to you
if the offence is not re-assignable then Heathrow will pay the fine and re-charge you. The fine amount will be shown above.
Please note that we cannot enter into a dialogue about the validity of the ticket. If you feel the ticket was issued incorrectly then please refer to the issuer, not us. If you do have any other questions please refer to the FAQ’s below.
Here is the fine print of the rental agreement that I signed:
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.
I also acknowledge that this liability shall extend to any other vehicle let to me under the same hiring agreement and to any period by which the original period of hiring may be extended. I hereby agree to hire the above vehicle on the Terms & Conditions set out herein & overleaf and confirm that if payment hereunder is to be made by credit or charge card my signature below shall constitute authority to debit my nominated credit or charge card company with the total due amount plus any administration charges, extensions or additional charges resulting from this rental. The hirer and, if I am not the hirer, I consent to my personal information (including name, address, photo and drivers licence details) and information concerning the hirer and the hire of the vehicle under this rental agreement (including details as to payment record, credit worthiness, accidents or claims or theft or damage to the vehicle. delays in vehicle return, threatening or abusive behaviour and any other relevant information) being shared with other vehicle rental companies, suppliers to such companies and the police and other regulatory authorities, insurers and credit reference agencies, for the purposes of crime detection, risk management and assessing whether or not others may wish to hire a vehicle to me.
