Free Traffic Legal Advice

Whatever you do, do not reveal the identity of the driver. The location is not relevant land for the purposes of PoFA which means that only the driver can be liable for the charges. You, as the keeper of the vehicle are a separate entity in law and because the PCNs are not able to rely on PoFA, you cannot be liable for them.

You are probably too late at this stage to do anything except wait for them to send you a Letter of Claim (LoC) and eventually a court claim. You can safely ignore anything else they send to you such as reminders and anything form their chosen debt collectors. No matter how scary those letters may seem, they are safe to ignore. You must not ignore an LoC or court claim.

I believe there was an issue last year when NCP updated their app but failed to notify existing users that they needed to delete the original app and download a new version. Anyone using the old app after whatever cut off date they had, ended up receiving PCNs. Of course, they will not admit to this but it is a fact.

You may want to check the address on your V5C logbook to make sure your current address is shown correctly on it. If you moved at any time and forgot to update it, it could be one of the reasons you did not receive the original NtKs. Many people update their drivers licence but fail to update the V5C. Whilst both are handled by the DVLA, they are not connected in any way.

If the V5C address is not up to date, you must get it updated asap. However, you must also instruct the DPO at NCP to rectify your data with your current address for service and for them to erase the old address.

You should also try, in any case, an appeal to NCP (although they may refuse to accept one) as the keeper along these lines for each PCN:

I appeal as keeper.  I am under no obligation to identify the driver and I decline to do so as there is no legal presumption that the keeper of a vehicle was its driver (as opposed, for example, to being a passenger) on any particular occasion, you are unable to pursue me as the driver.

As your allegation of a breach of terms occurred on land subject to statutory control by bylaws, it is not relevant land for the purposes of the Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) and therefore there can be no keeper liability.

Thanks again for your reply. I would very much appreciate your opinion on the following draft Appeal letter to NCP:



Dear Sirs,

As DVLA Keeper on the vehicle I have been sent 3 PCNs

GA0018XXXX
GA0018XXXX
GA0018XXXX

I will submit three appeal cases but reference they are linked.

I appeal, as Keeper, on the grounds that I, as Keeper, received Final Reminder letters on 22 February 2024 which is 5 working days after the date of sending the notice of 15th February 2024. The letter deems to have been given on the second working day after the date of sending (15th February 2024).

I, as Keeper, had not received any correspondence before these Final Reminder PCNs which state 'To Date you have not complied with our request for you to supply the name and address of the driver of the vehicle on the date of incident, or to pay the outstanding amount, or to make a representation against the PCN'

The original discounted offer has expired, which I, as keeper, was never made aware of.

The fines are disproportionate compared to the parking charges and three fines received on the same day for 3 alleged offences 3 months ago is unreasonable. The PCN for this case relates to a date of incident of [31st October 2023 which is 3 months and 15 days] before the date of sending the first PCN, I as keeper had received.

As your allegation of a breach of terms occurred on land subject to statutory control by bylaws, it is not relevant land for the purposes of the Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) and therefore there can be no keeper liability.

I hope we can agree a reasonable resolve.

Kind regards,

OK I won't send and will await for something more suitable. - Thank you.

Yes my address on the V5C log book is correct and was correct at the time of the offences.

I have no idea why I wasnt sent anything prior to the Final Reminder letters. I haven't moved address in years nor been on extended leave where I may have missed the post.

I just recall going on the gaparking website which didnt have my details registered as parking there for the day so then went on the 'pay unpaid charges' and again nothing was appearing.

The car park at Cambridge North is railway land owned by the TOC and is covered by bylaws.

This is an actual statement from NCP in response to an appeal against a PCN issued at this station a few years ago:

On Railway Land managed by NCP, we currently enforce under contract law. We are not allowed to use the provisions of The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA) & Keeper Liability as Railway Land is exempt from this. Therefore timescales defined in POFA are not required to be met but there is an expectation that if an operator does not make use of Keeper Liability provisions, they are expected to adhere to the DVLA’s guidelines and contractual requirements to issue the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) no later than 7 months after the parking event.

So, without knowing the identity of the driver, they cannot transfer liability to the keeper.

The driver forgot to pay for the days where a PCN has been sent out. No excuse there.

Issue is it has taken them over 3 months to send out a PCN which is set out as a final reminder. No ability to pay a reduced early rate was offered.

Sending a Subject Access Request will get you a copy of the original notice(s). This will confirm if they're still issuing contractual charges or trying a bylawys breach.

Photos of the signage would be useful as suggested. If the driver is a frequent visitor this shouldn't be an issue.

Once you've gathered all the facts I'd recommend a challenge rather than waiting for them to do anything - set out your stall. But let's confirm the details first.

You would need to make a complaint to NCP rather than an appeal that you were never sent the original NtKs. They will deny of course but you then can complain to the BPA that according to their latest rules the operator should now resend the original NtKs and the clock should start running again.

Either way, you should be able to appeal on the basis that you are not liable as the keeper. It matters not that they have an ANPR photo of the driver. They still do not know the identity if that person.

After they reject your appeal you can then make a POPLA appeal on the same basis where it is invariably upheld.

As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never had anyone I’ve assisted in a PCN issue involving non relevant land pay a penny to the parking companies. They rely on the naivety or gullibility of their victims to pay up. Fighting this on the basis that the keeper cannot be liable for the charge and the drivers details have not been revealed wins every time, whether at POPLA or in a claim.

Anyone knowing this and paying them is, as far as I am concerned, a fool and their money. The PPCs rely on consumers lack of education in matters of civil law.

The choice, however, is yours.