Too late appeal now but nothing to worry about. Ignore Trace and any other useless debt collector. They are powerless to do anything except to try and persuade the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree to pay up out of ignorance and fear.
There is zero risk of a CCJ, even if this were one of the less than 0.1% of cases that ever made it as far as court and you lost. They have no idea of the drivers identity and unless the Keeper blabs it to them, they have nowhere togo with this as the Notice to Keeper (NtK) was not delivered within the relevant period to be able to rely on PoFA 2012 to hold the Keeper liable.
However, anything going forwards has to be in the name of the Registered Keeper, irrespective of who was driving. No "on behalf of" but in the Keeper name.
For now, I advise that you email the following as a formal complaint to NCP as the registered Keeper. Address it to customer.service@ncp.co.uk and also CC in yourself:
Subject: Formal Complaint and Challenge to Keeper Liability – PCN [Insert Reference Number]
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write as the Registered Keeper of the vehicle with registration number [INSERT REG] in relation to the above-referenced Parking Charge Notice (PCN), which I have only recently become aware of following a letter from a debt recovery agency (Trace) sent to my current address.
Upon investigation, I discovered that the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) was sent to a former address where I no longer reside. This address remains on the vehicle’s V5C due to an administrative oversight, although my relatives still reside there. The NtK was only recently retrieved and had been overlooked.
Having reviewed the NtK, I note that it was not issued within the statutory timeframe required under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA). As such, you have failed to meet the conditions necessary to hold the Registered Keeper liable for the alleged charge. Specifically, the NtK was not delivered within the period prescribed by Paragraph 9(5) of Schedule 4, which requires delivery within 14 days of the alleged contravention where no Notice to Driver was issued.
Accordingly, I reject any attempt to hold me liable as Keeper. You are not entitled to pursue me under PoFA, and I will not be naming the driver. I therefore require that you cancel this PCN immediately and confirm in writing that no further action will be taken.
This letter also serves as a formal complaint regarding your failure to comply with PoFA and your inappropriate escalation to a debt recovery agency without first ensuring proper service of the NtK. I expect this complaint to be handled in accordance with your published complaints procedure.
Separately, I will be submitting a Data Rectification Notice under Article 16 of the UK GDPR to update my address for service and require that you erase the former address from your records under Article 17(1)(d), as it is no longer accurate or necessary for processing.
Please confirm receipt of this complaint and your intended actions within 14 days.
Yours faithfully,
[Your Full Name]
[Current Address]
[Email Address – optional]
[Date]
Also send a Data Rectification Notice (DRN) to the NCP DPO at dataprotection@ncp.co.uk and again, CC in yourself. A DRN must instruct the company to
update their records with your
current address for service and to
erase your old address. The highlighted words are there for a reason so use them.
