Free Traffic Legal Advice

A close friend of mine has almost the same issue - almost identical Parkingeye PCNs from parking at his gym and a local grocery, because he didn't realise he had to enter his registration inside. Can anyone advise? It seems rather like entrapment - put small print no-one reads, inform no-one when they park, and then hand out a fine afterwards.

Mine is in Northampton.

The signage does not comply with the BPA CoP section 19.9


So, looking at that photo of the location, it would depend on which bay the vehicle was parked in whether the drover could read the sign without leaving the vehicle.

Is this within a hospital or is it just a remote clinic? Either way, do not let a receptions fob you off with rubbish about not being to get it cancelled. That is not true. ParkingEye are not some sort of authority that can make demands. They are simply an agent contracted by the hospital/clinic. Find the PALS service and male a formal complaint to them and also copy in the CEO of the NHS Trust and demand that they get this PCN cancelled.

TO defeat this PCN that drivers identity must bot be revealed, especially when saying things like "I did this or that". The driver is simply referred to in the third person such as "the driver did this or that".

There are also PoFA failures in the Notice to Keeper (NtK). There is no legal obligation on the known keeper (the recipient of the Notice to Keeper (NtK)) to reveal the identity of the unknown driver and no inference or assumptions can be made.

The NtK is not compliant with all the requirements of PoFA which means that if the unknown driver is not identified, they cannot transfer liability for the charge from the unknown driver to the known keeper.

Use the following as your appeal. No need to embellish or remove anything from it:

I am the keeper of the vehicle and I dispute your 'parking charge'. I deny any liability or contractual agreement and I will be making a complaint about your predatory conduct to your client landowner.

As your Notice to Keeper (NtK) does not fully comply with ALL the requirements of PoFA 2012, you are unable to hold the keeper of the vehicle liable for the charge. Partial or even substantial compliance is not sufficient. There will be no admission as to who was driving and no inference or assumptions can be drawn. ParkingEye has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.

The car was parked in a marked disabled bay with a valid Blue Badge properly displayed. The PCN photos do not even show the vehicle with the Blue Badge visible. At no point was it made sufficiently clear that Blue Badge holders were required to enter their vehicle registration number inside the hospital. The signage was wholly inadequate and non-compliant with the BPA Code of Practice Version 9 (effective February 2024), Section 19.9, which states that for disabled motorists, "there must be at least one sign containing the terms and conditions for parking that can be viewed without needing to leave the vehicle." There are three disabled bays, served by a single small sign mounted high up on a pole. It is impossible to read the terms and conditions from inside a vehicle, depending on which bay is used.

Further, the BPA Code of Practice requires reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. A receptionist at the hospital has confirmed that the requirement to enter a VRN is poorly communicated, that many other disabled visitors have made the same mistake, and that until recently the hospital had the ability to cancel PCNs for exactly this situation. It is unreasonable and discriminatory to penalise a disabled motorist in these circumstances.

The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtK can only hold the driver liable. ParkingEye have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.

@b789 - Just to double-check, I went into the polyclinic again today.

Here are the things that I observed;

1. Where the car was parked, there are 2 signs, one on a pole, which is visible in the picture that I took, and one that I saw near the bays that was on the white wall near the bays (croped pictire of disbaled bay) - again, no way able to be read when in the car.

2. As I entered the reception area, I saw a parkingeye sign that was next to the reception regarding parking, which I did not see when going in on easter sunday (either we missed it/ or they have put it since/or are not expecting people to come in on easter sunday and may not have put it up) - can't recall to be exact/honest.

3. Is there a need to attach a copy of the Blue Badge & Clinic appointment letter? - So to nip it in the bud on this appeal, or is that maybe required in the next part (if so) of an appeal?

Agreed with all of the above.

You can provide a copy of the blue badge and the appointment, for what it's worth.

I always think this is a wise idea in such cases. Aside from any (entirely valid) points about visibility of signage, and formation of contracts, in my view there's always value in building a picture of an honest disabled driver who was acting in good faith, and a registered keeper of the vehicle who is now being pursued by an unreasonable parking company.

the manager cancelled the ticket on the same day.

Have you had written confirmation of the same from said manager?