Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi,

I have received a parking charge notice from Horizon parking for unauthorised parking. I am the registered keeper, the car was parked in the position of the Mercedes as visible on street view here- https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6351928,-0.7720531,3a,75y,82.24h,70.53t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVERXPbjLrn5-goFBbDaYqA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DVERXPbjLrn5-goFBbDaYqA%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.share%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26yaw%3D82.24%26pitch%3D19.47%26thumbfov%3D90!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu



I appreciate in terms of parking it really isn't a great place to park. However I am unsure as to whether this specific space would be seen as private land and also the entrance signage does not detail the terms and conditions of parking. An appeal was made on account of the signage and location of the parking but this has been rejected by Horizon Parking, I would be grateful for any advice on whether this would be worth appealing to POPLA ?.



PCN-

https://postimg.cc/0MCyhnXN



The entrance to the business park-

https://postimg.cc/8sq9300k



The signage at the entrance-

https://postimg.cc/kVGd9tF7



The signage at the rear of the business park-

https://postimg.cc/p9b1chG0



The reason behind thinking that this may not be private land is due to the fact the street view shows a barriers for entrance a few years ago and the cars location is in front of this. Also when entering the business park it is possible to miss the entrance signage entirely, turn around and park up without seeing the additional signage at the rear. I am happy to accept if its not worth the appeal but thought I would ask for opinions here. Due to lack of parking in the local area many residents often park in the undesignated spaces around the business centre(usually after hours all though sometimes cars are left parked) and as far as we are aware this is the first time a private parking attendant has attended and manually ticketed the cars. It appears that we may have been lucky up to now. Any advice on this would be much appreciated and I apologise if I made any mistakes. Thanks a lot.

Thank you for your response, it's much appreciated. I can confirm the driver was not identified to Horizon Parking. Would this defence still be applicable for a POPLA appeal ?. Thanks.

Basically... yes. However, it is advised to include as many points for the operator to rebut. They have to successfully rebut all points raised. The appellant only has to be successful on a single point.

You should lead with the lack of keeper liability due to non-PoFA NtK and then follow with the fact that the operator has not shown that the person it has issued the NtK to is the driver.

Use the following (but not limited to) points in your POPLA appeal:

1. The Notice to Keeper (NtK) does not meet PoFA requirements to hold the keeper liable.
2. The operator has not shown that the appellant is the driver.
3. The signage is inadequate and no contract was formed with the driver.
4. No landowner authority to issue PCNs in its own name.
5. No valid landowner contract.
6. Non compliance with any BPA Code of Practice rules you can find and so on...

You will need to expand on each point so that the assessor can understand your reasoning.

Basically... yes. However, it is advised to include as many points for the operator to rebut. They have to successfully rebut all points raised. The appellant only has to be successful on a single point.

You should lead with the lack of keeper liability due to non-PoFA NtK and then follow with the fact that the operator has not shown that the person it has issued the NtK to is the driver.

Use the following (but not limited to) points in your POPLA appeal:

1. The Notice to Keeper (NtK) does not meet PoFA requirements to hold the keeper liable.
2. The operator has not shown that the appellant is the driver.
3. The signage is inadequate and no contract was formed with the driver.
4. No landowner authority to issue PCNs in its own name.
5. No valid landowner contract.
6. Non compliance with any BPA Code of Practice rules you can find and so on...

You will need to expand on each point so that the assessor can understand your reasoning.

Thanks for this. I will take a few days to draft an appeal and will post it here for any recommended amendments. Generally with the recommended POPLA defence would there be a good chance of a successful appeal ?. I ask out of curiosity as not to get ones hopes up.

Was this in Scotland?

An immediate complaint to Horizon pointing out their blatant lie about only the driver being able to appeal to POPLA deserves an explanation and an apology. When you get a response to the complaint, you should report them to the BPA.

Agreed - they're entirely misrepresenting the OP's position.

I am of a nervous disposition so seeing things written in the manner which they are causes me to become quite anxious.

Exactly what they're hoping. BPA won't consider your complaint unless you have first complained to (and received a response from) Horizon, so do that before contacting BPA.

The main priority though is the POPLA appeal - try to find some examples on here and the MSE forum to help you with drafting, if necessary. Show us a draft before submitting anything so we can offer feedback. You should produce your appeal as a PDF document when you come to submit, then you can add images (of the signage, for example).

If you submit a robust appeal, there's a fair chance Horizon will withdraw to save them having to pay the POPLA fee.

OP, don't tell us what Horizon said in their response pl, show us.