Free Traffic Legal Advice

Any help would be appreciated.

I received a Smart Parking parking charge on the basis that the payment was for insufficient time.

Apparently I entered at 09.07 and left at 15.21, payment was for 6 hours from 09:16 to 15:16.

It always takes a few minutes to get parked up and payment validated through the banking app, it also takes sometime to leave the car park at the end, is there no grace period afforded?

I have attached the notice, as I said any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Sean

I have attached the notice, as I said any help would be appreciated.

Where is the notice?

You also need to edit your post so as not to blab the drivers identity. As the Notice to Keeper (NtK) is addressed to you, you must always refer to the driver in the third person. No "I did this or that", only "the driver did this or that".

As predicted
“Contravention” 17/6
Issued 30/6
Presumed delivered 2/7
As long as you do not identify the driver, your defence is that this is issued too late to hold you as registered keeper liable.
Smart will reject the appeal and lie, they always do.
IAS will not uphold your appeal, they never do.
You will have to go through the process of responding to court papers.
They will discontinue or you will win in court, it’s clear-cut.
Just don’t identify the driver.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/schedule/4

(4)The notice must be given by—

(a)handing it to the keeper, or leaving it at a current address for service for the keeper, within the relevant period; or

(b)sending it by post to a current address for service for the keeper so that it is delivered to that address within the relevant period.

(5)The relevant period for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) is the period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on which the specified period of parking ended.

2/7 is 15 days into the period.

Not quite right 'grasshopper'!!! The location of the alleged contravention is Belfast, NI.

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.

PoFA does not apply in NI, 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.

This parking event took place in Northern Ireland, where the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 does not apply. As such, there is no lawful basis to pursue the keeper. Even if PoFA did apply here (which it doesn't), your NtK was not 'given' within the relevant period and would therefore fail to comply anyway. There will be no admission as to who was driving and no inference or assumptions can be drawn. Smart has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.

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. Smart have no hope should you be so stupid as to try and litigate, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.

THANKS REALLY APPRECIATE THE ADVICE