The Hertz admin fee is a dispute between you, the Hirer and Hertz. You will need to refer to your hire agreement and show us the EXACT wording about parking charges. It is already obvious that they are using terminology that is likely in breach of their contract with the Hirer.
As for the Parking Charge Notice (PCN), you cannot respond to it until you receive the Notice to Hirer (NtH) addressed to you in your name. GroupNexus have no idea who the driver is and the can only hold the Hirer liable if they have fully complied with PoFA 2012. They never do, which is why an NtH PCN is a golden ticket as long as the drivers identity is not blabbed, inadvertently or otherwise.
If Hertz only transferred liability to the Hirer on 12 November, the Hirer must receive the NtH within 21 days. Not only does the NtH have to be received (“given”) within 21 days, it must also contain copies of the hire agreement etc. in order to be able to hold the Hirer liable if the driver is not identified.
Irrespective of the above, as long as you follow the advice here, you will not be paying a penny to GroupNexus. For now, there is nothing you can do until you receive the NtH in your name. When you do, follow this advice for the appeal:
There is no legal obligation on the
known Hirer (the recipient of the Notice to Hirer (NtH)) to reveal the identity of the
unknown driver and no inference or assumptions can be made.
The NtH 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 Hirer.
Use the following as your appeal. No need to embellish or remove anything from it:
I am the Hirer 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 Hirer (NtH) does not fully comply with ALL the requirements of PoFA 2012, you are unable to hold the Hirer 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. GroupNexus has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.
The Hirer cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtH can only hold the driver liable. GroupNexus have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.
