Author Topic: Kelly's Storage Lu2 9LF PCN – Not the Driver – Urgent Advice Needed Please  (Read 113 times)

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S Patel

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Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some help and advice regarding a PCN I’ve received.

The charge relates to an incident on 06/08/2024 at Kelly’s Storage. However, I was not the driver of the vehicle on that day – I had just landed at Luton Airport and was being picked up.

The first letter I received was dated 02/01/2025,[/img]
which is almost five months after the parking incident. I appealed this initial letter and provided evidence, including my boarding pass, to confirm I wasn’t the driver. I’ve attached images of what I sent in my appeal.
https://i.imgur.com/Vb6GjbT.jpeg
The appeal was unfortunately rejected, and I missed the deadline to respond further.
[/img]
https://i.imgur.com/iPWiIat.jpeg
Since then, I’ve received two more letters, bringing the total to four. The most recent one (Letter 4) is especially concerning and I’m worried this might escalate to court proceedings.
[/img]
[/img]
https://i.imgur.com/aRhXzwd.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/aZrJp7W.jpeg
Could anyone please advise:

How should I respond to the latest letter?

Should I name the actual driver (if known)?

Do I have any grounds to challenge this further?

Or should I just pay the charge to avoid court action?

I’ve attached all relevant letters and evidence below for context.

Thanks so much in advance for any help you can give.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2025, 06:48:23 pm by S Patel »

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jfollows

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See also https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/universal-parking-enforcement-pcn-parking-on-a-no-parking-area-kellys-storage-lu/msg54791/#msg54791

Please post the appeal you sent, I don’t see it.

The claim is laughable and, especially if you don’t identify the driver, won’t come to anything.
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jfollows

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You don’t need to do much apart from telling them to get lost, and they can’t hold you - the registered keeper - liable for anything here. However wait for a better suggested response. The other thread I refer you to suggests an IAS appeal mainly because the PCN is egregiously bad and even the biased IAS would be stretched not to dismiss it.

Don’t be frightened of court, the reason this is mentioned is purely to frighten you into paying.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2025, 07:18:57 pm by jfollows »
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S Patel

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Thank you for your quick response, I really appreciate the help, please see below the appeal I sent

Dear Appeals Team,

I am writing to formally appeal the Parking Charge Notice referenced above.
I respectfully contest this charge on the following grounds:
1. I Was Not the Driver
At the time of the alleged contravention on 06/08/2024, I was not driving the vehicle. I was returning to the UK from abroad, having arrived at Luton Airport on a delayed flight. I enclose my boarding pass and flight itinerary which clearly show I was in transit and could not have been the driver.
The vehicle was being used by another party who collected me from the airport. I was not in control of the vehicle at any point during the time in question.

2. Keeper Liability Does Not Apply
Your Notice to Keeper is dated 02/01/2025, which is nearly five months after the alleged parking event. Under Paragraph 9(4)(b) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA), a Notice to Keeper must be served within 14 days of the incident for keeper liability to apply. As this time limit was not met, you cannot lawfully pursue me as the keeper.

3. No Legal Obligation to Name the Driver
There is no legal requirement under POFA or UK civil law for a keeper to identify the driver. I have met my obligations by informing you that I was not driving and have provided evidence of the same.

4. Request for Cancellation
Given that:
•   I was not the driver,
•   Keeper liability under POFA does not apply due to the timing of the notice,
•   And that pursuing me in these circumstances is both unreasonable and without legal merit,
I respectfully request that this Parking Charge Notice be cancelled immediately.
If you reject this appeal, I request that you:
•   Provide a POFA-compliant rejection letter,
•   Disclose all evidence relied upon (including any photographs or video footage),
•   And provide full instructions on how to escalate the matter to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS).

jfollows

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Personally I’d appeal to the IAS but simplify it by removing everything after the first sentence in your section (1), you state you weren’t the driver and leave it at that. You don’t have to prove anything to these scoundrels. But as you will.
You seem to have a handle on the process.
If the IAS don’t uphold your appeal, you let them take you to court if they want to. They probably won’t and you’ll get assistance here with the process which will see the case dropped or laughed out of court. I think they’re not so stupid as to go this far, they’re playing the numbers game by mentioning court and “CCJ” in the knowledge that lots of gullible people just pay up.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2025, 08:01:26 pm by jfollows »
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b789

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You can safely ignore everything unless you receive a Letter of Claim (LoC). The debt recovery letters, which you must ignore, are designed to get the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree to pay up out of ignorance and fear.

As already advised earlier, they have no idea who the driver is and you are under no legal obligation to identify the driver to an unregulated firm of ex-clampers. There is no way they can hold the Keeper liable for the charge and so leave them alone to get on with their charade of trying to scare you into paying into their scam.

If they ever try and issue a court claim, they will be on a hiding to nothing. Let them waste their money. You won't be paying a penny to these scammers is you follow the advice here.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain
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b789

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What you can and should do, is make a formal complaint against this rogue operator to the DVLA.

Here’s how to make a DVLA complaint:

• Go to: https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/complaints
• Select: “Making a complaint or compliment about the Vehicles service you have received”
• Enter your personal details, contact details, and vehicle details
• Use the text box to summarise your complaint or insert a covering note
• You will then be able to upload a file (up to 19.5 MB) — this can be your full complaint or supporting evidence
That’s it.

The DVLA is required to record, investigate and respond to every complaint about a private parking company. If everyone who encounters a breach took the time to submit a complaint, we might finally see the DVLA take meaningful action—whether that means curtailing or removing KADOE access altogether.

For the text part of the complaint the webform could use the following:

Quote
I am submitting a formal complaint against Universal Parking Enforcement Ltd, an IPC Accredited Operator Scheme (AOS) member with DVLA KADOE access, for breaching the Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) after obtaining my personal data.

While the Operator may have had reasonable cause at the time of their KADOE request, their subsequent misuse of my data—by pursuing keeper liability without complying with the statutory requirements under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA)—renders their processing unlawful. The PPSCoP forms an integral part of the DVLA’s governance framework for data access by private parking firms. Continued access is conditional on compliance.
The DVLA, as data controller, is obliged under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 to investigate and take enforcement action when data is misused following release. This complaint is not about the initial data access, but rather the misuse that followed.

I have uploaded a supporting statement outlining the breaches committed by the operator and I request that the DVLA investigates and confirms a breach of the KADOE contract and PPSCoP.

Please acknowledge receipt and confirm the reference number for this complaint.

Then you could upload the following as a PDF file for the formal complaint itself:

Quote
SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Complaint to DVLA – Breach of KADOE Contract and PPSCoP

Operator name: Universal Parking Enforcement Ltd
Date of PCN issue: 02/01/2025
Vehicle registration: [INSERT VRM]

I am submitting this complaint to report a misuse of my personal data by Universal Parking Enforcement Ltd, who obtained my keeper details from the DVLA under the KADOE (Keeper At Date Of Event) contract.

Although the company may have had reasonable cause to request my data, their subsequent use of it was unlawful due to breaches of the governing Code of Practice (PPSCoP), which forms a mandatory condition of KADOE access. The KADOE contract only permits use of DVLA keeper data for the fair pursuit of unpaid parking charges in accordance with the Code.

In this case, the operator has breached the Code and misused my data in the following ways:

• Unlawful pursuit of keeper liability: The Notice to Keeper was issued on 02/01/2025, nearly five months after the alleged incident on 06/08/2024. Under PoFA Schedule 4, Paragraph 9(4)(b), keeper liability can only apply if the notice is delivered within 14 days of the parking event. As this was not done, the operator had no lawful basis to pursue me as the registered keeper.
• Failure to respect statutory limits on data use: Despite being informed that I was not the driver and presented with evidence of this (including my flight itinerary and boarding pass showing I was abroad at the time), the operator continued to pursue me without any legal basis under PoFA. They also refused to acknowledge that I am under no legal obligation to identify the driver.

These breaches are not minor. They represent a fundamental misuse of DVLA keeper data and a disregard for the conditions attached to its release. By acting outside the boundaries set by PoFA and the PPSCoP, Universal Parking Enforcement Ltd lost the lawful basis for continued processing of my personal data.

The DVLA remains the data controller for all data disclosed under KADOE and is therefore responsible for ensuring that this data is not misused. I respectfully request that DVLA investigate this complaint and confirm whether Universal Parking Enforcement Ltd has breached the terms of their KADOE contract.

I ask the DVLA to consider the following actions:

This may include:

• A formal finding of breach
• Enforcement action as appropriate
• Suspension or revocation of KADOE access if warranted

Supporting documents, including my original appeal and evidence proving I was not the driver, have been uploaded with this statement.

Name: [INSERT YOUR NAME]
Date: [INSERT DATE]
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain
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S Patel

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Thank you both for all the advice I will keep you updated on what happens next.

Many Thanks

Sander333

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The advice you have been provided with is of the highest quality.

For what it is worth I would not recommend any appeal to IAS a total waste of time and effort if you win an appeal with them buy a lottery ticket you will be on a winner.

H C Andersen

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I don't understand the references to 'appealing to the IAS'.

That ship sailed weeks ago IMO.

OP, pl just confirm and add the key procedural facts:

Parking event which gave rise to the parking charge: 6 August 2024;

Date of issue of NTK: 2 Jan. 2025.

Your appeal to them dated: ????

Their reply to you dated: ????

Deadline for appealing to IAS: 'within 21 days of the [unknown] date of their reply' -see above.

Also: was a notice(to driver) left on the vehicle on 6 August, or was the first communication the Notice to Keeper dated 2 Jan. 2025?

I think you'll find that this is a simple procedural issue, all we need is facts.

DWMB2

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Also: was a notice(to driver) left on the vehicle on 6 August, or was the first communication the Notice to Keeper dated 2 Jan. 2025?
Based on other cases we've seen at this exact location, almost certainly just a NtK.

b789

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Deadline for appealing to IAS: 'within 21 days of the [unknown] date of their reply' -see above.

Just another example of a breach of the PPSCoP. IPC members were dragged into the new regime of the PPSCoP and reluctantly, are required to comply with the 28 days from receipt of the NtK for appeals/payment deadlines.

However, as they don't have to rely on POPLA to hear secondary appeals, this will make no difference to them. Just another example of the farce that I the unregulated private parking industry with two separate ATAs and different standards.

However, a DVLA formal complaint is another matter. Whilst any initial complaint to he DVLA will be fobbed off, it must always be escalated to a level 2 complaint.

Failure to comply with the PPSCoP is a KADOE breach which puts the DVLA firmly on the block as the data controller. Hopefully, if we get enough people submitting formal DVLA complaints, they will be forced to act at some stage, especially if we can show the number of formal complaints and the reasons for them.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

UberDriver

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Appeal to the IAS. I just won a case against Universal Parking. I used the template that a great guy posted to my other Kelly's thread: https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/parking-charge-notice-at-kelly's-storage-(luton-airport)/msg67644/?topicseen#msg67644
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