Author Topic: NSL / Stansted Blue Car Park — rejected at first stage, now at POPLA. POFA "not relevant land" + prohibitory-signage cha  (Read 109 times)

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First-stage appeal rejected; about to file at POPLA and would value a sanity-check on my grounds.

The charge
Operator: NSL (Marston Holdings), on behalf of MAG / London Stansted Airport
Type: private parking charge — Notice to Keeper
NSL's wording: "Parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours" (it's actually a no-stopping / drop-off zone in the Blue Car Park)
Charge: £100 (£60 if paid within 14 days). BPA Approved Operator.
Registered keeper: my partner.

What happened

Driver briefly stopped to turn around and decided to drop off a passenger on the side of the road without entering the gated parking — under ~30 seconds, no parking bay, didn't leave the vehicle.

Where it's up to

Appealed to NSL as registered keeper, without naming the driver.
NSL rejected on 15 June 2026, expressly relying on POFA keeper liability, and issued POPLA code 4821******.
POPLA deadline ~10–13 July 2026. Haven't paid anything (know the discount is gone once at POPLA).

Grounds I intend to run at POPLA (want these checked)

Not "relevant land" — POFA can't transfer liability. Stansted is airport land governed by the Stansted Airport Byelaws 1997 (Aviation Security Act 1982), so my understanding is it falls outside Schedule 4 POFA 2012. NSL invoked POFA in their rejection, but if this isn't relevant land they can't hold the keeper liable at all. Driver not identified.
No contract — signage is purely prohibitory. NSL's own rejection reproduced their signage, which reads "No Stopping at any time." A prohibition offers nothing to accept, so no contract can form (distinct from a "park and pay" offer). Seems like a strong point — keen to confirm.
No landowner authority shown. NSL haven't produced a contract proving they can enforce charges in their own name.
Strict proof. Putting NSL to proof on CCTV (actual duration stationary), a signage site map + legible photos at the exact spot, and landowner authority.

Not relying on the charge cap — I understand no statutory cap is in force and £100/£60 is a lawful amount, so this is a fight on liability, not quantum.

Questions

Is the not-relevant-land / byelaws point the right ground to lead with at POPLA for Stansted Blue Car Park specifically, and any preferred wording?
Is the "prohibition = no contract" argument as strong as it looks, and should it sit ahead of or behind the byelaws point?
NSL invoked POFA in the rejection — worth expressly putting them to proof that the land IS relevant land / that byelaws don't apply?
Any recent POPLA assessor decisions against NSL/MAG at Stansted worth citing, and the usual things they fail to evidence (landowner contract)?
Any pitfalls now I've appealed as keeper without ever naming the driver?

Grateful for any steers before I file.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2026, 04:30:40 pm by umars_link@yahoo.com »

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Sorry for the duplicate messages
« Last Edit: June 22, 2026, 04:31:09 pm by umars_link@yahoo.com »

Can you post up the original PCN?

Thanks for your help. Here is the original PCN and the appeal rejection. Any advice would be apprecaited.

Original PCN :
Quote
Parking charge amount due: £100, reduced to £60 if paid within 14-days of the date of service of this notice.
Contravention: Parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours.
On 22/05/2026 vehicle YB69DNY was observed at:

Stansted – Blue Car Park

at 21:33. The signage, which is clearly displayed, states that this is private land. The area is managed by NSL on Behalf of MAG and parking restrictions apply.
By stopping/parking in this area, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the signage displayed on site is a breach of the terms and conditions displayed, and the Parking Charge is now payable to (Operator) as the Creditor. As the terms were not complied with, we requested keeper details from the DVLA under reasonable cause.
As we do not know the driver's name or current postal address, if you were not the driver at the time, please provide us with the driver's full name and current postal address using the contact details overleaf, within 28 days and pass this notice to them. Once this information is received, we will pursue the driver.
Should you provide an incorrect address for service, we may pursue you for any amount that remains unpaid. Should you identify someone who denies they were the driver, we may pursue you for any amount that remains unpaid. Failure to pay the full amount of this notice within 28 days may result in the proceeding of debt recovery action and/or issuing court proceedings against you. Additional costs may be incurred.
Payment Information

Online –
stansted.mysecurepay.co.uk


Telephone – 033 3320 2981


Appeal rejection :

Thank you for your email concerning the above Parking Charge Notice (PCN) issued at
Stansted Airport by NSL Ltd on behalf of Manchester Airport Group.
The PCN was issued for the following contravention: Parked in a restricted location during
prescribed hours.
After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that the PCN will not be cancelled on this
occasion as the PCN was issued correctly.
As the above vehicle came to a halt (on double yellow lines) without a valid external
reason including traffic or pedestrians walking the vehicle is said to have parked and as
such is subject to the parking restrictions in place.
Parking is not permitted where the above vehicle was observed via CCTV capture
irrespective of duration. Whilst I appreciate the circumstances you have described I am
unable to accept them as a valid reason to cancel the above PCN.
It is the responsibility of the driver to be aware of and to adhere to the relevant signage, or
to seek alternative parking arrangements to ensure the vehicle is parked without
contravening the restrictions in force.
You have advised that as the above vehicle was not parked that the notice be cancelled
however as you will have seen when you accessed the online appeal portal there is clear
CCTV evidence available (under the view media section) showing the above vehicle
parked, along with other stills taken from that video so I must advise I cannot cancel the
notice on this ground.
NSL Limited are members of the British Parking Association Approved Operator Scheme
(AOS) in accordance with the requirements of the Protection of Freedoms Act.
MAG London Stansted
Airport В РАЙ
BERATO
Confidential
ROSL
part of Marston Holdings
In conclusion, a full review of all the evidence regarding the issuing of the PCN has taken
place, and, in light of the findings I am unwilling to cancel the Notice. Therefore, please
make arrangements to pay the balance £60.00 in full within the next 14 days.
You can pay by credit or debit card by telephoning 033 3320 2981 or by using the online
payment service at https://stansted.mysecurepay.co.uk/.
You have now reached the end of our internal appeals procedure. If you still feel that your
appeal has not been adequately considered, you have the option to ask for an
independent review to be undertaken by the Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) by
visiting the following website http://www.popla.org.uk/ within 28 days of the date of service
of this notice.
Your POPLA verification code is: *******.
I must however advise you that should you choose to request a review by POPLA the full
£100.00 will become applicable to the above case minus any payments
charge of received already.
If you choose to do nothing, after 35 days we will seek to recover the monies owed to us
via our debt recovery procedures and may proceed with Court action against you. This will
lead to further charges being added.
I am sorry that this is not the outcome you were hoping for.


Sorry, I don't see the original PCN???

Sorry I am new to this firum I couldnt figure out how to uplaod an image, why is why I posted the text from the letter. Hope you can see the attached PCN now.

« Last Edit: Today at 12:05:00 pm by umars_link@yahoo.com »


Thanks and my apologies for being a noob here. I have added the PCN in my previous message and below is their rejection to my appeal.




Can you show us the back of the notice?

Sure, here are both pages of the PCN. Thanks for your help!



The Blue Short Stay Car Park is definitely inside the area of statutory control according to the map.

Also, there is no way that their wording is PoFA complaint since massive chunks of the mandatory requirements are missed out.


We can come up with a short and sweet POPLA appeal.

Thank you. Thats really great to hear. Can you please help me draft an appeal to POPLA or how does this work from here on.