@jfollows Thank you, please see v2 of POPLA appeal below incorporating feedback (main changes are consistent use of "NtK" abbreviation; latest text copied from
PoFA legislation online; latest text copied from
PPSCoP Section 14 online and expanded for completeness covering all points (a)-(j)).
@b789 Noted re. chance of POPLA success. Happy for the process to play out in full, doesn't seem like much, if any, downside.
POPLA Appeal – Euro Car Parks – M&B - The White Horse, ShenleyI am the registered keeper of the vehicle. I appeal this Parking Charge Notice as keeper only. There will be no admission as to the identity of the driver, and no assumptions or inferences can be drawn.
The Notice to Keeper (NtK) fails to comply with multiple mandatory provisions of Schedule 4, Paragraph 9 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“PoFA”), and therefore no keeper liability can arise. The operator may only pursue the driver for payment, not the registered keeper. The deficiencies are as follows:
1. Failure to specify the period of parking (Paragraph 9(2)(a))PoFA requires the NtK to “specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates.”
This NtK contains no “period of parking”. It merely states that a parking charge was issued for “vehicle was not authorised to park” and refers to a date of issue. ANPR systems record entry and exit times, but those are not synonymous with a period of parking because they do not show when the vehicle was stationary. The vehicle may have spent time queuing, manoeuvring, or exiting. The Department for Transport’s statutory guidance and persuasive appeal decisions (e.g. Brennan v Premier Parking (2023)) make clear that a period of parking must refer to an actual time parked, not merely camera timestamps. This omission renders the NtK non-compliant with 9(2)(a).
2. Failure to properly invite the keeper to pay or name the driver (Paragraph 9(2)(e)(i))PoFA requires the NtK to “state that the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and invite the keeper- (i) to pay the unpaid parking charges; or (ii) if the keeper was not the driver of the vehicle, to notify the creditor of the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and to pass the notice on to the driver"
The NtK does not invite the keeper to pay. Instead, it commands: “If you were not the driver... please provide full name and address of the driver in writing and pass the notice ont to the driver". This is a material deviation from the statutory wording. Parliament intended the keeper to be given the option either to pay or to name the driver. A command to “inform us” is not an invitation to pay. The omission defeats one of PoFA’s key procedural safeguards and invalidates keeper liability.
3. Failure to unambiguously identify the creditor (Paragraph 9(2)(h))PoFA requires the NtK to “identify the creditor and specify how and to whom payment or notification to the creditor may be made”.
The NtK makes conflicting assertions, in one that "the Parking Charge is now payable to Euro Car Parks (as the creditor)” and in another "The Parking Charge Notice.. is now payable to Euro Car Parks Ltd (as the creditor)". The the full legal entity name is unclear (possibly omitted), and the company number and registered address are ommitted. Without a full legal identity, the keeper cannot know who the creditor actually is, making the notice defective under 9(2)(h).
4. Ambiguous dating and delivery wording (Paragraphs 9(2)(i) and 9(4))PoFA requires the NtK to “specify the date on which the notice is sent (where it is sent by post) or given (in any other case)” in Paragraph 9(2)(i) and defines when it is deemed “given” in Paragraph 9(4) as "(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."
The NtK refers only to a “Date Issued” without confirming when or how it was sent or delivered. This vagueness prevents a reliable calculation of statutory deadlines and is another failure to meet PoFA’s strict requirements.
ConclusionPoFA Schedule 4 is a strict liability framework: every requirement must be met before any right to recover a parking charge from a vehicle’s keeper arises. The NtK in this case fails to meet at least paragraphs 9(2)(a) and 9(2)(e), and is further undermined by non-compliance with 9(2)(h) and 9(2)(i). As a result, Euro Car Parks cannot transfer liability from the unknown driver to the keeper. The operator may only pursue the driver, whose identity has not been provided. The appeal should therefore be allowed.
Other ConsiderationsI also require strict proof of a valid, contemporaneous contract or lease flowing from the landowner that authorises the operator to manage parking, issue PCNs, and pursue legal action in its own name. I refer the operator and the POPLA assessor to Section 14 of the Private Parking Sector single Code of Practice ("PPSCoP") titled "Relationship with Landowner", which clearly sets out mandatory minimum requirements that must be evidenced before any parking charge may be issued on controlled land:
"Where controlled land is being managed on behalf of a landowner(s), before a parking charge can be issued written confirmation must be obtained by the parking operator from the landowner(s) covering:
a) the identity of the landowner(s)
b) a boundary map of the land to be managed;
c) such byelaws as may apply to the land relating to the management of parking;
d) the permission granted to the parking operator by the landowner(s) and the duration of that permission
e) the parking terms and conditions that are to be applied by the parking operator, including as appropriate the duration of free parking permitted, parking tariffs, and specific permissions and exemptions, e.g. for staff, residents or those stopping for short periods such as taxi and minicab drivers, delivery drivers and couriers;
f) the means by which parking charges will be issued;
g) responsibility for obtaining relevant consents e.g. planning or advertising consents relating to signs
h) the obligations under which the parking operator is working, in compliance with this Code and as a member of an ATA;
i) notification of the documentation that the parking operator may be required to supply on request to authorised bodies detailing the relationship with the landowner; and
j) the parking operator’s approach to the handling of appeals against parking charges"
These requirements are not optional. They are a condition precedent to issuing a PCN and bringing any associated action. Accordingly, I put the operator to strict proof of compliance with the entirety of Section 14 of the PPSCoP. Any document that contains redactions must not obscure the above conditions. The document must also be dated and signed by identifiable persons, with evidence of their authority to act on behalf of the parties to the agreement. The operator must provide an agreement showing clear authorisation from the landowner for this specific site.
