Free Traffic Legal Advice

Railway land is now ‘relevant land’ for the purposes of PoFA 2012 (the ticket is dated 27 January I think), so that defence can no longer be used. It is the experience here that APCOA doesn’t “do” court, so this is the one case when you can choose to ignore - obviously come back if they change their tactics.
Otherwise, do you have any defence, there not being sufficient room to park simply means you need to park somewhere else?

I am conscious that the driver would have to pay the £50 before midnight tonight if there is no suitable defence.  Is that the best course of action?

Please show us exactly what you submitted and exactly what you have now received.

I would be very surprised if it actually says "registered owner", as there is no such thing.

and this was the response

Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Dear
PARKING CHARGE NUMBER:
VEHICLE REGISTRATION:
CONTRAVENTION DATE: 27 January 2026 10:03
Thank you for your letter regarding the above mentioned Parking Charge Notice which was received on 11 February 2026.
We can only consider an appeal from either the registered keeper of the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle when the alleged
contravention occurred. From the correspondence we have received it appears that you are neither the registered keeper or
the driver. Therefore, we are unable to process your appeal without first receiving signed authorisation from either the driver or the registered keeper at the time of the alleged contravention.

How to provide written consent:
If the driver or registered keeper would like you to deal with this matter on their behalf, please ask them to send their written
consent to us, ensuring that it shows:
· Their full name and address.
· Their signature.
· The date they signed the consent.
· Our reference numbers.
· The registration number of the vehicle concerned.
· Your full name and address and contact details.
· A brief description of the issue you want us to consider.
Alternatively, if you were the driver of the vehicle that incurred the parking charge, please confirm this within 14 days of the
date of this letter. Once we have this confirmation, we will be able to update our records and process your appeal.
Please send the correct information with full name, address and PC number within 14 days of the date of this letter
to APCOA PARKING, PO BOX 5767, DINGWALL, IV15 0AX.
We will place the case on hold for 14 days to allow the required action to be taken. Please note, if we do not receive signed
authority or driver confirmation within 14 days, we will be unable to consider the appeal and the case will be taken off hold.
Yours sincerely,
Appeals Department
APCOA Parking (UK) Lt

It seems a bit odd that they can't deal with you as you're not the registered keeper yet expect you to pay the parking charge.

@roythebus Where have they said the expect the OP to pay the charge? This is a windscreen ticket issued to the driver - currently, APCOA dont know who that is. As this is a windscreen ticket, they also don't know who the keeper is, if the OP hasn't told them in their appeal.