Free Traffic Legal Advice

The driver parked in a carpark controlled by Park&Control Ltd and paid the fee, but mistakenly made a keying error for one letter of the registration number- is this sufficient to appeal the notice and have it cancelled.  The date of parking was 14th May & the notice dated 19th may but only received today 8th June, the letter says we only have 21 days from the 19th to lodge an appeal ( yet the website says 28 days?) so need to do so tonight.... i was going to lodge the appeal stating
" I am appealing this Parking Charge Notice as the registered keeper of the vehicle. The driver paid the correct tariff for the full duration of the stay, but inadvertently entered one incorrect letter into the machine. Under the sector's joint Code of Practice regarding Minor Keying Errors (which covers entering one digit incorrectly), private operators are required to cancel the notice at the first stage of appeal when proof of purchase is provided. I have attached the proof of payment showing a valid session that matches the driver's arrival and departure times, and request that this PCN be cancelled immediately."

Will that suffice?


Also i have been told they had 14 days to send the notice but it arrived today - is that also grounds to appeal?

There is no requirement to state the words “Protection of Freedom Act 2012” or similar.

The notice only has to comply with its requirements, for example

9(1)A notice which is to be relied on as a notice to keeper for the purposes of paragraph 6(1)(b) is given in accordance with this paragraph if the following requirements are met.

(2)The notice must—

(a)specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates;

(b)inform the keeper that the driver is required to pay parking charges in respect of the specified period of parking and that the parking charges have not been paid in full;

(c)describe the parking charges due from the driver as at the end of that period, the circumstances in which the requirement to pay them arose (including the means by which the requirement was brought to the attention of drivers) and the other facts that made them payable;

(d)specify the total amount of those parking charges that are unpaid, as at a time which is—

(i)specified in the notice; and

(ii)no later than the end of the day before the day on which the notice is either sent by post or, as the case may be, handed to or left at a current address for service for the keeper (see sub-paragraph (4));

(e)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;

(f)warn the keeper that if, after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given—

(i)the amount of the unpaid parking charges specified under paragraph (d) has not been paid in full, and

(ii)the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver,

the creditor will (if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met) have the right to recover from the keeper so much of that amount as remains unpaid;
(g)inform the keeper of any discount offered for prompt payment and the arrangements for the resolution of disputes or complaints that are available;

(h)identify the creditor and specify how and to whom payment or notification to the creditor may be made;

(i)specify the date on which the notice is sent (where it is sent by post) or given (in any other case).

(3)The notice must relate only to a single period of parking specified under sub-paragraph (2)(a) (but this does not prevent the giving of separate notices which each specify different parts of a single period of parking).

(4)The notice must be given by—

(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.

(5)The relevant period for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) is the period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on which the specified period of parking ended.

(6)A notice sent by post is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been delivered (and so “given” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)) on the second working day after the day on which it is posted; and for this purpose “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in England and Wales.

(7)When the notice is given it must be accompanied by any evidence prescribed under paragraph 10.

(8)In sub-paragraph (2)(g) the reference to arrangements for the resolution of disputes or complaints includes—

(a)any procedures offered by the creditor for dealing informally with representations by the keeper about the notice or any matter contained in it; and

(b)any arrangements under which disputes or complaints (however described) may be referred by the keeper to independent adjudication or arbitration.

If it doesn’t comply, then the liability can not be transferred from the unknown driver to the registered keeper. Without this, they can still pursue the driver for six years under contract law, but of course only if they know the identify of the driver.

They will also state that they’re not liable for the delays of the postal system, and their notice was posted in time using a presumption of delivery two working days after the issue date.

One would have thought this would fall under minor keying error. Appeal to the parking operator in the first instance. Appeal as the Registered Keeper. Section 6.3 annexe F.

If they come back offering £20 to settle, it’s up to you whether or not you pay. No obligation. But by doing so you will prevent debt collectors’ letters (harmless) and county court claims (less so). You may feel that £20 is worth paying to avoid this, or you may prefer to pay nothing and let them do their worst.

Yes.
The driver entered into a contract by reading signs and by parking, and the contract states what the driver agrees to by not complying with the terms of the contract.
The Protections of Freedom Act 2012 can be used to transfer the liability from the unknown driver to the registered keeper.
Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.
But I can’t advise you on what’s right for you.