Free Traffic Legal Advice

A small note - if issued by a private company, it is not a fine (even though it feels like one).

Two initial questions:

• Which parking company?
• What date did the parking event take place?

There was some intention to seek advice from the site manager to see if there would be any support to have the ticket thrown out. This was apparently not pursued.

It should be pursued now - this is by far the easiest way to resolve the matter.

1. If I recall correctly, the general concept of a lower fine converting to a higher fine after a given period is a disputed mechanism amongst this community. Is there a reliable way to refuse the higher fee and pay the lower fee only, even after the deadline?

That's not quite the correct way round. The charge will be £X (usually £100). As an 'incentive' to pay up without a fuss, and in accordance with the Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice, parking companies offer a discount of at least 40% on the charge if it is paid within 14 days. Once that period has passed, the company will not entertain paying at the reduced fee. Although this is only relevant if one is intending to pay.

2. The notice having been lost, the recipient will presumably have to get in touch with the parking company first even to be able to make the payment. But this has me wondering—is there anything in the fact that no follow-up has been sent in the mail?

If no payment or appeal is received, the parking company will (should) apply to the DVLA for the details of the registered keeper of the vehicle, and will then send said keeper a parking charge notice by post.

A postal notice following a windscreen ticket should be issued such that it is delivered within "the period of 28 days following the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice to driver was given" - if they want to hold the keeper liable using Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act.

So if the parking event was on 7th May, the postal notice should be received by 2nd July, if they want to hold the keeper liable. Any later, and they'll not be able to recover the charge from the keeper.

Jeez!!! Stop panicking about the "mugs discount"! If that is all the driver is worried about, then just pay it and be done with it, irrespective of whether it has been issued correctly or fairly!

Parking Control Solutions used to be a BPA member but they do not appear on their list of accredited operators. They do not appeal on the ICP list either. This could be significant.

You need to edit your OP so that there is absolutely no reference to the fact that the Keeper may also be the driver. The Keeper only ever refers to the driver in the third person. Make sure that there is not damning "I did this or that", only "the driver did this or that". The Keeper and the driver are two separate legal entities.

As above, stop referring to it as a "fine". I will give you £100 for each and every occurrence of the word "fine" or even "penalty" you can show us on that Notice to Driver (NtD).

That Parking Charge Notice (PCN) is simply a speculative invoice from an unregulated private parking company for an alleged breach of contract by an unknown driver. The only way they can transfer that liability from the unknown driver to the known Keeper (once they apply to the DVLA for the Keepers data), is if their NtD and subsequent Notice to Keeper (NtK) is if those notices fully comply with all the requirements of PoFA 2012.

I will hazard a guess bet that the NtD did not comply. DO NOT appeal anything yet!!!!

On day 27 after the date the NtD was issued (not a day earlier or later), the Keeper (not the driver, whether the Keeper was or was not the driver) appeals with the following:

I am the keeper of the vehicle and I dispute your 'parking charge'. I deny any liability or contractual agreement and I will be making a complaint about your predatory conduct to your client landowner.

For your information, my name and address for service as the Registered Keeper is:

[Your name]
[Your address]
[Post code]

As your Notice to Driver (NtD) does not fully comply with ALL the requirements of PoFA 2012, you are unable to hold the Keeper of the vehicle liable for the charge. Partial or even substantial compliance is not sufficient. There will be no admission as to who was driving and no inference or assumptions can be drawn. PCS has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.

The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtD can only hold the driver liable. PCS have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.

As the Keeper is no longer in possession of the NtD, you won't be able to use their webform. The only way to submit the appeal will be by email. The only published email address for PCS is dpo@parkingcontrolsolutions.co.uk so use that and add that you are unable to use the appeals portal because you no longer have the NtD and for the DPO to pass the appeal on to the relevant team.

There is a reason for not appealing before day 27 after the NtD is issued.

Having appealed and provided your name and address for service, the operator should not apply to the DVLA for your data. If they do, and admit as much by issuing a postal Notice to Keeper (NtK), you have a valid complaint against them with the DVLA for unlawfully accessing your data unnecessarily from them.

So, forget the mugs discount and appeal ONLY as the Keeper on day 27, making sure you do not blab the drivers identity, inadvertently or otherwise. There is a good chance they will reject the appeal without issuing an NtK, which further strengthens your defence should they try to litigate the matter.

I will ask the DVLA why PCS do not appear on either the BPA or IPC lists of accredited operators and if they are still requesting DVLA Keeper data under the KADOE contract. If so, and they are not an accredited AOS member, under what authority are they being provided with DVLA Keeper data.

Good point. In this case, don't respond at all. If they do try and obtain your Keeper data from the DVLA, we'll know soon enough.

I did send an FOI request to the DVLA yesterday about this and should hopefully hear back no later than 17th June.

If they are indeed not a member of any AOS, then she's potentially giving them £60 that they have absolutely no way of recovering.

This is my feeling as well, and I am trying to impress the sentiment upon her. That deadline discount is proving quite an effective tactic, though, and I imagine it does with many!

PCS is not currently listed on the IPC list of approved operators which probably means that have had their accreditation suspended. The fact they are using correspondence showing that they are currently accredited is unlawful.