Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hey all


I have received a PCN from UKPS for £100

The signs I have attached to this post are scattered all over the car park.

I went to a Mcdonalds at 2am, and pulled into the large car park (which I have always gone to but never so late)

The PCN says reason is for: Unauthorised Parking

Just wanted to ask from the wording of the sign:

"Not be parked overnight between the hours of 12am and 6am"

So i guess this means even if i have parked in the car park for 5 minutes, i have no leg to stand on with this right?

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Thank you so much for replying.

The car park was pitch black so I did not see the signs and I think they have only been put up recently, when i went in the day time there was signs displayed inside car park. But i dont get it because im sure lots of people have parked there in the night for a few minutes.

I have attached PCN

Please help if anyone can

Thanks

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If anyone can help or offer advice id really appreciate it

I guess I need to just pay up right?

I cannot see any "Invitation to the keeper" to pay this charge.

The Notice to Keeper (NtK) is not PoFA compliant. However, you are dealing with an IPC member and as most initial appeals are rejected, a secondary appeal to the IAS would be a waste of time and effort. Here is a suggested appeal:

I am writing as the registered keeper of the vehicle referenced in your Parking Charge Notice (PCN) Number [PCN number]. Your Notice to Keeper (NtK) fails to comply with the mandatory requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) 2012, specifically Paragraph 9(2)(f).

Under Paragraph 9(2)(f), the NtK must warn the keeper that the creditor will have the right to recover the charge from the keeper if, after 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given, the amount remains unpaid, and the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and their current address for service.

Your NtK fails to meet this requirement because it states:

“the creditor, UKPS Limited, has the right to recover unpaid charges from the registered keeper if the parking charge remains unpaid after 28 days, or the name and address of the driver is not known.”

This wording is non-compliant for the following reasons:

1. It omits the mandatory legal phrase: “28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given”.

2. By failing to clearly define the starting point of the 28-day period, the NtK introduces ambiguity regarding the deadline for payment.

To illustrate:

• Issue Date of the Notice: 5th December 2024 (Thursday).

• Under PoFA, a notice sent by post is deemed delivered 2 working days later (Interpretation Act 1978).

• The notice is, therefore, deemed delivered on 9th December 2024 (Monday).

• The 28-day period begins the day after delivery, i.e., 10th December 2024 (Tuesday).

• Adding 28 days to this gives a correct deadline of 6th January 2025 (Monday).

Your flawed wording misleadingly implies that the 28 days:

• Begin on the incident date (30th November 2024), resulting in an invalid deadline of 28th December 2024, or

• Begin on the issue date (5th December 2024), creating an equally invalid deadline of 2nd January 2025.

This clear breach of PoFA Schedule 4, Paragraph 9(2)(f) means you have failed to meet the legal conditions necessary to transfer liability to the registered keeper. As a result, I have no liability for this charge.

Furthermore, as I am aware that you are a member of the IPC and the IAS is not an independent nor credible appeals service, I will not accept any decision made by them. Should you reject this appeal, I will robustly defend any claim brought against me in the ultimate dispute resolution service, the Small Claims Track of the County Court, where this non-compliance with PoFA will be evident. Given your NtK’s legal failings, you would have no case, and I will seek to highlight your unreasonable behaviour to the court.

I, therefore, require you to cancel this Notice immediately.

One step at a time. Just send the appeal within the deadline. If/when they reject, we'll cover the next steps.

Ignore "debt recovery". It means nothing. Ignore debt collectors as they are powerless to do anything.