Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi all,

Four days ago I received a parking charge notice from Parkingeye, for a parking violation committed on 07.11.2024. I am from Germany, and I was on vacation in Scotland during that week. I had a car hired from Enterprise. Parkingeye are asking for 100 pounds for 11 minutes parking. On the notice it says that there is a maximum of 0 hours and 0 minutes free stay time at this car park.

First question: Is this even legal? It seems extremely impractical, e.g. if people drive in only to see that the parking space is fully occupied.

Let's assume the driver stops at this car park to check the reviews of the pub on Google Maps, then decides against going in and leaves the car park 11 mins later. The driver steps out of the car for a short amount of time to take a picture. The driver sees that there is a sign that says patron parking only, but cannot remember if there are any more prominent signs that inform the driver where and how to pay. The driver does not consider that a payment might be necessary, because they are a potential patron, but decide against going into the pub after a period of consideration.

On the notice it says that drivers must register their car inside the pub via a terminal. Reviews on Google Maps also seem to suggest that the only way to avoid a parking charge is by going inside the pub and registering the car.

Second question: Is this legal? If the pub is closed there seems to be no way to avoid the charge.

I received this notice on 4.12. via air mail to Germany. The parking charge is discounted to 60 pounds if payed within 14 days of the date issued. The notice was issued on 11.11. Even if I was willing to pay the charge, just to avoid any further hassle, I don't want to pay 40 pounds on top because the mail was late.

Here is a link to the document: https://imgur.com/a/A3iVn6S

Any help would be apprecciated, thank you!

If Enterprise has sent the details to Parkingeye would this absolve them from a come back claim against them?

Is the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) you received addressed to you as the Hirer of the vehicle or is it simply a copy of the Notice to Keeper (NtK) that was sent to the Hire company?

This will determine  whether the Hire company has followed the correct procedure to transfer liability away from themselves to you, the Hirer. If they have correctly followed the procedure to transfer liability from themselves as the Registered Keeper (RK) to you, the Hirer, then ParkingEye cannot later go back and try and recover anything from the RK.

So, if the PCN you have received is in your name, then it is a Notice to Hirer (NtH) and only the driver can be liable. Neither the Hire company nor ParkingEye know who the driver is. In Scotland, there is no Keeper/Hirer liability anyway.

If all you have received is a copy of the Notice to Keeper (NtK) received by the Hire company, then they may not have correctly transferred liability away from themselves and could be chased by ParkingEye which in turn, means they could try and chase you, although unlikely as you are not a UK resident, unless you have given them authorisation to charge your credit card.

There is no way ParkingEye can chase you in Germany. They have no jurisdiction. Your only concern is whether the Hire company have transferred liability as required under PoFA. If they have, you can simply ignore the PCN.

So, is the PCN in your name or the Hire company's name?

Edit... on reading the PCN, it would appear to be an NtH in the Hirers name because the back of it does not contain the usual PoFA warning. In which case, simply ignore the letter and carry on with your life.

Hey, thanks for the reply! The notice is adressed to me personally, so I assume Enterprise gave my name and adress to Parkingeye. I have read that there is no keeper liability in Scotland, but was unsure whether this applies to hired cars as well. So should I appeal on the basis that they cannot prove who was driving? I would prefer if I could resolve this once and for all. I have read of a similar case on another website where Parkingeye hired a German debt collection agency to pressure the person to pay, and I could do without that.

I would amend the template slightly as follows

I am the Hirer 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.

As you will be fully aware, there is no Keeper/Hirer liability in Scotland. Even if there was, your Notice to Hirer (NtH) does not fully comply with ALL the requirements of paragraphs 13 and 14 of PoFA 2012. So, you are unable to hold the Hirer of the vehicle liable for the charge.

As there is no legal obligation for the Hirer to identify the driver to an unregulated private parking company, there will be no admission as to who was driving and no inference or assumptions can be drawn. ParkingEye has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.

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

This is because only the driver can appeal to POPLA in Scotland.