Free Traffic Legal Advice

Presumably there were no additional documents included with the notice to hirer.

No, the driver doesn’t want to appeal, but the hirer can appeal:

Dear Sirs,

I have received you Notice to Hirer [(PCN number)] for Vehicle Registration Mark [VRM]. I am the hirer of the vehicle. There is no obligation for me to name the driver at the time and I will not be doing so.

To hold me liable for the charge as the hirer of the vehicle, you must meet the conditions specified in Paragraph 14 of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“the Act”). I note from your correspondence that you have failed to meet these conditions. These failures include (but are not limited to):

A failure to serve a Notice to Hirer containing all the information required by 14(5) of the Act.
A failure to include the additional documents mentioned by 13(2) of the Act.

As a result of this, you are unable to recover the specified charge from me, the hirer. As I do not have liability for this charge, I am unable to help you further with this matter. I therefore look forward to your confirmation that the charge has been cancelled.

Stop talking about the driver! The key point of the appeal is that the driver is not identified and liability can not be transferred to the hirer.

See

Hire vehicles

13(1)This paragraph applies in the case of parking charges incurred in respect of the parking of a vehicle on relevant land if—

(a)the vehicle was at the time of parking hired to any person under a hire agreement with a vehicle-hire firm; and

(b)the keeper has been given a notice to keeper within the relevant period for the purposes of paragraph 8(4) or 9(4) (as the case may be).

(2)The creditor may not exercise the right under paragraph 4 to recover from the keeper any unpaid parking charges specified in the notice to keeper if, within the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which that notice was given, the creditor is given—

(a)a statement signed by or on behalf of the vehicle-hire firm to the effect that at the material time the vehicle was hired to a named person under a hire agreement;

(b)a copy of the hire agreement; and

(c)a copy of a statement of liability signed by the hirer under that hire agreement.

(3)The statement of liability required by sub-paragraph (2)(c) must—

(a)contain a statement by the hirer to the effect that the hirer acknowledges responsibility for any parking charges that may be incurred with respect to the vehicle while it is hired to the hirer;

(b)include an address given by the hirer (whether a residential, business or other address) as one at which documents may be given to the hirer;

(and it is immaterial whether the statement mentioned in paragraph (a) relates also to other charges or penalties of any kind).
(4)A statement required by sub-paragraph (2)(a) or (c) must be in such form (if any) as may be prescribed by the appropriate national authority by regulations made by statutory instrument.

(5)The documents mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) must be given by—

(a)handing them to the creditor;

(b)leaving them at any address which is specified in the notice to keeper as an address at which documents may be given to the creditor or to which payments may be sent; or

(c)sending them by post to such an address so that they are delivered to that address within the period mentioned in that sub-paragraph.

(6)In this paragraph and paragraph 14—

(a)“hire agreement” means an agreement which—

(i)provides for a vehicle to be let to a person (“the hirer”) for a period of any duration (whether or not the period is capable of extension by agreement between the parties); and

(ii)is not a hire-purchase agreement within the meaning of the Consumer Credit Act 1974;

(b)any reference to the currency of a hire agreement includes a reference to any period during which, with the consent of the vehicle-hire firm, the hirer continues in possession of the vehicle as hirer, after the expiry of any period specified in the agreement but otherwise on terms and conditions specified in it; and

(c)“vehicle-hire firm” means any person engaged in the hiring of vehicles in the course of a business.

14(1)If—

(a)the creditor is by virtue of paragraph 13(2) unable to exercise the right to recover from the keeper any unpaid parking charges mentioned in the notice to keeper, and

(b)the conditions mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) below are met,

the creditor may recover those charges (so far as they remain unpaid) from the hirer.
(2)The conditions are that—

(a)the creditor has within the relevant period given the hirer a notice in accordance with sub-paragraph (5) (a “notice to hirer”), together with a copy of the documents mentioned in paragraph 13(2) and the notice to keeper;

(b)a period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the notice to hirer was given has elapsed; and

(c)the vehicle was not a stolen vehicle at the beginning of the period of parking to which the unpaid parking charges relate.

Napier Parking have responded rejecting the appeal and including a letter from the leasing company which Napier claim 'enclosed hire agreement showing you as driver at the time' which I think shows nothing of the sort it only records the 'keeper'.

Links attached to what was received today.






Not sure how to respond because it looks like they have not enclosed all the documents they should have.

(And for reference there was no overstay as parking was fully paid in advance.)

Please advise.

Appeal to IAS has not been made yet but still have a few days left to appeal or pay. What do you mean by expanded version of the original appeal? I have been looking at the posts on the site and cannot find the same scenario an boiler plate text to use.

Also do I mention in the Appeal that there is proof of payment for the whole length of stay? Or keep this little nugget in the unlikely even that it goes to court.

Please critique the appeal letter I plan to send:

I am appealing the above Parking Charge Notice issued by Napier Parking in my capacity as the hirer/keeper of the vehicle. I dispute liability for this charge and request that the appeal be upheld on the following grounds.

Firstly, I am under no legal obligation to identify the driver at the time of the alleged event, and I decline to do so. Napier Parking has failed to establish keeper/hirer liability in accordance with the strict requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“POFA”).

As this matter concerns a hire vehicle, Napier Parking was required to fully comply with Paragraphs 13 and 14 of Schedule 4 POFA in order to transfer liability from the driver to the hirer. This includes providing copies of the following mandatory documents alongside the Notice to Hirer:

A copy of the hire agreement;
A copy of the statement of liability signed by the hirer; and
A copy of the original Notice to Keeper.

Napier Parking failed to provide the required documentation. As a result, the conditions necessary to invoke hirer liability under POFA have not been met. Consequently, only the driver could potentially be liable, and as stated above, I am not obliged to identify the driver.

Furthermore, the Parking Charge Notice itself confirms that the recorded arrival time was XXXXXXX and the recorded exit time was XXXXXX, amounting to a total stay of 5 hours and X minutes.

As evidenced in the attached payment screenshot, a payment of £X.XX was made for parking, which more than covers the duration of the stay. To be absolutely clear, despite paying for 6 hours of parking, the vehicle exited well before the paid-for parking session expired.

Given that there was no overstay and the parking duration was fully covered by the payment made, this Parking Charge Notice has no valid basis and should therefore be cancelled immediately.

In addition, ANPR systems merely record entry and exit times at the perimeter of the site and do not establish the actual parked duration. Reasonable grace periods must also be allowed for entering the site, locating a space, reading the terms and conditions, and exiting the car park.

Given:

the operator’s failure to comply with the statutory requirements of POFA regarding hire vehicles;
the absence of any obligation on me to identify the driver; and
the clear evidence that payment covered the entirety of the parking period,

I respectfully request that the IAS allows this appeal and directs Napier Parking to cancel the Parking Charge Notice.

Should this appeal be rejected, please provide full details of the Independent Appeals Service/POPLA process, including the appropriate contact information and a valid appeal reference number so that the matter may be escalated further.

Yours faithfully,