Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hello all

I’ve had a parking charge through after my vehicle was parked while visiting a pub. Parking is supposed to be free for patrons, provided the vehicle registration is entered on a tablet at the bar. This wasn’t mentioned at the time and there was nothing obvious pointing it out.

I phoned the pub afterwards and spoke to the manager, but they were about as useful as a chocolate teapot. They just said to contact the parking company and it would get cancelled, but they weren’t willing to do anything themselves.

I’ve dealt with a few of these before but looking at the notice, it seems like it could be PoFA compliant, but I’m not certain.

Would you suggest the best line of appeal is to focus on being a genuine patron of the pub, or should I be concentrating more on whether the NtK actually complies with PoFA?

Thanks very much for any advice

In addition to the above, the Notice to Keeper (NtK) is not fully compliant with all the requirements of PoFA to be able to hold the Keeper liable. It fails on PoFA paragraph 9(2)(e)(i) and paragraph 9(2)(h).

PoFA 9(2)(e)(i) is because there is no invitation for the Keeper to pay the charge. The NtK does not identify the creditor within the meaning of paragraph 9(2)(h) of Schedule 4 to PoFA 2012. ‘Britannia Parking’ is a trading style used by multiple separate companies, and the NtK’s wording allows that the alleged creditor could be Britannia Parking Group Limited or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries. The recipient cannot know which legal entity is the creditor. This uncertainty means the Notice is non-compliant, and keeper liability cannot apply.

Of course you argue both points and that because of it, the Keeper cannot be liable, only the driver and the Keeper is under no legal obligation to identify the driver to an unregulated private parking firm.

Britannia are not staffed by the brightest of people who decide appeals and the odds of an initial appeal being accepted by them is very low. However, once rejected, you will then be able to appeal to POPLA where you will have a slightly better chance to appeal successfully.

For now, appeal with the following, ONLY as the Keeper:

Subject: Appeal Against PCN – Keeper Liability Rejected Due to PoFA Non-Compliance

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.

As your Notice to Keeper (NtK) does not fully comply with ALL the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA), 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. Britannia 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 NtK can only hold the driver liable. Britannia have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.

Specifically:

• PoFA 9(2)(e)(i) requires that the NtK must invite the keeper to pay the unpaid parking charges. Your notice fails to do so. It merely refers to the driver’s liability and requests the keeper to identify the driver, which is not sufficient. Without a direct invitation to the keeper to pay, the conditions for transferring liability are not met.
• PoFA 9(2)(h) requires the NtK to identify the creditor. Your notice refers only to “Britannia Parking”, which is a trading style used by multiple legal entities. It does not specify which company—Britannia Parking Group Limited or one of its subsidiaries—is the actual creditor. This ambiguity fails the statutory requirement for clarity and renders the notice invalid for the purpose of keeper liability.

Given these clear statutory failures, you must cancel this charge immediately. If you choose to reject this appeal, I will escalate to POPLA and include these points, along with a complaint to the DVLA regarding your misuse of keeper data without lawful basis under PoFA.

Appeal sent.

I'll keep you guys posted!

Thank you!