On 28/01/2205 the driver of the vehicle entered a car park at a local gym - where the driver has been frequenting for the past 2 years. Upon entering the gym facility - the driver entered the registration details of the vehicle into the provided parking machine/ipad in the gym - as the driver has done on every occasion of visiting this facility.
Some 14 days later a PCN notice was posted to the Keeper of the Vehicle - notifying them of a parking charge.
Looking for advice on how to appeal this parking charge.
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Welcome - please show us the back of the notice. The keeper isn't liable for the reasons outlined below but I want to check they aren't claiming the contrary on the back.
The good news is they have issued the notice too late to be able to hold the registered keeper liable under the provisions of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act. On that basis, you can appeal
as the keeper only (no ticking any boxes revealing who was driving) with the below:
Dear Sirs,
I have received your Parking Charge Notice (Ref: ________) for vehicle registration mark ____ ___, in which you allege that the driver has incurred a parking charge. I note from your correspondence that you are not seeking to hold me liable as the registered keeper, under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 ("The Act"). You have chosen not to issue a Notice to Keeper in accordance with The Act, and it is now too late for you to do so.
There is no obligation for me to name the driver and I will not be doing so. I am therefore unable to help you further with this matter, and look forward to your confirmation that the charge has been cancelled. If you choose to decline this appeal, you must issue a POPLA code.
Yours,
If appealing online, be careful there are no drop down/tick boxes that cause you to identify who was driving, and keep a close eye on your spam folder for their response. If they do not respond within 28 days, chase them.
Hi DWMB2
Many thanks for the response.
Thought I'd attached both images - apologies - but have done so now.
Thanks.
That back page isn't working for me - either way the appeal I suggested above is suitable.
Tried again - thanks for the help.
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That's unacceptable - they are claiming the ability to hold you liable as the registered keeper using the provisions of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act, despite having issued the notice too late to be compliant. This is a breach of their
Code of Practice.
Have you sent the appeal? If not, I'd amend to the below:
Dear Sirs,
I have received your Parking Charge Notice (Ref: ________) for vehicle registration mark ____ ___, in which you allege that the driver has incurred a parking charge. I am appealing as the registered keeper of the vehicle. There is no obligation for me to name the driver and I will not be doing so. My appeal is on the following grounds:
1. No Keeper liability
You have failed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA/"the Act"). The notice was not delivered within the relevant period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on which the specified period of parking ended, stipulated by 9(5) of the Act, required by 9(4) of the Act.
Date of parking event: 28/01/2025
Date of issue: 10/02/2025
Date the notice was "given" as per 9(6) of the Act: 12/02/2025
Time elapsed: 15 days
As you are unable to hold me liable as the registered keeper of the vehicle, this appeal should be upheld.
2. Breach of the Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice (PPSSCoP)
Clause 8 of the PPSSCoP states:
8.1.1. The parking operator must not serve a notice or include material on its website which in its design and/or language: [...]d) state the keeper is liable under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 where they cannot be held liable.
As above, the notice has been issued too late to be delivered within the relevant period prescribed by the Act. Despite this, your notice claims that if the notice remains unpaid, you will have the right to recover any unpaid charges from me, the registered keeper, and further states that "This notice is given to you under Paragraph 9(2)(f) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act". Using such wording when you are aware that no such keeper liability exists is a direct contravention of the PPSSCoP. In light of this I require you to:
a) Immediately cancel the charge
b) Provide an explanation as to why the notice wrongly claims to have been issued under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act
I look forward to your confirmation that the charge has been cancelled. If you choose to decline this appeal, you must issue a POPLA code.
Yours,Once they respond, let us know, and even if they cancel, you should file a complaint and escalate this to the British Parking Association. We can draft a complaint for you. If you've already appealed with my previously suggested wording, this is fine, but also let us know, as I would then recommend submitting a complaint immediately - again, we can help with this.
Hi,
Haven’t as yet sent a response to them - but will do so with the template you suggest.
When it comes to filling in details on their website - like the drop down menus - do you fill in the details of the person appealing - or the person to whom the PCN was made? Or an alternative? Or does it not matter?
Thanks again - glad to have found this site.
When it comes to filling in details on their website - like the drop down menus - do you fill in the details of the person appealing - or the person to whom the PCN was made? Or an alternative?
The person to whom the notice is addressed should be the registered keeper - that is the person who should be appealing the charge. The only option selected in any drop down menu should be "registered keeper".
Are you supporting someone else who has received the notice? If so, the appeal should be done in their name as the keeper, not yours.
My wife is the registered keeper of the vehicle - but she wasn’t the one driving the vehicle on the day.
Okay - the appeal should be done in her name, being clear in any drop downs etc. that she is the keeper not the driver. You can of course do this for her with her permission, but it is her details that must be on the appeal.
Agree x 1
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