Author Topic: Smart Parking PCN – Overstay – Cornwall Services PL26 8UF  (Read 90 times)

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My relative as registered keeper has received the att. PCN from Smart Parking.

As you can see it alleges a 4+hr stay at Bodmin services PL26 8UF, which seems unlikely at best for a small A-Road services.
However, being elderly there is no obvious 'smart phone' based data we can use as loose evidence, e.g a photo 2 hrs later with geodata 20 miles away.

They do agree that the photos provided show registration plates matching, e.g. this is a mistake but not an OCR misrecognition based one.

It states the date of contravention as 17/4/26 with date issued as 05/05/26, received in post this morning.

He has only sent the front page for now but there is no option to appeal on the front page, only pay!

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I will chase the rear ASAP.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2026, 02:45:03 pm by big_bad_golf »

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Re: Smart Parking PCN – Overstay – Cornwall Services PL26 8UF
« Reply #2 on: »
If the driver is not identified it seems likely that Smart has issued the notice too late to hold the registered keeper liable.
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Re: Smart Parking PCN – Overstay – Cornwall Services PL26 8UF
« Reply #3 on: »
Thanks for reply, here's the rear image

I assume they KNOW it's non-compliant with POFA when they don't even mention it themselves?

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« Last Edit: May 16, 2026, 02:59:41 pm by big_bad_golf »

Re: Smart Parking PCN – Overstay – Cornwall Services PL26 8UF
« Reply #4 on: »
Smart currently seem to have two templates, one of which mentions PoFA 2012 and one of which doesn’t. As does Parking Eye. So relatively easy to spot.
17/4 would normally require a posting/issue date of 29/4 or earlier.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2026, 03:04:16 pm by jfollows »
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Re: Smart Parking PCN – Overstay – Cornwall Services PL26 8UF
« Reply #5 on: »
Excellent, so assume I've done right by advising my relative to use the reply template from here - https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/pcn-cardiff-ncp/msg102882/#msg102882

Quote
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 the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA 2012), 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. COMPANY 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 strained interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtK can only ever attempt to hold the driver liable.

Further, you are now on notice that I am also reporting COMPANY to the DVLA for breach of the Private Parking Single Code of Practice, Section 8.1.1(d). You will be aware that DVLA data access is conditional upon compliance obligations, and that breaches engage your KADOE contract. I will not set out the detail here; you are invited to look up Section 8.1.1(d) yourself.

COMPANY has no prospect of success at POPLA. You are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel this charge.

Not had to deal with this since the days of PEPIPOO which I've been advised this forum has many of the same contibutors?
Thanks again!

Re: Smart Parking PCN – Overstay – Cornwall Services PL26 8UF
« Reply #6 on: »
Just a quick update. Potential success?

In years past I expected a brief 'you are not compliant' letter to result in a salty 'as a gesture of goodwill...' reply, as I've had an a couple of occasions.

Instead my relative soon got a reply to the informal challenge saying that they couldn't care less about what they'd written and the PCN stood.

I can see that times have changed and these companies are even more brazen than ever. I don't think this should be compared to the PO I.T affair,
and yet there is a certain similarity that I can imagine elderly people with 'fines' escalating into the 100s as they simply do not understand
what is going on, get bad advice, don't know how best to appeal, etc.... And the use of taxpayer funded court infrastructure to back up a racket is analogue.

Anyway, after that, I said 'sod it, I know this is usually a total waste of energy, but maybe you should just try to contact the services?'

My relative did - I don't have details, but apparently they seemed reasonably interested rather than just saying 'nothing to do with us' and hanging up.
I suspect this overstay is a known problem happening all the time. They took the PCN number, reg number, stated it would be cancelled. It's unfortunate
it was only over the phone. But, that was a month ago - I have told him to be vigilant for any update from Dumb Parking, there hasn't been a 'we've cancelled it'
letter, but also nothing else now for 6 weeks. No DCBL nonsense. I'm aware that people talk of letters 2 years later. Fingers crossed...
« Last Edit: Today at 07:07:32 am by big_bad_golf »

Re: Smart Parking PCN – Overstay – Cornwall Services PL26 8UF
« Reply #7 on: »
Good, you went down the route often referred to as “Plan A” both here and on PePiPoo, ie contact the landowner.

File everything carefully in the absence of a formal cancellation, they sometimes resurrect these things and have six years in which to do so. But it looks good.
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