Free Traffic Legal Advice

UPDATE:

Turns out it was because we didn't update the V5c on that vehicle. did with the other one so no idea why not. moving be stressful 

So, I replied with this:



Dear Ocean Parking Team,

I am writing as the registered keeper of vehicle REG regarding a letter I have received from TRACE Debt Recovery (Case ID: 327128324), which relates to Parking Charge Reference XXXXXXXXXXX.

This TRACE letter dated 04 December 2025 is the first correspondence I have received regarding this matter. I have now discovered that the DVLA held an old address on the vehicle’s V5C at the time you requested keeper details, which explains why no earlier correspondence was received at my current address.

For clarity, I am not confirming the identity of the driver, nor am I making any admission of liability. I am simply attempting to understand the basis of the claim, which I have only just become aware of.

In order to properly review the matter, I request that you:

Place the case on hold immediately while this is investigated.

Reissue the original Notice to Keeper and all subsequent correspondence to my correct address:
(Address)

Reset the charge to the original (pre-debt recovery) amount, as I was never given the opportunity to appeal or respond due to the outdated DVLA address.

Provide copies of the following documentation:

The original Notice to Keeper sent to the DVLA address

All photographic/ANPR evidence

Full entry and exit timestamps recorded

Copies of all letters you state were issued previously

I am engaging promptly now that the matter has been brought to my attention, and I request confirmation that the case has been placed on hold while you review and respond to this request.

Thank you, and I look forward to your reply.

Kind regards,
Name


They said this:


Please be advised, we receive all of our Keeper details directly form the DVLA. If these are incorrect you will need to contact them directly regarding this. As a result of this we are unable to reissue the Parking Charge Notice (PCN).

 

Furthermore, please see attached a copy of the Notice to Keeper, Reminder Notice, and proof of postage for both of these letters. We have also attached a copy of the time and date stamped ANPR images that take a picture of your vehicle entering and existing site.

 

Additionally, as the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) is 56 days old, this case has gone to debt recovery with the agent Trace Debt Recovery.

 

You will have to liaise with them directly on 01604 968123.

 

Kind regards,
 

Ocean Parking



And they sent this:


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nRfXiuhiyG27WKLmByHTZd_SOPXemEix/view?usp=sharing

Just for my peace of minf, how do I know it isn't PoFA compliant?

The Notice to Keeper (NtK) does not create keeper liability because it fails to meet the strict wording requirements of PoFA, in particular paragraphs 9(2)(f) and 9(2)(h).

On paragraph 9(2)(f), PoFA requires a warning that if, after “the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given”, the parking charge has not been paid in full and the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver, the creditor will have the right to recover the unpaid amount from the keeper, provided all other conditions in Schedule 4 are met. The Ocean wording instead says: “if, after 28 days from the date given (which is presumed to be the second working day after the Date Issued)…”. That is a different period: they treat the date the notice is “given” as day one, whereas the statute makes clear that the 28-day period starts with the day after that date. In other words, their formulation shortens the statutory period and mis-describes how time is calculated. PoFA is a strict regime, so a notice which misstates the keeper’s 28-day period is not compliant.

The same paragraph then goes on to say “we have the right to recover any unpaid part of the parking charge from you”. That is incorrect under PoFA. Any right to recover from the keeper is only a future, conditional right which will arise if, after the correct statutory period has expired, the charge is still unpaid, the operator still does not know both the name and a current address for service of the driver, and all the other requirements of Schedule 4 are in fact satisfied. The notice should warn that the creditor will have the right to recover the charge in those circumstances; it should not assert that the operator already “has” that right at the time of the notice. The wording also waters down the statutory phrase “address for service” to “current address of the driver”, which is not the same thing. Taken together, the wrong start date, the shortened period, the assertion of an existing right, and the looser wording about the driver’s address mean that this is not the warning prescribed by paragraph 9(2)(f), so keeper liability cannot arise.

Separately, the notice also fails paragraph 9(2)(h), which requires the creditor to be identified. Although the branding “Ocean Parking” appears and there is some tiny print on the back referring to Anchor Security Services Ltd trading as Ocean Parking, the notice never actually identifies who the creditor is. Nowhere does it say “the creditor is [named legal entity]” or make it clear that the parking charge is owed to that particular company. The reader is left to guess whether the creditor is Ocean Parking as a trading style, Anchor Security Services Ltd, or some other party such as the landowner or their agent. PoFA requires the notice to identify the creditor clearly so that the keeper knows exactly who is claiming the debt. Simply using a trading name in the header, or giving a correspondence address, does not amount to specifically identifying the creditor for the purposes of paragraph 9(2)(h).

Because the warning about keeper liability is defective under paragraph 9(2)(f), and the creditor is not properly identified under paragraph 9(2)(h), this Notice to Keeper does not meet the mandatory conditions of Schedule 4 and cannot be relied upon to transfer liability from the driver to the registered keeper.