Free Traffic Legal Advice

No “period of parking”

9(1)A notice which is to be relied on as a notice to keeper for the purposes of paragraph 6(1)(b) is given in accordance with this paragraph if the following requirements are met.

(2)The notice must—

(a)specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates;

(b)inform the keeper that the driver is required to pay parking charges in respect of the specified period of parking and that the parking charges have not been paid in full;

(c)describe the parking charges due from the driver as at the end of that period, the circumstances in which the requirement to pay them arose (including the means by which the requirement was brought to the attention of drivers) and the other facts that made them payable;

(d)specify the total amount of those parking charges that are unpaid, as at a time which is—

(i)specified in the notice; and

(ii)no later than the end of the day before the day on which the notice is either sent by post or, as the case may be, handed to or left at a current address for service for the keeper (see sub-paragraph (4));

(e)state that the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and invite the keeper—

(i)to pay the unpaid parking charges; or

(ii)if the keeper was not the driver of the vehicle, to notify the creditor of the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and to pass the notice on to the driver;

(f)warn the keeper that if, after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given—

(i)the amount of the unpaid parking charges specified under paragraph (d) has not been paid in full, and

(ii)the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver,

the creditor will (if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met) have the right to recover from the keeper so much of that amount as remains unpaid;
(g)inform the keeper of any discount offered for prompt payment and the arrangements for the resolution of disputes or complaints that are available;

(h)identify the creditor and specify how and to whom payment or notification to the creditor may be made;

(i)specify the date on which the notice is sent (where it is sent by post) or given (in any other case).

(3)The notice must relate only to a single period of parking specified under sub-paragraph (2)(a) (but this does not prevent the giving of separate notices which each specify different parts of a single period of parking).

(4)The notice must be given by—

(a)handing it to the keeper, or leaving it at a current address for service for the keeper, within the relevant period; or

(b)sending it by post to a current address for service for the keeper so that it is delivered to that address within the relevant period.

(5)The relevant period for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) is the period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on which the specified period of parking ended.

(6)A notice sent by post is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been delivered (and so “given” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)) on the second working day after the day on which it is posted; and for this purpose “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in England and Wales.

(7)When the notice is given it must be accompanied by any evidence prescribed under paragraph 10.

(8)In sub-paragraph (2)(g) the reference to arrangements for the resolution of disputes or complaints includes—

(a)any procedures offered by the creditor for dealing informally with representations by the keeper about the notice or any matter contained in it; and

(b)any arrangements under which disputes or complaints (however described) may be referred by the keeper to independent adjudication or arbitration.

This may not be the only failing to transfer the liability from the unknown driver to the registered keeper; you seem to be on top of the requirement not to identify the driver.

Can you tell me if this is an appropriate appeal please? Thanks

"Dear UK Parking Control Ltd,
​I am the Registered Keeper of the above vehicle and I am appealing this parking charge. I decline to identify the driver.
​1. Failure to allow a Consideration Period (BPA Code of Practice)
The photographic evidence provided on your portal spans a total time of just 20 seconds, with the first image time-stamped at 14:05:48 and the final image at 14:06:08.
​Under the British Parking Association (BPA) Single Code of Practice, operators must provide a minimum consideration period of five minutes to allow drivers sufficient time to locate the signage, read the terms and conditions, and decide whether to accept them or leave the site. An observation window of merely 20 seconds conclusively proves that the driver was not granted the mandatory five-minute consideration period. Consequently, no parking contract was ever formed between the driver and UKPC. 
​2. Failure to comply with the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) 2012
Your Notice to Keeper also fails to comply with the strict requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) 2012. Specifically, you have failed to comply with paragraph 9(2)(a), as the notice does not specify the "period of parking" to which the notice relates. Providing a single timestamp of "14:06:14" merely indicates a single moment in time, which does not constitute a period of parking.
​Because your Notice to Keeper is not fully compliant with statutory requirements, you cannot lawfully transfer liability from the unknown driver to me, the Registered Keeper.
​As you have failed to establish keeper liability under PoFA 2012, and your own evidence proves no contract was formed with the driver under the BPA Code of Practice, you have no lawful basis to pursue this charge.
​I require you to cancel this charge immediately. If you choose to reject this appeal, you must issue a POPLA code so that this matter can be referred to independent arbitration, where these errors will mandate cancellation.
​Yours faithfully,
​The Registered Keeper"