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Apcoa Parking fines and 'admin' on rental car- Paid at machine with 1 wrong digit :(
jimmyb78
Posts: 30 Forumite
Hello,
I'm confused as to correct procedure here. I've been charged 2 £55 admin fees by easirent for 2 'fines' by Apcoa. They allege I didn't pay when at a hotel at the end of July. I have a debit card receipt for the payment covering the parking period. However I'm sure I entered a wrong digit on the car registration on the machine, putting a 5 instead of an S. I'm now on the hook for 2 £60 fines as I took the car out of the parking lot to fill it up and then returned. They have sent the CCTV stills as their proof.
Easirent have just charged me 2 lots of £55 as admin on top of this.
I have no real idea who to go to first. Should I challenge Apcoa and then easirent. Vice versa?
I'm confused as to correct procedure here. I've been charged 2 £55 admin fees by easirent for 2 'fines' by Apcoa. They allege I didn't pay when at a hotel at the end of July. I have a debit card receipt for the payment covering the parking period. However I'm sure I entered a wrong digit on the car registration on the machine, putting a 5 instead of an S. I'm now on the hook for 2 £60 fines as I took the car out of the parking lot to fill it up and then returned. They have sent the CCTV stills as their proof.
Easirent have just charged me 2 lots of £55 as admin on top of this.
I have no real idea who to go to first. Should I challenge Apcoa and then easirent. Vice versa?
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Comments
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when dealing with rental companies, its absolutely critical that you understand that there are not fines, and under no circumstances should you refer to private parking tickets add fibres even dealing with the hire company.
first question, what do the rental/hour terms say about parking tickets/fines etc?
do not contact the hire company until you post what you intend to say in here first for analysis and checking.From the Plain Language Commission:
"The BPA has surely become one of the most socially dangerous organisations in the UK"0 -
Before starting a new thread everyone is politely asked to read the newbies FAQ thread near the top of the forum.
Go there now to understand the game you are caught up in.
You need to deal with both issues separately but in tandem.
Each PCN needs dealing with individually.
You also should be complaining to the hotel.
All this is covered in the newbies FAQ0 -
Check your rental agreement. Usually they refer to fines and admin charges. This is a speculative invoice from a private company that you dispute.
If there is no reference in the t&c then they have mischarged you and you get onto your card company and dispute the charge.
You tell the hire company that this is not a fine, they have no right to charge you and that you will be disputing the PPC charge and have informed your card company to remove their admin fee.
The rest re th PPC charge is covered as nauseum on here and search the forum for very similar situations. The PPC and the appeal service will probably not roll over, but you have an excellent chance if they do go to court.0 -
When contacting the hire company, remind them that they should be following BVRLA guidance whereby they should provide the parking company with the hirer details. That way they discharge any liability and allow the hirer to dispute the charge.
But of course this doesn't make any extra money for the hire company.
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when dealing with rental companies, its absolutely critical that you understand that there are not fines, and under no circumstances should you refer to private parking tickets add fibres even dealing with the hire company.
first question, what do the rental/hour terms say about parking tickets/fines etc?
do not contact the hire company until you post what you intend to say in here first for analysis and checking.
So this is what it says on easirent's t and c's
'Traffic and parking Fines: If the vehicle receives a fine during the rental period, you will be responsible for full payment of the fine as well as a £55 traffic fine management fee per fine. This includes, but is not restricted to, parking offences, speeding fines, congestion charges, bus lane offences, traffic signal offences, toll road offences, etc…'
They've charged my card for the 2 55 quid 'invoices' or whatever they're supposed to be and say they're sending me the fines to pay also. The scanned copy of the 'invoice' shows the CCTV footage and refers to the 'alleged contravention of failure to purchase and display a valid parking permit'
I've called noone and said nothing. I read the newbies thread but my case seems to combine several issues so, wasn't sure where to start. Normally I'd call the parking company and send them my debit card receipt to show I'd paid the day in question but I'm not sure I should do that now...
As for the rental company I don't know what to say to them either. Perhaps that 'this isn't a fine, just an invoice and you can't charge me'? Or should I leave it until I've got on to the parking company themselves?0 -
Firstly, do not call the parking company - you must communicate with them only in writing.
Has APCOA reissued the Parking Charge Notices to you (i.e. as "Notices to Hirer")?
Check out the Newbies Sticky thread and you will see that you should deal with these charges as the vehicles hirer / keeper. Here's the process:
1. Submit an "appeal" to APCOA for each PCN - based on details in the Newbies Sticky
2. When APCOA send their standard rejection letter (plus POPLA Code), escalate your "appeal" to POPLA - based on details in the Newbies Sticky.
3. A couple of weeks later you will receive an email from POPLA telling you that APCOA do not wish to contest your "appeal" and have cancelled the charge.
APCOA are easy to beat - so long as you do not reveal who was driving.
With regard to the Easirent terms and conditions that you've quoted, these refer only to traffic and parking fines, not civil parking charges issued by private parking companies. The £55 admin charges are unfair and are totally disproportionate to the actual cost to Easirent of passing your details on to APCOA.0 -
These are not fines or parking offences. Refer them to the BPA Code of Practice that reads that Parking Companies...........
14 Misrepresentation of authority
14.1 You must give clear information to the public about what
parking activities are allowed and what is unauthorised.
You must not misrepresent to the public that your
parking control and enforcement work is carried out
under the statutory powers of the police or any other
public authority. You will be breaching the Code if you
suggest to the public that you are providing parking
enforcement under statutory authority.
14.2 You must not use terms which imply that parking is
being managed, controlled and enforced under statutory
authority. This includes using terms such as ‘fine’, ‘penalty’
or ‘penalty charge notice’.
If their own trade association confirms that there charges are NOT fines, then no hire company can either!!
And Collins Dictionary defines a parking offence as "the act of leaving your car somewhere illegally "
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/parking-offence
What you did was not illegal and therefore not an offence.
Tell them that if the admin charge is not removed, you will take them to the small claims court.0 -
When contacting the hire company, remind them that they should be following BVRLA guidance whereby they should provide the parking company with the hirer details. That way they discharge any liability and allow the hirer to dispute the charge.
But of course this doesn't make any extra money for the hire company.
As a hire industry insider, we will attempt to transfer liability on all "fines" (the process is the same regardless of whether it is C Charge, Dart, speeding, private parking or local authorities charges) however the private parking industry will often refuse this transfer request, and thus create a load of issues for the fleet operator.
I can't deny that £55 admin charge is steep, my company charges £15+vat, but we do employ 2 people full time to process all fines, and the postage charges for replies alone come to a 5 figure sum annually. We also absorb a lot of charges where we are unable to pass on the full charge for various reasons.
Most of the companies base their admin fee on the actual cost of processing the "fines" rather than a revenue stream. I do know Easirent, and the chances are that the OP was even in one of my vehicles. Depending on the supply chain, it could well be that the Registered keeper is the vehicle manufacturer, who processed the original charge, it then come to us, we pass it to Easirent, who then pass it to the driver, and each step incurs an admin fee, as it is passed down the line.
Our policy is that all fines, tolls, traffic violation and parking charges are the liability of the hirer, and this is in line with the BVRLA approved wording that complies with the RTA definition of a hire agreement. It is also our policy to refund any admin fees for charges that are subsequently cancelled, whether that is a S172 NIP, or a private parking charge. We still have the cost of processing the initial paperwork, but we offer it as a customer goodwill gesture.
There is also the small matter of litigation that we take at our own cost. I deal with a number of court claims each month, although it's becoming rare they get as far as a hearing, but again that is a tangible cost to our business, whether we transfer liability or not.
If the charge has been transferred to the hirer, I can bet precious parts of my anatomy that APCOA will not have complied with paragraph 13 of POFA 2012 which covers hire vehicles. It will still be up to the OP to go through the appeal process though once liability has been transferred. If the charge is cancelled at POPLA, then it's the time to go back to the hire company and challenge the admin fees.
Again, from lots of previous experience, your initial call should be to the hotel to complain. They hold most sway in getting the tickets cancelled, and is generally a lot easier than jumping through the POPLA hoops.<--- Nothing to see here - move along --->0 -
Edna_Basher wrote: »Firstly, do not call the parking company - you must communicate with them only in writing.
Has APCOA reissued the Parking Charge Notices to you (i.e. as "Notices to Hirer")?
Check out the Newbies Sticky thread and you will see that you should deal with these charges as the vehicles hirer / keeper. Here's the process:
1. Submit an "appeal" to APCOA for each PCN - based on details in the Newbies Sticky
2. When APCOA send their standard rejection letter (plus POPLA Code), escalate your "appeal" to POPLA - based on details in the Newbies Sticky.
3. A couple of weeks later you will receive an email from POPLA telling you that APCOA do not wish to contest your "appeal" and have cancelled the charge.
APCOA are easy to beat - so long as you do not reveal who was driving.
With regard to the Easirent terms and conditions that you've quoted, these refer only to traffic and parking fines, not civil parking charges issued by private parking companies. The £55 admin charges are unfair and are totally disproportionate to the actual cost to Easirent of passing your details on to APCOA.
Thanks for the info re the 'fines'. I'm currently abroad so will check whether they have been sent to my parents' address. As for the 'admin charges', should I call easirent and quote the above do you think? What's the best way to go about it?0 -
As a hire industry insider, we will attempt to transfer liability on all "fines" (the process is the same regardless of whether it is C Charge, Dart, speeding, private parking or local authorities charges) however the private parking industry will often refuse this transfer request, and thus create a load of issues for the fleet operator.
I can't deny that £55 admin charge is steep, my company charges £15+vat, but we do employ 2 people full time to process all fines, and the postage charges for replies alone come to a 5 figure sum annually. We also absorb a lot of charges where we are unable to pass on the full charge for various reasons.
Most of the companies base their admin fee on the actual cost of processing the "fines" rather than a revenue stream. I do know Easirent, and the chances are that the OP was even in one of my vehicles. Depending on the supply chain, it could well be that the Registered keeper is the vehicle manufacturer, who processed the original charge, it then come to us, we pass it to Easirent, who then pass it to the driver, and each step incurs an admin fee, as it is passed down the line.
Our policy is that all fines, tolls, traffic violation and parking charges are the liability of the hirer, and this is in line with the BVRLA approved wording that complies with the RTA definition of a hire agreement. It is also our policy to refund any admin fees for charges that are subsequently cancelled, whether that is a S172 NIP, or a private parking charge. We still have the cost of processing the initial paperwork, but we offer it as a customer goodwill gesture.
There is also the small matter of litigation that we take at our own cost. I deal with a number of court claims each month, although it's becoming rare they get as far as a hearing, but again that is a tangible cost to our business, whether we transfer liability or not.
If the charge has been transferred to the hirer, I can bet precious parts of my anatomy that APCOA will not have complied with paragraph 13 of POFA 2012 which covers hire vehicles. It will still be up to the OP to go through the appeal process though once liability has been transferred. If the charge is cancelled at POPLA, then it's the time to go back to the hire company and challenge the admin fees.
Again, from lots of previous experience, your initial call should be to the hotel to complain. They hold most sway in getting the tickets cancelled, and is generally a lot easier than jumping through the POPLA hoops.
All very interesting ... and all entirely irrelevant - the T&Cs provide no scope for admin charges to be applied for private parking charges. Therefore the hire company is in breach of contract and has fraudulently applied the charges (IMHO).
OP has a valid claim to get the charges reversed by the card supplier.0
This discussion has been closed.
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