UKPC 2nd letter stage

bod1467

Ignore the dire warnings ... anyone with any sense chooses Other.

hineyb

Ok ok

i have added a 4th section in to my appeal

before i submit.. is there anything i need to add or remove?

Thanks

I am the registered keeper and I wish to appeal a recent parking charge from UKPC on 19/07/2016 06:08 at Apsley Lock. I submit the points below to show that I am not liable for the parking charge:

1) No standing or authority to pursue charges nor form contracts with drivers.
2) The signage was not readable so there was no valid contract formed.
3) No contract agreed and no legitimate interest nor clear signs.
4) The Notice to Keeper is not compliant with the POFA 2012 - No Keeper Liability

1) No standing or authority to pursue charges nor form contracts with drivers.

I believe that this Operator has no proprietary interest in the land, so they have no standing to make contracts with drivers in their own right, nor to pursue charges for breach in their own name. In the absence of such title, UKPCmust have assignment of rights from the landowner to pursue charges for breach in their own right, including at court level. A commercial site agent for the true landholder has no automatic standing nor authority in their own right, which would meet the strict requirements of section 7 of the BPA Code of Practice.

Section 7 of the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice requires parking operators to have the written authority from the landowner to operate on the land and to enforce charges in the courts in their own name.!

In addition, Section 7.3 states:

“The written authorisation must also set out:!

a. the definition of the land on which you may operate, so that the boundaries of the land can be clearly defined!

b. any conditions or restrictions on parking control and enforcement operations, including any restrictions on hours of operation

c. any conditions or restrictions on the types of vehicles that may, or may not, be subject to parking control and enforcement!

d. who has the responsibility for putting up and maintaining signs!

e. the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement.''

I therefore put UKPC to strict proof to provide POPLA and myself with an unredacted, contemporaneous copy of the contract between UKPC and the landowner, not another agent or retailer or other non-landholder, because it will still not be clear that the landowner has authorised the necessary rights to UKPC.!

2) The signage was not compliant so there was no valid contract formed between UKPC and the driver.

Unreadable signage breaches Appendix B of the BPA Code of Practice which states that terms on entrance signs must be clearly readable without a driver having to turn away from the road ahead. A Notice is not imported into the contract unless brought home so prominently that the party 'must' have known of it and agreed terms beforehand. Nothing about this Operator's onerous inflated 'parking charges' was sufficiently prominent and it is clear that the requirements for forming a contract (i.e. consideration flowing between the two parties, offer, acceptance and fairness and transparency of terms offered in good faith) were not satisfied.

Section 18 of the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice requires operators to fully comply with the following on entrance signage:

18.2 Entrance signs play an important part in establishing a parking contract and deterring trespassers. Therefore, as well as the signs you must have telling drivers about the terms and conditions for parking, you must also have a standard form of entrance sign at the entrance to the parking area. Entrance signs must tell drivers that the car park is managed and that there are terms and conditions they must be aware of. Entrance signs must follow some minimum general principles and be in a standard format. The size of the sign must take into account the expected speed of vehicles approaching the car park, and it is recommended that you follow Department for Transport guidance on this. See Appendix B for an example of an entrance sign and more information about their use.

18.3 Specific parking-terms signage tells drivers what your terms and conditions are, including your parking charges. You must place signs containing the specific parking terms throughout the site, so that drivers are given the chance to read them at the time of parking or leaving their vehicle. Signs must be conspicuous and legible, and written in intelligible language, so that they are easy to see, read and understand. Signs showing your detailed terms and conditions must be at least 450mm x 450mm.

18.4 If you intend to use the keeper liability provisions in Schedule 4 of POFA 2012, your signs must give ’adequate notice’. This includes:
• specifying the sum payable for unauthorised parking
• adequately bringing the charges to the attention of drivers, and
• following any applicable government signage regulations.

18.10 So that disabled motorists can decide whether they want to use the site, there should be at least one sign containing the terms and conditions for parking that can be viewed without needing to leave the vehicle. Ideally this sign should be close to any parking bays set aside for disabled motorists.

UKPC’s reason for issuing the parking charge was, “Parking in a permit area without displaying a valid permit”. As per Appendix B, “There must be at least one item from Group 1. In this instance, that would apply to text mentioning “Permit holders only”

Also as per Appendix B, “Signs should be readable and understandable at all times, including during the hours of darkness or at dusk if and when parking enforcement activity takes place at those times.” Contrary to this, you can see from UKPC photographic evidence, their signage text is far to small for any one with good eyesight to read, not to mention the fact they are not well lit at night making this impossible to see.

If a driver can't read the sum of the parking charge (£100) nor the terms before parking - because the font is too small/the sign unremarkable and too high to read from a driver's seat - then they cannot have agreed to it. Also, a keeper appellant cannot be bound by inadequate notice of the charge either (POFA Schedule 4 requires 'adequate notice' of the sum of the parking charge, not just vague illegible small print, however near the car).

The well-known and often used 'Red Hand Rule' in the binding case of J Spurling Ltd v Bradshaw [1956] applies, where Denning LJ stated: ''Some clauses which I have seen would need to be printed in red ink...with a red hand pointing to it before the notice could be held to be sufficient''. In Mendelson v Normand and Thornton v Shoe Lane which were both about parking, this was also clearly stated by Denning LJ:

‘The customer is bound by those terms as long as they are sufficiently brought to his notice beforehand, but not otherwise. In {ticket cases of former times} the issue…was regarded as an offer by the company. That theory was, of course, a fiction. No customer in a thousand ever read the conditions. In order to give sufficient notice, it would need to be printed in red ink with a red hand pointing to it – or something equally startling.’!

i.e. even if a document or notice is ostensibly under the nose of a consumer, the onerous term (e.g. £100 charge for not displaying a valid ticket in a car park) needs to be VERY explicit and prominent. Not hidden among small print on a sign, regardless of whether that sign is in the vicinity of the car. This was reiterated by Denning LJ in Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking [1971] where he held that the courts should not hold any man bound by such a condition unless it was ''drawn to his attention in the most explicit way''. Small print on an illegible, unremarkable and pale sign on a wall is not enough and is not on a par with the very clear signs 'with the charge in large lettering' as was explored and vital to the decision in Parking Eye v Beavis.!

The signs are up on poles, higher than normal line-of-sight nor do they communicate full contractual terms & conditions visible to the occupants of the car. Any upright signs were not so prominent among all the other signage on site that they were ever seen by the occupants of the car. Any photos supplied by UKPC to POPLA will show the signs with the misleading aid of a close up camera and the angle may well not show how high the sign is. As such, I require UKPC to state the height of each sign in their response and to show contemporaneous photo evidence of these signs, taken at the same time of day without photo shopping, cropping or lighting aids (including lighting adjustments made by camera or software) and showing where the signs are placed.

3) No contract agreed and no legitimate interest nor clear signs.

I also wish to reference the Aziz test (as my case is different to that of Beavis v Parking Eye) in order to assess whether the imbalance arises ‘contrary to the requirement of good faith’, it must be determined whether the seller or supplier, dealing fairly and equitably with the consumer, could reasonably assume that the consumer would have agreed to the term concerned in individual contract negotiations.”!

And as for whether average consumers 'would have agreed' to pay £100 had there been negotiations in advance, the answer here is obviously no. There is no justification or negotiation that could have possibly have persuaded an average consumer to pay £100 to this parking firm. Their charge relies upon unseen terms, not clear contracts, and should not be upheld.

4) The Notice to Keeper is not compliant with the POFA 2012 - No Keeper Liability

The requirements of Schedule 4 POFA are quite clear in that there must be strict compliance with all of its requirements in order to take advantage of the rights granted under that Act to pursue the registered keeper in respect of a driver’s alleged debt. The BPA Ltd AOS Code of Practice (version 5, October 2015) supports the need for strict compliance (para 21.5 refers). UKPC has however failed to comply with the statutory requirements as followed.

a) In regards to paragraph 8(2)(a) of Schedule 4, POFA 2012, the 'period of parking' is not 'specified', only the time and date the parking charge was issued. It does not specify the period of parking as demanded under POFA 2012 paragraph 8(2)(a) and paragraph 7(2)(a). In fact the observation time is not specified. The Notice does not state the period of parking, merely the time of the alleged contravention.

b) The Notice to Keeper does not, as per Paragraph 8(2)(c), state that a notice to driver relating to the specified period of parking has been given and repeat the information in that notice as required by paragraph 7(2)(b), (c) and (f), with 7(2)(b) requiring that it “describe(s) those charges, the circumstances in which the requirement arose”. The “breach” was alleged to be for “parking for longer than the maximum period permitted”, however it does not make clear to the keeper what the maximum period permitted was, and how the driver had (allegedly) exceeded this.

b) Paragraph 8(2)(e) requires that the Notice to Keeper must “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”. The Notice to Keeper clearly fails to comply with this requirement.

c) Paragraph 8 (2)(g) requires the operator to inform the keeper of any discount offered for prompt payment. The ‘Notice to Keeper’ fails to offer any discount and is therefore neither in compliance with the strict requirements of POFA nor with the BPA Ltd AOS Code of Practice (version 5, October 2015) paragraph 21.10.

UKPC have failed to comply and thus have not fulfilled all the requirements necessary under POFA to allow them to attempt recovery of any charge from the keeper.

I have made my detailed submission to show how the applicable law (POFA) supports my appeal, which I submit should now be determined in my favour.

This concludes my POPLA appeal.

Yours faithfully,

Coupon-mad

Paragraph 8(2)(e) requires that the Notice to Keeper must “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”. The Notice to Keeper clearly fails to comply with this requirement.

Does it fail? I thought UKPC were OK in this wording? Show us, if in doubt.

Also see the POPLA Decisions thread from last week, where new template POPLA points are shown, half a dozen of them for you to grab.

hineyb

Ok i will take that out..

are there any other points i should take out ??

If not ill go ahead and send...

it seems a bit long - does this matter??

Coupon-mad

That is not long at all by our standards and you haven't grabbed all possible POPLA points yet, from 'POPLA Decisions'. They were posted last week at the end there, to be copied where relevant.

hineyb

Just received my 4th NTK from them i believe this is the last.. as i have used my permit properly ever since as far as i can remember!! spreadsheet is looking beefy.. going to carry on with normal procedure also finally received POPLA code for 1st one so ill get writing that appeal..

should i write a completely new one or just use the one again from above?

Cheers guys - we will beat them!

hineyb

Hi Guys

i am going to appeal the latest one in a different way in bid to get them all cancelled.. it may not work but all they will do is send me a POPLA code if they do not cancel the lot

is there anything else you think i should add to this??

Hi

you have already sent me a NTK for my previous fine and i sent you in the permit holder to prove i am entitled to use the space so i dont know why i have received another fine.

Please see permit attached and get all the fines listed below cancelled as this is becoming silly now, i have written to popla about this harassment you are causing me and if you do not stop i and cancel these i will take you to court and sue you for my time and my loss of earnings. This is taking up far too much of my time now. i have already seeked legal advice and i know where i stand.. please cancel all of the below
1183561620544
1183562010608
1183562060605
1183562330609

And do not continue to put any invoices on any vehicles i own or you will hear from my legal department.

AGAIN, see the permit attached.

Regards

Ben Hiney

Cheers guys.

Coupon-mad

Don't send that please. It has errors and it tells them who parked!

i am entitled to use the space

NOPE, do not say anything with 'me/myself/I' using the space - that gives away the driver, a rookie error.

my previous fine

NOPE, don't say 'my' and it isn't a 'fine'.

i have written to popla about this harassment you are causing me

POPLA don't deal with harassment complaints. this is no threat to them and will make them laugh (sorry). POPLA are the appeal route, nothing else.

i have already seeked legal advice and i know where i stand

Apart from the grammatical error (past tense of seek is 'sought' not 'seeked') you are making it clear you do not know where you stand, it comes across as a rant and gives away the driver. Stop!

you will hear from my legal department.

You haven't got a Legal Department, only companies might have (or might not, as the case may be).

Don't send that.

Re your POPLA appeal I am worried in case you didn't add the appeal points I mentioned, hope you did. You didn't show us the final version after I'd said you didn't have all the points needed - which is a worry. Template POPLA appeal points were posted two weeks ago in the penultimate page (at the moment) of the top thread 'POPLA Decisions'.

Do show us your final draft each time. Don't write your own versions which give away the driver and very possibly blow your chances of a win.

hineyb

Uh oh.. i sent the earlier letter and sent the POPLA letter!! !!!!!! not good!

i saw in another thread someone won the POPLA case with a similar letter then i added a few more bits into it.. so hopefully it will be ok..

I have to do another POPLA letter so hopefully i can get this one right!!!

I'll draft one up and send it in for comments

hineyb

ok so here is my latest appeal to popla.. i have taken your advice CP and added lots of points to hope UKPC wont contest it.. let me know your thoughts! thanks

I am the registered keeper and I wish to appeal a recent parking charge from UKPC on 10/06/2016 05:44 at Apsley Lock. I submit the points below to show that I am not liable for the parking charge:

1) The signs in this car park are not prominent, clear or legible from all parking spaces and there is insufficient notice of the sum of the parking charge itself
2) The operator has not shown that the individual who it is pursuing is in fact the driver who was liable for the charge
3) No evidence of Landowner Authority - the operator is put to strict proof of full compliance with the BPA Code of Practice
4) No contract exists in a Trespass case - (ParkingEye vs Beavis Case is not relevant)
5) No standing or authority from the landowner to enforce this charge
6) No legitimate interest in enforcing a charge – (ParkingEye vs Beavis Case is not relevant to this appeal)
1) The signs in this car park are not prominent, clear or legible from all parking spaces and there is insufficient notice of the sum of the parking charge itself

There was no contract nor agreement on the 'parking charge' at all. It is submitted that the driver did not have a fair opportunity to read about any terms involving this huge charge, which is out of all proportion and not saved by the dissimilar 'ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis' case.

In the Beavis case, which turned on specific facts relating only to the signs at that site and the unique interests and intentions of the landowners, the signs were unusually clear and not a typical example for this notorious industry. The Supreme Court were keen to point out the decision related to that car park and those facts only:

http://imgur.com/a/AkMCN

In the Beavis case, the £85 charge itself was in the largest font size with a contrasting colour background and the terms were legible, fairly concise and unambiguous. There were 'large lettering' signs at the entrance and all around the car park, according to the Judges.

Here is the 'Beavis case' sign as a comparison to the signs under dispute in this case:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYdphoIIDgE/VpbCpfSTaiI/AAAAAAAAE10/5uFjL528DgU/s640/Parking%2Bsign_001.jpg

This case, by comparison, does not demonstrate an example of the 'large lettering' and 'prominent signage' that impressed the Supreme Court Judges and swayed them into deciding that in the specific car park in the Beavis case alone, a contract and 'agreement on the charge' existed.

Here, the signs are sporadically placed, indeed obscured and hidden in some areas. They are unremarkable, not immediately obvious as parking terms and the wording is mostly illegible, being crowded and cluttered with a lack of white space as a background. It is indisputable that placing letters too close together in order to fit more information into a smaller space can drastically reduce the legibility of a sign, especially one which must be read BEFORE the action of parking and leaving the car.

It is vital to observe, since 'adequate notice of the parking charge' is mandatory under the POFA Schedule 4 and the BPA Code of Practice, these signs do not clearly mention the parking charge which is hidden in small print (and does not feature at all on some of the signs). Areas of this site are unsigned and there are no full terms displayed - i.e. with the sum of the parking charge itself in large lettering - at the entrance either, so it cannot be assumed that a driver drove past and could read a legible sign, nor parked near one.

This case is more similar to the signage in POPLA decision 5960956830 on 2.6.16, where the Assessor Rochelle Merritt found as fact that signs in a similar size font in a busy car park where other unrelated signs were far larger, was inadequate:

''the signage is not of a good enough size to afford motorists the chance to read and understand the terms and conditions before deciding to remain in the car park. [...] In addition the operators signs would not be clearly visible from a parking space [...] The appellant has raised other grounds for appeal but I have not dealt with these as I have allowed the appeal.''

From the evidence I have seen so far, the terms appear to be displayed inadequately, in letters no more than about half an inch high, approximately. I put the operator to strict proof as to the size of the wording on their signs and the size of lettering for the most onerous term, the parking charge itself.

The letters seem to be no larger than .40 font size going by this guide:

http://www-archive.mozilla.org/newlayout/testcases/css/sec526pt2.htm

As further evidence that this is inadequate notice, Letter Height Visibility is discussed here:

http://www.signazon.com/help-center/sign-letter-height-visibility-chart.aspx

''When designing your sign, consider how you will be using it, as well as how far away the readers you want to impact will be. For example, if you are placing a sales advertisement inside your retail store, your text only needs to be visible to the people in the store. 1-2” letters (or smaller) would work just fine. However, if you are hanging banners and want drivers on a nearby highway to be able to see them, design your letters at 3” or even larger.''

...and the same chart is reproduced here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/Outdoor-Dimensional-Sign-Letter-Best-Viewing-Distance-/10000000175068392/g.html

''When designing an outdoor sign for your business keep in mind the readability of the letters. Letters always look smaller when mounted high onto an outdoor wall''.

''...a guideline for selecting sign letters. Multiply the letter height by 10 and that is the best viewing distance in feet. Multiply the best viewing distance by 4 and that is the max viewing distance.''

So, a letter height of just half an inch, showing the terms and the 'charge' and placed high on a wall or pole or buried in far too crowded small print, is woefully inadequate in an outdoor car park. Given that letters look smaller when high up on a wall or pole, as the angle renders the words less readable due to the perspective and height, you would have to stand right in front of it and still need a stepladder (and perhaps a torch and/or magnifying glass) to be able to read the terms.

Under Lord Denning's Red Hand Rule, the charge (being 'out of all proportion' with expectations of drivers in this car park and which is the most onerous of terms) should have been effectively: 'in red letters with a red hand pointing to it' - i.e. VERY clear and prominent with the terms in large lettering, as was found to be the case in the car park in 'Beavis'. A reasonable interpretation of the 'red hand rule' and the 'signage visibility distance' tables above and the BPA Code of Practice, taking all information into account, would require a parking charge and the terms to be displayed far more transparently, on a lower sign and in far larger lettering, with fewer words and more 'white space' as background contrast. Indeed in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 there is a 'Requirement for transparency':

(1) A trader must ensure that a written term of a consumer contract, or a consumer notice in writing, is transparent.
(2) A consumer notice is transparent for the purposes of subsection (1) if it is expressed in plain and intelligible language and it is legible.

The Beavis case signs not being similar to the signs in this appeal at all, I submit that the persuasive case law is in fact 'Vine v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2000] EWCA Civ 106' about a driver not seeing the terms and consequently, she was NOT deemed bound by them.

This judgment is binding case law from the Court of Appeal and supports my argument, not the operator's case:

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2000/106.html

This was a victory for the motorist and found that, where terms on a sign are not seen and the area is not clearly marked/signed with prominent terms, the driver has not consented to - and cannot have 'breached' - an unknown contract because there is no contract capable of being established. The driver in that case (who had not seen any signs/lines) had NOT entered into a contract. The recorder made a clear finding of fact that the plaintiff, Miss Vine, did not see a sign because the area was not clearly marked as 'private land' and the signs were obscured/not adjacent to the car and could not have been seen and read from a driver's seat before parking.

So, for this appeal, I put this operator to strict proof of where the car was parked and (from photos taken in the same lighting conditions) how their signs appeared on that date, at that time, from the angle of the driver's perspective. Equally, I require this operator to show how the entrance signs appear from a driver's seat, not stock examples of 'the sign' in isolation/close-up. I submit that full terms simply cannot be read from a car before parking and mere 'stock examples' of close-ups of the (alleged) signage terms will not be sufficient to disprove this.

2. The operator has not shown that the individual who it is pursuing is in fact the driver who was liable for the charge

In cases with a keeper appellant, yet no POFA 'keeper liability' to rely upon, POPLA must first consider whether they are confident that the Assessor knows who the driver is, based on the evidence received. No presumption can be made about liability whatsoever. A vehicle can be driven by any person (with the consent of the owner) as long as the driver is insured. There is no dispute that the driver was entitled to drive the car and I can confirm that they were, but I am exercising my right not to name that person.

Where a charge is aimed only at a driver then, of course, no other party can be told to pay. I am the appellant throughout (as I am entitled to be), and as there has been no admission regarding who was driving, and no evidence has been produced, it has been held by POPLA on numerous occasions, that a parking charge cannot be enforced against a keeper without a valid NTK.

As the keeper of the vehicle, it is my right to choose not to name the driver, yet still not be lawfully held liable if an operator is not using or complying with Schedule 4. This applies regardless of when the first appeal was made because the fact remains I am only the keeper and ONLY Schedule 4 of the POFA (or evidence of who was driving) can cause a keeper appellant to be deemed to be the liable party.

The burden of proof rests with the Operator, because they cannot use the POFA in this case, to show that (as an individual) I have personally not complied with terms in place on the land and show that I am personally liable for their parking charge. They cannot.

Furthermore, the vital matter of full compliance with the POFA 2012 was confirmed by parking law expert barrister, Henry Greenslade, the previous POPLA Lead Adjudicator, in 2015:

Understanding keeper liability
“There appears to be continuing misunderstanding about Schedule 4. Provided certain conditions are strictly complied with, it provides for recovery of unpaid parking charges from the keeper of the vehicle.

There is no ‘reasonable presumption’ in law that the registered keeper of a vehicle is the driver. Operators should never suggest anything of the sort. Further, a failure by the recipient of a notice issued under Schedule 4 to name the driver, does not of itself mean that the recipient has accepted that they were the driver at the material time. Unlike, for example, a Notice of Intended Prosecution where details of the driver of a vehicle must be supplied when requested by the police, pursuant to Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a keeper sent a Schedule 4 notice has no legal obligation to name the driver. [...] If {POFA 2012 Schedule 4 is} not complied with then keeper liability does not generally pass.''

Therefore, no lawful right exists to pursue unpaid parking charges from myself as keeper of the vehicle, where an operator is NOT attempting to transfer the liability for the charge using the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

This exact finding was made in 6061796103 against ParkingEye in September 2016, where POPLA Assessor Carly Law found:
''I note the operator advises that it is not attempting to transfer the liability for the charge using the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and so in mind, the operator continues to hold the driver responsible. As such, I must first consider whether I am confident that I know who the driver is, based on the evidence received. After considering the evidence, I am unable to confirm that the appellant is in fact the driver. As such, I must allow the appeal on the basis that the operator has failed to demonstrate that the appellant is the driver and therefore liable for the charge. As I am allowing the appeal on this basis, I do not need to consider the other grounds of appeal raised by the appellant. Accordingly, I must allow this appeal.''

3. No evidence of Landowner Authority - the operator is put to strict proof of full compliance with the BPA Code of Practice

As this operator does not have proprietary interest in the land then I require that they produce an unredacted copy of the contract with the landowner. The contract and any 'site agreement' or 'User Manual' setting out details including exemptions - such as any 'genuine customer' or 'genuine resident' exemptions or any site occupier's 'right of veto' charge cancellation rights - is key evidence to define what this operator is authorised to do and any circumstances where the landowner/firms on site in fact have a right to cancellation of a charge. It cannot be assumed, just because an agent is contracted to merely put some signs up and issue Parking Charge Notices, that the agent is also authorised to make contracts with all or any category of visiting drivers and/or to enforce the charge in court in their own name (legal action regarding land use disputes generally being a matter for a landowner only).

Witness statements are not sound evidence of the above, often being pre-signed, generic documents not even identifying the case in hand or even the site rules. A witness statement might in some cases be accepted by POPLA but in this case I suggest it is unlikely to sufficiently evidence the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement.

Nor would it define vital information such as charging days/times, any exemption clauses, grace periods (which I believe may be longer than the bare minimum times set out in the BPA CoP) and basic information such as the land boundary and bays where enforcement applies/does not apply. Not forgetting evidence of the various restrictions which the landowner has authorised can give rise to a charge and of course, how much the landowner authorises this agent to charge (which cannot be assumed to be the sum in small print on a sign because template private parking terms and sums have been known not to match the actual landowner agreement).

Paragraph 7 of the BPA CoP defines the mandatory requirements and I put this operator to strict proof of full compliance:

7.2 If the operator wishes to take legal action on any outstanding parking charges, they must ensure that they have the written authority of the landowner (or their appointed agent) prior to legal action being taken.

7.3 The written authorisation must also set out:

a the definition of the land on which you may operate, so that the boundaries of the land can be clearly defined

b any conditions or restrictions on parking control and enforcement operations, including any restrictions on hours of operation

c any conditions or restrictions on the types of vehicles that may, or may not, be subject to parking control and enforcement

d who has the responsibility for putting up and maintaining signs

e the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement

4. No contract exists in a Trespass case - (ParkingEye vs Beavis Case is not relevant)
With reference to Case B6QZ4H3R, before Deputy District Judge Ellington, UKPC v Mr M [2016], another case concerning where “Permit Only” parking was breached.
In the judgement for the above case, the judge stated “the signage displayed clearly only made an offer of parking to permit holders, and therefore only permit holders could be bound by the contractual terms conveyed. The circumstances of this were different from Beavis, and therefore that ruling did not assist the claimant in this case.
Any remedy for parking without a permit could only lie with the freeholder, under a tort of trespass. But that wasn’t being claimed here, and the present claimant has no cause of action, the claim is dismissed.”
In the case under appeal here, if the vehicle was parked without a permit or was “not an authorised user” as alleged by Minster Baywatch, they were in fact a trespasser and it is the landowner who has the right to pursue for damages, not the Parking Operator. Such damages would be exactly that – the amount of damage created in the act of trespass. Considering this parking bay was paid for by the tenant and aside from the alleged lack of permit on display, would otherwise be considered to be parked correctly in their allocated bay, the amount of damages would be negligible.
5. No standing or authority from the landowner to enforce this charge

This Operator has no proprietary interest in the land, so they have no standing to make contracts with drivers in their own right, nor to pursue charges for breach in their own name. In the absence of such title, Minster Baywatch must have assignment of rights from the landowner to pursue charges for breach in their own right - which they do not.

Section 7.1 of the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice requires parking operators to have the written authority from the landowner to operate on the land.

“If you do not own the land on which you are carrying out parking management, you must have the written authorisation of the landowner (or their appointed agent). The written confirmation must be given before you can start operating on the land in question and give you the authority to carry out all the aspects of car park management for the site that you are responsible for. In particular, it must say that the landowner (or their appointed agent) requires you to keep to the Code of Practice and that you have the authority to pursue outstanding parking charges”.

In addition, Section 7.3 of the BPA CoP states:

“The written authorisation must also set out:

a) the definition of the land on which you may operate, so that the boundaries of the land can be clearly defined

b) any conditions or restrictions on parking control and enforcement operations, including any restrictions on hours of operation

c) any conditions or restrictions on the types of vehicles that may, or may not, be subject to parking control and enforcement

d) who has the responsibility for putting up and maintaining signs

e) the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement.''

I therefore put Minster Baywatch to provide strict proof to POPLA and myself with an unredacted, contemporaneous copy of the contract between the operator and the landowner, not just another agent or retailer or other non-landholder, because it will still not be clear that the landowner has authorised the necessary rights which have been properly assigned to Minster Baywatch.

Please note that a redacted or out of date copy of any such contract cannot be accepted as valid evidence and has been rejected as such in previous POPLA decisions for this reason – see POPLA appeal 6062785103 dated 07/01/2016.

I also refer you to the case at Winchester County Court of R.L Davey v UKPC where UKPC were obliged to pay Mr. Davey a total of £1,430.26 in costs and damages after persistently ticketing his vehicle on his private property (in a residential car park allocated to a flat such as this one) despite his warnings.

The Assured Shorthold Tenancy (Appendix 1) makes no mention of the requirement to display a permit. Therefore Minster Baywatch have no authority to issue a Parking Charge Notice as this AST supersedes any agreement they might have with a management or letting agency. As stated, the terms of this contract in which the tenant pays for the parking bay overrides any contract the Operator may or may not have with the management agency.