Pofa 2012 Basics

Joe_whenjung

Hi guys,

This is a general query about the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA 2012). I want to make sure I understand this piece of legislation (and hopefully help others).
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/schedule/4/enacted

My understanding is that Schedule 4 of this is a piece of legislation, which applies to England and Wales only, has been written to enable PPC's to pursue the KEEPER of a vehicle when they do not have the DRIVERs name or contact details.

POFA is fairly prescriptive about the steps that a PPC must take in order to be able to pursue a KEEPER - either in lieu of a windscreen ticket, or following after a windscreen ticket. A letter must be written to the KEEPER - a Notice to Keeper (NTK), and it must include certain key information and be written within certain time limits. Failure to follow these can be a winning point at either POPLA, or potentially in court.

Paragraph 8 covers an instance where the driver has been notified of a penalty notice (a windscreen ticket given). Paragraph cover an instance where no notice has been given (ie no windscreen ticket was issued).

However, I have seen here (and elsewhere) that POFA doesn't have to be followed by some PPC's in some circumstances. A couple of threads mention that the answer as to why is in the Newbies thread, but the answer isn't clear to me there.

What are the circumstances in which POFA does not apply? And why would a piece of legislation not apply in all cases?

Coupon-mad

All cases. None of them *have to* use POFA.

The DVLA decided it's equally OK for a PPC to follow the pre-POFA procedure whereby a PCN can only hold a driver liable.

And why would a piece of legislation not apply in all cases?

Because AOS members can decide they don't want/need to use it, because it only exists to allow 'keeper liability' which they might not be bothered about.

Redx

pofa2012 makes no mention of the word PENALTY as in penalty notice

it talks about notice to driver & notice to keeper

penalty notices are issued on land where bylaws apply and pofa2012 distinctly says it does not apply to non-relevant land where bylaws apply, like railway stations and airports and public roads etc

so now you know the term penalty notice cannot and does not apply for pofa2012 compliance

What are the circumstances in which POFA does not apply?

there are none as such

the companies can choose to either try to comply and therefore hold a keeper liable, or not comply and in so doing can only make a driver liable

they could all choose to not bother using POFA2012 and in fact many choose to not follow it even after 5 years, or they may fail it in some cases due to incorrect wordings or timescale failures or not issuing an NTK before day 56

if they fail to adhere to POFA2012, they can only hold a driver liable (if they know who was driving, which generally means if the recipients blab about who the driver is due to that person ignorance of the law)

And why would a piece of legislation not apply in all cases?

because the UK government chose NOT TO MAKE IT MANDATORY , that is why

yes they perhaps should have made it mandatory, but they chose not to do so, so blame the politicians

Umkomaas

Whether or not the PPC is attempting to hold the keeper liable, they do have access to the keeper’s details from the DVLA, in order for them to enquire of the keeper who the driver was.

Some PPCs are trying to face both ways at the same time however, by accessing the keeper’s details, then writing to him/her, telling him/her they are making the ‘reasonable presumption’ that he/she was the driver at the time of the parking event.

Like all things in this murky world you now find yourself in, nothing is straightforward and there are many who will do anything, including ignoring, bending and even breaking the law, in their attempt to gouge money from you.