Please Help - PCN

MOP5561

Hi all, I received a PCN from APCOA Parking (railway station parking) in the post. It's an ANPR notice - or at least there is a picture of my car on the notice.

The issue date is the 9th April and the incident date is the 23rd March. I understand (I think correctly) that they 14 days to issue the PCN. This is obvious 2 days out BUT if I were to appeal, could they argue that the extra two days were bank holidays (Good Friday and Easter Monday)?

Any advise would be gratefully received.

Thanks.

KeithP

If the NtK is dated more than fourteen days after the event, then it is conclusive proof that the keeper did not receive it in time for the keeper to be held liable under PoFA.

Bank Holidays, Saturdays and Sundays are all counted.

However, being a railway station car park, there is more to it than that.

MOP5561

Thanks KeithP. So even with bank holidays, they stilll have to send within 14 days - I have a good case to appeal?

In what way are railway stations more complicated?

Many thanks.

Guys_Dad

They are way out of time.

Two golden tickets to you.

1. If they want to pretend it's a POFA case, then the NtK must be in your hands by April 6th. So dated on or before 4th April. They are out of time for Keeper Liability.

Railway stations are usually covered by bylaws so, as said, they are treated differently.

Thoroughly read the NEWBIES thread and follow its advice, particularly about not admitting who was driving.

And there are loads of threads on here about parking at railway stations. Search and read some of them to get up to speed quickly.

The_Deep

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

MOP5561

Thanks all. Should my appeal be strong enough with the 14 day limit? Or should I mention anything about it being parking at a railway station. If the former, is the following letter sufficient? Thanks again.

Dear Sirs

Re: PCN No.

I challenge this 'PCN' as keeper of the car.

Notice to Keeper not issued within the mandatory 14 days, as no windscreen PCN was issued.

'A notice to keeper must be served not later than 14 days after the vehicle was parked'

There will be no admissions as to who was driving and no assumptions can be drawn. You must either rely on the POFA 2012 and offer me a POPLA code, or cancel the charge.

I do not give you consent to process data relating to me or this vehicle. I deny liability for any sum at all and you must consider this letter a Section 10 Notice under the DPA. You are required to respond within 21 days. I have kept proof of submission of this appeal and look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

KeithP

Have you read other threads about railway station car parks?

Any thing about Railway Byelaws?

I suspect the response from the PPC will be along the lines of "we are not relying on PoFA. In Railway Byelaws cases the Owner may be liable".

Guys_Dad

MOP5561 wrote: »

Thanks all. Should my appeal be strong enough with the 14 day limit? Or should I mention anything about it being parking at a railway station. If the former, is the following letter sufficient? Thanks again.

Dear Sirs

Re: PCN No.

I challenge this 'PCN' as keeper of the car.

Notice to Keeper not issued within the mandatory 14 days, as no windscreen PCN was issued.

'A notice to keeper must be served not later than 14 days after the vehicle was parked'

There will be no admissions as to who was driving and no assumptions can be drawn. You must either rely on the POFA 2012 and offer me a POPLA code, or cancel the charge.

I do not give you consent to process data relating to me or this vehicle. I deny liability for any sum at all and you must consider this letter a Section 10 Notice under the DPA. You are required to respond within 21 days. I have kept proof of submission of this appeal and look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

You need to combine the two.

I am the keeper but that does not mean I am driver. Land covered by bylaws so no obligation to name driver as land not covered by POFA.

Keeper only obligated under POFA 2012 to name driver or accept keeper liability but your NtK arrived outside the 14 day limit mandated by POFA.

Obviously expand properly but that's the substance.

Coupon-mad

None of it matters, this is APCOA, they lose every time, 100% they have no chance at POPLA.

Such an easy one.

Use the NEWBIES thread blue writing appeal template (NO do not change it, YES it all applies, YES the signs were unclear...), then at POPLA stage, copy from another APCOA thread.

Search APCOA POPLA railway. Job done.

This is a cinch, no need for APCOA or Highview threads. Honestly why even talk about the 14 days, it is IRRELEVANT to a non POFA PCN anyway, who cares about the date when the PCN is not a POFA one, which APCOA railway ones never are?

MOP5561

Thanks for this. Just logging my appeal on the Apcoa website and wondering what the implications are of the options that I'm being offered on the screen as reasons for my challenge. If I don't click "The contravention did not occur." am I admitting that it did occur?? Or am I just being paranoid and should just select "Other".

- My vehicle was stolen
- The contravention did no occur
- The amount specified on the notice is incorrect
- I was not the registered keeper/driver at the time of the contravention
- Mitigating circumstances prevented me from parking correctly
- Other

Fruitcake

Always select "other."