PCN - ParkingEye - 14 Minute Stop (Didn't leave car!)

Coupon-mad

 The 'penalty notice' in question 

No, don't even start a sentence saying that!

Le_Kirk

The £95 charge is therefore in breach of the terms and conditions between us.  The charge is not permitted under the terms, which permits does do not permit the the paying of private commercial invoices on my behalf, and I therefore require an immediate refund.

Is this what you meant?

KeithP

Looks good except this bit...

...which permits does not permit the the paying...

...which needs tidying up.

nosferatu1001

I dont like it, to be honest
It fails to reference the terms and conditions
It does not quote the precise terms, including the para ref, and i would always do so in any comms. 

hardleyouth

Thanks, take 2:

Good afternoon,

I have been debited £95 from my credit card in relation to rental 550****.  I dispute this charge on the following grounds:

The charge is in breach of the contract between GetAround and myself.  The alleged 'penalty notice' in question is a private commercial invoice and, despite what the charging company may say, it is not a penalty charge notice, fixed penalty notice, parking ticket, driving ticket, offence, traffic violation, nor (parking) fine.   These items may only be issued by the authorities such as the Police or councils/local authorities and are enabled by legislation.  

The relevant sections of your ToS, Rental Agreement, and FAQs/Help Centre are quoted below:

Terms of Service:

12.5 Compensations and associated Getaround fees:

 Different types of compensation and fees can be charged against the Renter in case of various behaviors or events. Getaround acts as an intermediary for the payment of compensation fees. Payment of compensation to the Car Owner is subject to the Renter’s prior payment thereof. The Renter is informed that if the Car Owner provides proof of the former’s liability, the Excess, compensations and penalties will be charged directly to any payment method used on Getaround by the Renter. By accepting the Terms, the Renter authorises the payment of such compensation and penalties. Compensations and fees applicable in the frame of Rentals are the following: 

d) Management fees for driving and parking tickets 

A management compensation fee for driving/parking tickets received by the Car Owner for an offence committed during the Rental is applicable, in addition to the amount of the ticket:

Compensation fee for the management of ticket notices:

For vehicles registered in the UK: £35 (includes a £5 Getaround Service fee)  

For vehicles registered France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium €15 (includes a €4.50 Getaround Service fee)

If the Vehicle is impounded under the Renter’s responsibility, any associated costs will be charged to the Renter.

The management fee applies to each offence or traffic violation reported by the Car Owner.

In case of a ticket in Spain when the Renter is not Spanish: in all cases, the Renter shall bear the costs for the ticket (Getaround will debit the Renter and then repay the Car Owner).

- ticket without loss of points: the Car Owner will be responsible for resolving the ticket with the authority; 

- ticket with loss of points: the Car Owner will be responsible for resolving the ticket with the authority, including providing the requested information to resolve it. If the Car Owner does not possess some document or information relating to the Renter, he/she must contact Getaround.

Rental Agreement:

 I agree that whilst this rental agreement is in force, I will be liable as the hirer for this vehicle for any fixed penalty notice, congestion charge, or parking fines acquired for this vehicle under S66 Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 and Schedule 6 Road Traffic Act 1991.

GetAround Help Centre/FAQs:

What happens if I receive a penalty notice?

Disobeying traffic regulations is highly dangerous and costly. You’re responsible for any tickets you receive during your time with the car: you’re responsible for paying the fine and will receive points on your licence (if applicable).

Depending on the ticket type, the owner will either:

contest it: you’ll receive the ticket at your address and will have to pay it directly

pay it and inform us: you’ll be debited for the ticket amount

Either way, you will be charged an additional £35 fee to compensate the owner and Getaround for managing the ticket.

For safety reasons, we may restrict your access to Getaround if you receive multiple tickets.

The £95 charge is therefore in breach of the terms and conditions between us.  The charge is not permitted under the terms above, as it does not permit the the paying of private commercial invoices on my behalf, and I therefore require an immediate refund.

If I am not provided with a refund within 14 days, I will be forced to perform a chargeback with my credit card company, for taking a payment in breach of contract. 

Regards,

Coupon-mad

hardleyouth said:

Thanks, take 2

Looking much better.  I would just add after this line:

...These items may only be issued by the authorities such as the Police or councils/local authorities and are enabled by legislation.    The charge you have decided to oblige me to pay does not fall under S66 Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 or Schedule 6 Road Traffic Act 1991.  Had you, or the owner, just filled in the 'Transfer of Liability' form on the parking charge, it would have been a simple matter for me to appeal to POPLA because this is a private firm who fail to meet the requirements to hold a hirer/renter/lessee liable.  There is no part of the agreement I have with your company that allows you to just pointlessly pay a private invoice like this one and I am not liable for your/the owner's error in paying a charge that did not have to be paid and should have been transferred to me to appeal and get it cancelled easily.

Redx

As above , now you are concentrating on the core matters here , regarding the hire contract errors and issues plus that paragraph above that explains the legal issues and what the Rk or hire company should have done

Plus you are now more aware of all the issues involved should you drive again , including parking , signage , contracts , laws etc

Your legal rights have been denied , the 3 companies involved have all been at fault , which is why they cannot charge you , words have legal meanings , legal liabilities depend on words and their meanings

You should have been named as hirer , then my early advice would be correct , appealing your own NTH issued to you by parking eye directly , appealing as a hirer keeper with an Edna basher template to parking eye , then winning at popla if they failed the POFA due to no hire documentation so no liability (nothing to do with the incident)

You were denied that right , you didn't agree to pay speculative invoices , so cannot be charged

Good luck

hardleyouth

Many thanks to all of you for all of your help and advice, it was invaluable (although perhaps worth £95, hopefully!).

I will provide an update here when/if I receive a response from GetAround. 

hardleyouth

Interestingly the auto-response confirming receipt of my e-mail is on a French timezone and contains links to their French help center, although the e-mail is all written in English.  I know they are a European company, but I wonder if that explains the lack of clarity in their terms and perhaps helps me a little as they may have less understanding of UK laws?  Then again, that may hinder me!!

Ditzy_Mitzy

hardleyouth said:

Interestingly the auto-response confirming receipt of my e-mail is on a French timezone and contains links to their French help center, although the e-mail is all written in English.  I know they are a European company, but I wonder if that explains the lack of clarity in their terms and perhaps helps me a little as they may have less understanding of UK laws?  Then again, that may hinder me!!

I can't think Getaround has that much understanding, given the company's apparent inability to discriminate between the various types of parking penalties that may be issued in England and Wales.