Group thread: Heathrow Gatwick Manchester & other Airport drop-off PCNs - easy: how to appeal & win

PGdeals01

Hi there, Quite new to the forum and first time appealing for my dad when he dropped off family at Heathrow.
I understand that the template still works but I'm curious as to which "Reason" to choose.
I was thinking its the "others". and if so (I don't know if its new) but they still ask for details. I presume you fill that in and its good to go?

Cheers, you'll be helping me save this money for Christmas instead
 

Coupon-mad

Yes just OTHER.  

Umkomaas

Make sure that it goes in your father’s name as the registered keeper - not your name.

sittingduck231

Thank you for this thread. Appeal in per 1st page and will confirm successful appeal 👍

sittingduck231

Your appeal for Parking Charge (PC) XXXXXXXXX has been submitted.

The case has been placed on hold and will not progress until a decision has been made. We will notify you of our decision by post or by email (Please check spam or junk folders). Do not assume that your appeal has been successful if you have not received a response.

If you were eligible for payment at the discounted rate when you submitted your appeal, you will normally be offered a further chance to pay at this rate if your appeal is rejected.

Please note: Online appeals can be made within 28 days from the date of issue of a Parking Charge (PC). Anything received after this date is considered as correspondence on the case and may not be accepted as an appeal against the Parking Charge (PC).

sittingduck231

Happy to confirm still working.  Thanks to the board for the efforts in putting the process together.

chilly2008

chilly2008 said:

Apologies if this has been asked and answered before.. Does this appeal work when I have ticked the box that I was the driver?....also if i have a auto pay account?

I received a pcn from NPC for Gatwick drop off. I wasn't aware payment were not taken from my auto pay account. I was not sent an email or anything. My appeal was rejected, instead they said i had altered my number plate or splayed with reflective paint when I questioned having auto pay account. They want me to pay £60  or go to Popla? But then saying i will have to pay £100 if i loose the case with Popla! Also, that if i pay the £60 , Popla wont accept my appeal? I am confused and upset because it wasn't my fault their system didn't take the payment from my account. I haven't had any issue from other airports where i have similar auto pay account.

I have few days left to make a decision, please any advise or signposting will be much appreciated 🙏

THANKS GUYS.... Sharing good news, NCP have withdrawn the PCN.....got this email today.....


"The operator has contacted us and told us that they have withdrawn your appeal.

If you have already paid your parking charge, this is the reason your appeal will have been withdrawn. Unfortunately, you cannot pay your parking charge and appeal, which means that POPLA’s involvement in your appeal has ended. You will not be able to request a refund of the amount paid in order to resubmit your appeal to us.

If you have not paid your parking charge, the operator has reviewed your appeal and chosen to cancel the parking charge. As the operator has withdrawn your appeal, POPLA’s involvement has now ended and you do not need to take any further action.

Kind regards

POPLA Team"


So, thanks again for this forum🙏💪

doubledotcom

Well done. However, you should also send the following complaint to POPLA at info@popla.co.uk and CC enquiries@flexibleresolutionservices.co.uk; info@trustalliancegroup.org:

Subject: Formal Complaint – Incoherent and Unprofessional “Appeal Withdrawn” Correspondence

Dear POPLA Team,

I am writing to raise a formal complaint about the extraordinarily poor standard of the template email issued when an operator cancels a Parking Charge Notice before an appeal is assessed. The communication I received is so lacking in clarity, logic, and basic literacy that it calls into question the intellectual capability and procedural understanding of the person or team responsible for drafting it.

The phrase “the operator has withdrawn your appeal” is, on its face, nonsensical. An operator cannot withdraw an appellant’s submission, and no competent writer would use wording that implies otherwise. The fact that this has been adopted as standard text suggests that whoever authored it did not understand the process they were meant to be describing, or lacked the linguistic ability to articulate it accurately. Either possibility is deeply concerning.

The rest of the letter is equally inelegant. It is clumsily structured, contradictory in places, and written in such a muddled fashion that it reads like a hastily assembled paragraph from someone intellectually out of their depth. Basic sequencing, grammatical consistency, and coherence are all missing. The message lurches between confused hypotheticals and ill-fitting explanations, none of which reflect how the process actually works.

It is not merely embarrassing; it is an indictment of the level of internal oversight within POPLA. Any halfway competent professional would have sent this back for correction. Instead, it has been allowed to stand as an official communication from an organisation that claims to assess evidence, interpret procedures, and apply reasoning in a quasi-judicial setting.

If the standard of written communication is this poor, it raises a legitimate question: how can the public have confidence that POPLA is capable of the analytical, evidential, and reasoning-based work expected of an appeals service? A body that cannot draft a coherent template letter cannot reasonably be assumed to possess the competence required to evaluate appeals with fairness and intellectual rigour.

I request confirmation that this complaint will be logged and reviewed, and I expect a response addressing:

1. How this wording was approved;

2. Whether POPLA acknowledges that the current text is inaccurate, misleading, and grammatically deficient; and

3. What steps will be taken to correct the template and improve internal quality control.

I look forward to your prompt and considered response.

Yours sincerely,

[Name]

Let us know their response.

amz1909

Missed paying the drop off charge at heathrow and got the notice.. Submitting the below template from page 1  as it is : 
Is it ok please?   
Edit : Appeal as keeper -- Is there an option to select on the appeal form ? Or is it the write up as below. 
 I selected "other" in the first drop down .

This is an appeal by the registered keeper - No driver details will be given. Please do not bother with your known fishing expedition in an attempt to get driver details to try and get around the fact there is no keeper liability (and never can be under POFA).

Due to this being airport land you will be well aware there is no keeper liability due to the byelaws in force and the fact this is not relevant land.

As there is no keeper liability then liability cannot flow from the driver to the keeper and thus is an auto win @ POPLA. Please therefore cancel the notice or issue a POPLA code where you will auto withdraw

If you waste your time asking for driver details this will be ignored and you will still lose at POPLA if you dont cancel the PCN

So let's save my time and yours and cancel this PCN you simply cannot win this (and you know it).

RazBurley

Gatwick airport increasing drop off charges from £7 to £10 from January 2026

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kdd71lxnvo.amp