APCOA Heathrow Drop-Off £80 PCN Cancelled - Thank you!!!

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Hello,

Here is my story.

I dropped off a friend at Heathrow using the drop-off zone in December. Like most people here, I simply forgot to pay the £5 charge. A genuine oversight due to the busy traffic chaos Heathrow is. I never intended not to pay the £5 charge.

In January, I received a PCN asking for £80 while "generously" offering to reduce the sum to £40 if paid within 14 days. I was so frustrated (with me for forgetting to pay). I was kicking myself, as I had let myself foolishly fall into a trap.

Then I came to this forum and read the advice about APCOA and London airports. I followed the instructions and submitted an appeal on APCOA's website. Here is the text of my appeal:

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I appeal as keeper. I am not obliged to identify the driver, and I decline to do so. I appeal on the following grounds:

1. You are unable to transfer liability to the keeper pursuant to Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 ('POFA') because the drop-off zones at Heathrow are not ‘relevant land’ as defined in POFA.

2. Even if (which is not the case) the land in question is relevant land, your notice does not conform to the requirements set out in POFA paragraph 9(2)(f).

Furthermore, as keeper, I am entitled to all the defences available to the driver, including (without limitation) the following:

3. The parking charge is not notified until after the contract is entered into and, under the principles set out by the Court of Appeal in Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking, does not form part of the contract between the driver and APCOA.

4. The signage is not compliant with the BPA Code of Practice.
Any one of the above reasons is alone sufficient to require cancellation of the PCN.

I require you to cancel the PCN or issue a POPLA Code so POPLA can order you to cancel it. 

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About 2 weeks after my appeal submission, I received an email from APCOA informing me that they had decided to "waive the PCN as a goodwill gesture" . 

This appeal text still works like a charm.

A big thank you to all the helpful people on this forum!

Le_Kirk

Well done!  A gesture of goodwill huh?  A gesture of goodwill would be if they stopped the stupid £5 charge for taking people to the airport where those people can fly away having PAID the fare along with airport tax, seat reservation fees, boarding pass fees and no doubt baggage fees!  How else do they think (yeah OK public transport) their customers are going to get there.  It would be great if all customers went on strike and boycotted the airport for one day (ain't gonna happen) in protest and see what the airlines thought about losing all that revenue!  Packs soap box away and slinks off into the sunset!

Ruley

Hi, with it being about 18 months later, can you please tell me if the above approach is still the right one? Thanks 

ChirpyChicken

Ruley said:

Hi, with it being about 18 months later, can you please tell me if the above approach is still the right one? Thanks 

use this:

This is an appeal by the registered keeper - No driver details will *ever* be given. Please do not bother with your known fishing expedition in an attempt to get driver details.  It is known parking firms do this to try and get around the fact when there is no keeper liability in play. (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 thus 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)

Ruley

Many thanks ChirpyChicken :-)