# Seeking Advice: EV Charging Bay Parking Ticket Appeal

Busterabraham

Hello everyone,

I've read several posts on similar topics and wanted to check if the advice is still applicable and workable. Like many here, I recently received a Parking Charge Notice from APCOA at Reading railway station. I'm hoping for some guidance on how to proceed.

This week, I received a Parking Charge Notice from APCOA at Reading railway station. The ticket was issued for parking in a restricted area, specifically an EV charging bay. The fine is £85, reducible to £50 if paid within 14 days.

I parked my electric vehicle (EV) in a designated charging bay at the station. Upon arrival, I connected my charging cable and attempted to initiate charging but encountered difficulties with the charging point. As I was running late for my train, I decided to try starting the charge remotely using the APCOA app. Many EV owners can attest to the challenges of using these apps, which are often not straightforward or user-friendly. While on the train, I made another attempt to initiate charging on a timer. Unfortunately, due to an unreliable connection during my journey, this attempt also failed. When I returned to the station at 10 PM, I was dismayed to find a penalty notice on my car.

My primary concern is that I did, in fact, park an EV in the appropriate bay and made multiple attempts to charge my vehicle. It's important to note that I wasn't trying to avoid parking fees. As evidence of this, I've since paid for parking in the same lot for three consecutive days. 

I rarely need to charge my car outside of my home, and on this occasion, I needed to ensure I had sufficient charge for my return journey. The irony of the situation is that not only did I receive a ticket, but I also couldn't charge my car, which led to additional complications for my drive back home. 

While I'm willing to pay the fine if I'm truly at fault, I believe there might be grounds for appeal given that I made genuine attempts to use the charging point as intended. The circumstances seem to stem from technical difficulties rather than intentional misuse of the parking bay.

Has anyone faced a similar situation or have advice on how to proceed? I would greatly appreciate any help or guidance you can offer. 

Many thanks!

Gr1pr

I doubt that its a fine, but if APCOA are working on behalf of a TOC then appeal it as keeper using a typical recent no keeper liability approved template appeal as seen in other railway threads on here , because POFA doesn't apply on railway land 

Your post mentions 3 different types of charges, parking charge notice, PENALTY and fine, I am assuming that it was a windscreen Penalty Notice, not a fine and not a Parking Charge Notice PCN either 

No blabbing about who was driving, or who the owner may be, no mentioning the incident itself, none of that story above either, just a typical template appeal around day 25 following the incident date using the keeper template based on no keeper liability 

You do everything last minute, to stretch out the case past the 6 months deadline for Penalty Notices 

Busterabraham

Thank you @Gr1pr. It was a Parking Charge Notice slapped on my windscreen. 

Busterabraham

Form clarity it's a PCN..

Grizebeck

Unless it's a lease/ company car Do nothing until you get a notice to Keeper in the post 

Gr1pr

As its a PCN, Parking Charge Notice, wait for the postal notice to arrive with the RK, as mentioned above ( but not if its hired or leased or a company vehicle. ), so wait if you or a relative is the actual RK 

You still drag it out as far as possible 

Definitely NOT a fine or a penalty then. !

Busterabraham

Thanks. Correct, it's not a fine but a PCN. Also not a lease or company car, just to be clear.

So, if I understand right, you're saying I should just sit tight and do nothing until APCOA sends a request for keeper info? Once that shows up, what exactly should I say to them?

Sorry for the dumb questions. I'm just really stressed about this whole thing and don't want to end up with a massive fine if I mess up.

Gr1pr

When the NTK PCN letter arrives, you have 28 days from the issue date to appeal it, so appeal as keeper on day 26 using the typical approved template seen in other APCOA station threads on here, that relies on no keeper liability due to POFA schedule 4 not applying 

No blabbing about what happened on the day, or about faulty machines, or anything else, so none of the narrative in your first post above. Definitely no blabbing about who was driving the vehicle on that day ( the DRIVER drove, parked etc. )

Less is more, so its an appeal by the keeper on day 26 based on no keeper liability , this will likely be required in late October 

Magistrates issue fines, in magistrates court, this won't ever happen with a parking charge notice 

Grizebeck

When the ntk comes in post 
You write the following only on their online portal 

This is an appeal by the registered keeper - No driver details will be given. Please do NOT try the usual Group Nexus Trick of asking for driver details in order to get around the fact your NTK does not comply with POFA. 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

Busterabraham

Okay thank you so much. I will report back on this..

WLP8921

Hello, I am in the exact same situation as this but my car is a company car on lease. What is the best way forward?