Horizon parking fine - need help appealing please - SUCCESS!

2babyboys

 Annoyingly I mistook the envelope for junk and only opened it today to find the fine is now £70!  However there isn't a date that they posted the PC, just an issue date.
EDIT:  checked bank statements for purchases on day of ticket, can see a purchase for a shop on other side of this car park, so may have cut through this car park without parking, definitely didn't park on their land (other shop has free parking outside).  The photos do not show the car parked in a space.  
Confused on basis to appeal, can I have some help please, parking charge attached.  Should I appeal to say we didn't park and would have exited within a grace period or should I use the after the period of 28 days from the 2nd working day line (the first line on back of PC)  or both representations please?  Does anyone have a template please?

Its mind boggling seriously, makes no sense that they say the car was  there for 52 mins, I think it would have been just cutting through on way through and way home.  However even this doesn't make sense as we'd only cut through on way back not way there so we are totally confused.  If there was pics of the car in a space I'd be inclined to pay assuming our records are wrong, but even checked their site and the only 2 pics are those on the PC.

Many thanks

[Images removed by Forum Team]

2babyboys

also, can see posts about "after the period of 28 days from the second working day after the date of the parking charge which is also stated on our ticket, can anyone help me with this please?  thanks massively

Gr1pr

Definitely not a fine, magistrates issue fines, it's just an invoice from Horizon

Appeal in the same manner as the other recent Horizon cases,  appealing as keeper 

Add an extra sentence that no breach occurred because the driver made 2 journeys that day but did not park on either journey 

2babyboys

I only have the Parking charge and still within 28 days.  Looking to use a template on here but reference is to a NTK, do I simple change to parking charge.

Summary of Case:

I wish to challenge this Parking Charge Notice on the following grounds:

1. Non-compliance with the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) 2012
2. Lack of evidence of Landowner Authority

 

1. Non-compliance with PoFA 2012

The Notice to Keeper (NtK) issued in this case is non-compliant with the requirements set out in schedule 4 of The Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) 2012. This is because the NtK incorrectly starts the 28-day period for transferring liability one day too early.

PoFA Requirements:
Under paragraph 9(2)(f), the NtK must include the following wording:
"The notice must state that the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and invite the keeper to pay the unpaid parking charges or, if the keeper was not the driver of the vehicle, to provide the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and to pass the notice on to the driver."
It must also state:
"(i) that the creditor will (if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met) have the right to recover from the keeper so much of that amount as remains unpaid; and
(ii) the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given."

Under paragraph 9(6), the notice is deemed to have been 'given' to the keeper on the second working day after the date it was issued. The 28-day period then starts the day after that.
For example:

1. The NtK was issued on Monday 16th December.
2. The NtK is presumed to be 'given' to the keeper on Wednesday 18th December (the second working day).
3. The 28-day period should then begin on Thursday 19th December (the day after the second working day).

Where the NtK's Wording is Non-Compliant:
The wording on the back of the NtK attempts to transfer liability to the keeper one day early by stating that the 28-day period starts “from the second working day after the date of this Parking Charge," rather than the day after the second working day.

Why This Matters:
Incorrectly starting the 28-day period is significant because PoFA requires full and strict compliance with its wording to hold the registered keeper liable. By attempting to transfer liability one day too early, the operator has not met the legal requirements of PoFA, meaning that the keeper cannot be held liable for the parking charge.
The mistake in the NtK effectively cuts short the keeper’s response period and breaches PoFA’s clear requirements, which unfairly prejudices the keeper. POPLA must recognise that this premature attempt to start the liability transfer invalidates the notice, making it non-compliant with PoFA, and as a result, the parking charge should be cancelled.

Reference to Previous POPLA Decisions:

Successful POPLA Decision (December 2024)

I would like to draw POPLA’s attention to a recent decision regarding a similar case involving Horizon Parking (POPLA code 3762434330, decision date 17/12/2024), which was allowed on the basis of the same non-compliance with PoFA. The assessor in that case ruled as follows:

“The appellant has presented a technical challenge to the parking operator’s application of PoFA. The parking operator is reliant on the correct application of PoFA in this case as driver liability cannot be established. As such, in respect of the 28-day period given for the PCN to be paid or for the driver’s details to be provided, I must note that Notice to Keeper in this case does state: ‘the period of 28 days from the second working day after the date of this Parking Charge’. However, PoFA stipulates (at paragraph 9 subparagraph (2)(f)) that this period must be given from: ‘the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given’. In respect of the presumed date of issue, paragraph 9 subparagraph (6) of PoFA advises: ‘A notice sent by post is to be presumed…to have been delivered (and so ‘given’ for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)) on the second working day after the day on which it is posted’. As such, I must uphold the appellant’s grounds in respect of the wording used by the parking operator in this case, as this sets the 28-day timescale from the presumed date of issue, whereas PoFA stipulates this must begin from the day after. Accordingly, I must allow this appeal.”

This case is almost identical to mine in terms of the non-compliant wording used in the NtK, and I respectfully ask that POPLA consider this previous decision when reviewing my appeal.

Acknowledgment of Error in Unsuccessful POPLA Decision (January 2025)

In another case where an appeal on this same point was initially rejected, the POPLA Complaints Team has since confirmed that the assessor’s judgment was incorrect. While the decision could not be reversed, the complaints handler explicitly acknowledged the error, stating:

“I acknowledge that the assessor has incorrectly stated that the given date… I would like to apologise for this error… As PoFA 2012 states that motorists must be given 28 days from the day after the notice is given, you are correct in stating that the 28 days should have begun from [the correct date].”

This acknowledgment highlights the importance of adhering to PoFA requirements and avoiding repeated errors in the interpretation of the legislation. I respectfully request that the assessor for this appeal carefully reviews both the successful December 2024 decision and the Complaints Team acknowledgment to ensure a correct and fair decision is made in this case.

In Summary:

• PoFA states that the NtK is presumed 'given' on the second working day after issuance.
• The 28-day period to transfer liability then begins the day after the second working day.
• The NtK incorrectly starts the 28-day period from the second working day itself, which is one day too early.
• As PoFA requires exact compliance, this error invalidates the attempt to transfer liability to the keeper.

Furthermore no breach occurred because the driver made 2 journeys that day but did not park on either journey.

Thank you for replies in advance!

Fruitcake

A PCN is a parking charge notice and can be a NTD, NTK, NTH, PN (but shouldn't be), or CN.

Please tell us what precisely has been received. Whatever you do, do not reveal the driver's identity.

Acronyms and abbreviations commonly used on this forum can be found in the fifth post of the sticky Announcement for NEWBIES.

Plan A is always a complaint from the keeper to the landowner and the keeper's MP.

Please also sign the petition linked from the post below, and get all your friends and family to do the same.

Parked in a disabled Bay, no ticket - Page 3 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

KeithP

Which parking company is involved here?
Is this thread about the same incident you reported in another thread started yesterday?

2babyboys

Hi all, yes, its the same as the thread I started allready, but reposting, many thanks

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Coupon-mad

Please hit the Report Button and ask for your threads to be merged. One case one thread.

And for first Appeal stage, just appeal like this online (see back of PCN) and if there are tick boxes, tick 'keeper':

I appeal as keeper.  I am not obliged to identify the driver and I decline to do so.

The operator can only pursue the keeper by complying with the strict requirements set out in Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (‘POFA’). Paragraph 9.(2) (f) states that a notice to keeper "must ...: warn the keeper that if, at the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice to keeper is given—

(i) the amount of the unpaid parking charges … has not been paid in full, and

(ii) the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver,

...the creditor will (if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met) have the right to recover from the keeper so much of that amount as remains unpaid."

The PCN does not comply with POFA because it states the 28 day period wrong by one day. This is fatal to your case. Cancel the 'PCN' or cough up a POPLA Code if you want to put yourselves to that time & expense.

MSE_ForumTeam5

We've merged the threads. Please take great care when posting images - see the big yellow box at the top of the page.

2babyboys

SUCCESS - massive thank you Coupon-mad:

Sent this on Thursday and the very next day my PC was cancelled by horizon!

I I appeal as keeper.  I am not obliged to identify the driver and I decline to do so.

The operator can only pursue the keeper by complying with the strict requirements set out in Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (‘POFA’). Paragraph 9.(2) (f) states that a notice to keeper "must ...: warn the keeper that if, at the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice to keeper is given—

(i) the amount of the unpaid parking charges … has not been paid in full, and

(ii) the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver,

...the creditor will (if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met) have the right to recover from the keeper so much of that amount as remains unpaid."

The PCN does not comply with POFA because it states the 28 day period wrong by one day. This is fatal to your case. Cancel the 'PCN' or cough up a POPLA Code if you want to put yourselves to that time & expense.

Furthermore no breach occurred because the driver made 2 journeys that day but did not park on either journey.

Coupon-mad

Easy when you know how - yay!