Minster Baywatch Ltd - Meadowhall

Stefano123

Here's their response after your last advice:

"We would always, if possible, transfer any fines to the agreement holder. However, unfortunately, there are certain issuing authorities that require agreement information that, due to data protection, we cannot provide information to. In such cases, we have no option but to pay the fine, and an admin fee is charged, as stated in the terms and conditions of your signed agreement.

If you are not happy with this, we are happy to raise a complaint with our customer resolutions team. Please advise via return email if you would like us to log this and provide any further information you would like included in the complaint" 

Here’s a summary of my response:

1. Private Parking Charges Are Not Fines 

2. GDPR Exemption Allowed under Article 5(3)(c) of UK GDPR  

3. Lease Company has refused to transfer liability, constituting non-compliance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA), thus preventing me from challenging the charge as the hirer but at the same time are threatening to pass the cost onto me if they decide to pay. They cannot pass a charge on to me for which they are legally still liable as RK. 

5. Two Options for Lease Company:

• Transfer liability, beyond a letter allowing me to appeal, allowing me to contest the charge directly, OR

• Accept full liability as the registered keeper and pay the charge themselves without passing any cost onto me.

Jenni_D

What does your lease agreement say re. fines and charges? (The wording is important ... many lease companies still don't button down this topic - private parking invoices - properly).

Stefano123

Jenni_D said:

What does your lease agreement say re. fines and charges? (The wording is important ... many lease companies still don't button down this topic - private parking invoices - properly).

"You must pay all licence fees, taxes, insurance premiums, fines and other payments associated with the Vehicle or arising out of or as a result of the seizure of the Vehicle by any statutory authorities as they fall due."

Jenni_D

Let's break that down - is a private PCN invoice:

A licence fee? No
An insurance premium? No
A fine? No
Other payment? Maybe, but it's a bit woolly

Anything after "or arising" is irrelevant in respect of a PCN.

Stefano123

I believe  the legal principle of ejusdem generis (interpretation rule), applies here. When a general term follows a list of specific terms, as in this case, it must be interpreted in the same category as those specific terms. All listed charges are statutory, regulatory, or legally mandated payments—which private parking charges are not.

KeithP

Stefano123 said:

I believe  the legal principle of ejusdem generis (interpretation rule), applies here. When a general term follows a list of specific terms, as in this case, it must be interpreted in the same category as those specific terms. All listed charges are statutory, regulatory, or legally mandated payments—which private parking charges are not.

Remembering of course that Section 69 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 might be useful too...

69 Contract terms that may have different meanings
(1) If a term in a consumer contract, or a consumer notice, could have different meanings, the meaning that is most favourable to the consumer is to prevail.

Coupon-mad

Jenni_D said:

Let's break that down - is a private PCN invoice:

A licence fee? No
An insurance premium? No
A fine? No
Other payment? Maybe, but it's a bit woolly

Anything after "or arising" is irrelevant in respect of a PCN.

And a PPC isn't a 'statutory authority'.

This lease firm is clueless. Escalate the complaint up and up.

Stefano123

It is a major Car Manufacturer so I would have expected much better. I've asked for this to be escalated and made a formal complaint.   

Le_Kirk

Stefano123 said:

Here’s a summary of my response:

1. Private Parking Charges Are Not Fines 

2. GDPR Exemption Allowed under Article 5(3)(c) of UK GDPR  

3. Lease Company has refused to transfer liability, constituting non-compliance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA), thus preventing me from challenging the charge as the hirer but at the same time are threatening to pass the cost onto me if they decide to pay. They cannot pass a charge on to me for which they are legally still liable as RK. 

5. Two Options for Lease Company:

• Transfer liability, beyond a letter allowing me to appeal, allowing me to contest the charge directly, OR

• Accept full liability as the registered keeper and pay the charge themselves without passing any cost onto me.

If you haven't sent that yet, you are missing No. 4.

Stefano123

Just updating the thread to say that the lease company involved has now paid the private parking charge, despite me explicitly telling them not to and explaining, in detail, why liability doesn’t rest with me.

To summarise where we’re at:

• I’m the hirer, not the keeper or the driver.

• I asked them multiple times to transfer liability properly under POFA 2012, which they failed to do — citing vague and incorrect reasons like “data protection”.

• They claimed they had “no option but to pay” — not true. This is a private invoice and there is no legal obligation to pay without a court judgment.

• Their replies completely ignored the legal arguments I raised and instead relied on templated nonsense, mislabelling the charge as a “fine” or an “offence”, which it isn’t.

• They also tried to pass the cost onto me via a hire agreement clause that doesn’t apply here. I pushed back with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and ejusdem generis, but they ignored that too.

So now they’ve paid it and are trying to recover the inflated cost from me of £165. I’ve told them they are not entitled to do so, and unless they back off, I’ll escalate this to the Financial Ombudsman and possibly the FCA for unfair practices and failure to handle complaints properly.

Absolutely appalling behaviour. I’ll update again once they respond — or if it goes to FOS.