APCOA Penalty notice for parking at a train station carpark - paid by app previous night

K_makris

Hello all,
I have recently received a letter from APCOA (Penalty notice) for a parking that I have originally paid for through their app on the previous day (around 22:00). Now the app does say 1 day duration but in reality its actually not 24 hours, its till the end of the current day of booking. I did not realise this at the time and only after receiving the rejection email I realised what had happened.
I have since then appealed to APCOA with literally just stating that I paid for the ticket and attached the receipt.
I have 3 questions over this:
1. As I dont remember, does their online appeal section ask at all who was the driver? I am asking as at the time I was not aware of all the info on this forum here, and I dont remember wether I had to fill that out (which I would have done in that case)
2. Is my next step to go through POPLA? And if yes, am I meant to use the blue text in the NEWBIES section? I was thinking maybe I could try APCOA again to explain a bit further, but I cannot find any other contact I can use for this.
3.That blue extract seems to be refering to the 'challenger" so I am a little bit unclear here, was I supposed to use the blue text on my appeal to APCOA too? And since I didn't, does that affect the process?

Thank you for your time, I appreciate there are a lot of threads regarding this but I couldn't find these answers so I hope you dont mind me starting another thread on this.

Gr1pr

1) we hope that you have not revealed who was driving 

2) popla is the second stage,  no you don't use the blue text appeal template at popla, see post 3 in the newbies sticky thread 

You don't get 2 bites at the cherry

Yes you were,  or one of the bespoke appeals as seen in other Apcoa threads on here   ( no keeper lliability   )

3) yes, or a bespoke appeal 

No it doesn't 

LDast

Don't appeal. Just send a formal complaint to APCOA as follows:

APCOA Parking UK Ltd

[APCOA Address]

[Email Address]

Subject: Formal Complaint – Unlawful Issuance of Fake Penalty Notice and Misrepresentation of Authority

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding a fake Penalty Notice issued by APCOA against my vehicle [Registration Number] in relation to an alleged contravention at [Location]. As the registered keeper, I have been subjected to repeated harassment from debt collectors over a demand that is entirely without legal basis.

1. APCOA’s Fake Penalty Notice and Misrepresentation of Authority

APCOA is a private company with no statutory enforcement powers, yet it has issued what it misleadingly calls a Penalty Notice, falsely implying that this is a statutory fine enforceable under criminal law. As you will be well aware:

• Genuine statutory penalties for alleged railway byelaw contraventions can only be addressed through statutory enforcement mechanisms. A private company cannot impose penalties, nor can it unilaterally demand payment under the guise of a fine.

• The demand issued by APCOA is not a real penalty under any railway byelaws, nor has any legal authority been granted to APCOA to act as a prosecuting body. If this were a lawful penalty under byelaws, it would be payable to the public purse—not APCOA's own commercial accounts.

• A Penalty Notice issued by a private company that lacks statutory backing is nothing more than an unenforceable invoice. The deliberate use of misleading terminology appears to be an attempt to deceive the recipient into believing that they are legally compelled to pay.

This conduct may constitute fraud by false representation under the Fraud Act 2006, and I will be reporting the matter to Action Fraud and Trading Standards for further investigation.

In light of the above, I require a full and detailed response to the following points:

On what legal basis does APCOA claim the right to issue a Penalty Notice when it has no statutory enforcement powers?

Why has APCOA chosen to misrepresent a civil contractual charge as a statutory penalty?

If APCOA fails to provide a satisfactory response within 14 days, I will escalate this matter to the following authorities:

• Action Fraud, for investigation into possible fraudulent misrepresentation.
• Trading Standards, for misleading business practices and unfair commercial conduct.
• The British Parking Association (BPA), to report breaches of the industry Code of Practice.
• The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), to challenge the misuse of my personal data in passing it to debt collectors for an unenforceable claim.

I expect APCOA to address this complaint fully. If I do not receive a response, I will have no hesitation in escalating this matter further.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Name]

Coupon-mad

I disagree, just win it at POPLA by the usual argument seen in other APCOA railway Penalty threads.

LDast

We assist a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of victims of this illegal extortion. We let these operators get away with it by pretending to play their game when it is very obviously unlawful what they are doing.

By sending a formal complaint each time, whether it is appealed or not, they are obliged to record and respond to each complaint. That leaves a paper trail for theme someone actually challenges this all the way in court, which we know they will never do.

However, with a response to these questions from them, a complaint about suspected criminal extortion and fraud can then be made to the authorities.

Coupon-mad

It's not criminal extortion or fraud.

LDast

Coupon-mad said:

It's not criminal extortion or fraud.

I respectfully disagree beg to differ. This is a criminal matter under the Fraud Act 2006, Section 2 (Fraud by False Representation). The Penalty Notice is issued and worded in a way that suggests potential criminal prosecution under Railway Byelaws. However, APCOA does not have the legal authority to prosecute. Only the Train Operating Company can do so. The reason APCOA does not prosecute is because their contract with the TOC does not permit them to and there is no financial incentive for them.

The motorist receives what appears to be a legitimate Penalty Notice with legal threats that create a false perception of liability and inevitability of criminal prosecution. Most recipients do not understand the legal distinction between a statutory fine and a private debt, so the wording coerces them into paying.

This is fraud because APCOA makes a false representation that prosecution is a real risk. They know this representation is misleading because they have no intention or power to prosecute. They make this representation to induce payment, knowing most will pay out of fear.

This meets the legal threshold for Fraud by False Representation under Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 and also breaches the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 due to misleading actions and aggressive practices. This is a criminal matter and should be reported to the police.