Britannia POFA NTK after paying before end of parking

UnrealMcName

Hello! First time writer but we have spent hours on this forum looking at various responses and are very impressed at the sheer volume of help some of you have been putting out for strangers like us. Thanks in advance.

TL;DR: blue text, or blue text with something added? 

Situation: received a POFA-compliant NTK from Britannia (within 14 days of parking) for no “valid payment” at a commuter car park we use all the time. Keeper was not driver. On this date the driver paid for a day’s parking online on Britannia’s website just before leaving the car park, rather than in the morning (in 7am, paid 22:01:28, left 22:02:12). Have email proof of prepayment which confirms “can enter at any time during the first day.” Signage at the site last year clearly stated pay up to 24 hours after, but on revisit after NTK, the sign is gone. I can’t prove the sign was or wasn’t there on the date in question, but have pictures of the sign from last year to send.

(Added detail that might be useful: Britannia was bought by Q-Park earlier this year, their website was changed at some point to a new one. Old site had language stating “pay for parking” [and ability to do so up to 3d in arrears] and new site that calls the payment “pre booking” [and only allows same day – no times mentioned – but allows it at 10pm]. Prices stayed the same. I can’t imagine title words on a website can be part of the contract.)

Do we just use the blue text, the blue text with a simple “payment was already made in good faith” or blue + a longer reply we’ve drafted that calls out the payment, the ambiguity of “pay on arrival” and “pay up to 24h later” signs in past, unreasonableness of a commuter needing to reacquaint themselves with detailed terms and conditions every time using the station car park, lack of clear signage stating it had changed to prepay-only park. (There is no signage we’re aware of that mentions that payment must be made within X time of entering.)

NTK, previous (day) and current (night) signage and email confirmation attached, along with the wording we’ve drafted because it felt cathartic, but realise it might not be the best to send.

Oops, not attached as the account is too new. Available for view at d dot my dot cx slash pcn202508

Curious to know your thoughts based on your experiences here. We’re at day 14 since the issue date today so need to make our first move. 

Car1980

They'll just say the signs on site explain all, and the website is for pre-bookings only.

By all means tell them a valid payment was made and include the screenshot, but state you will not be paying their charge and to instruct BW Legal to commence a county court claim immediately.

"You made a payment and we have your money, but you paid us wrong" claims are very very difficult for them, so I wouldn't lose any sleep.

But I'd send them evidence because they might be under the impression no payment was made at all in their system, which would make a court claim more likely.

Gr1pr

If full payment WAS MADE for the time period that the vehicle was on site then add that the new Joint Code of Practice allows for this late payment of the full amount,  namely that the 5 minute to pay rule was banned earlier this year 

Do add proof of full payment too, as mentioned above 

Ps , newbies can attach pictures,  but you have to add a short sentence to the post, not just a picture 

UnrealMcName

Great, thank you both. Yes, we have confirmation of full payment made for the entire day, paid at 10pm just before leaving the car park. No keying error. 

So I’ll start with the blue text, remove the parts about PDT and overstay, then comment on full payment made in good faith (provide proof), and mention the joint code of practice. Do I bother with mentioning their previous signage allowing post payment?

Do you have a link to this Code update that I could reference?

Gr1pr

The joint code is on the BPA and IPC websites, but read the thread too

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6586172/news-on-the-5-minute-rule/p1

The updated code overrules the outdated signage or contract 

1505grandad

Page 47:-

https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/Sector Code Templates/sectorsingleCodeofPracticeVersion1.1130225.pdf

"j) a vehicle parked in a car park managed by fixed camera technology (ANPR and/or CCTV) for which payment has been made for the full period of parking prior to the vehicle leaving the car park.

NOTE: This exempt circumstance only relates to the timing of making payment"

UnrealMcName

Lovely, thank you, I think that simplifies things: Keeper verbiage from the blue text, to resolve this attaching proof of payment, may I call your attention to your industry's code of practice. I'll let you know how it goes. If I can post pictures now, would it help to have them on the forum for future reference? 

Coupon-mad

Yep, pictures help us see how it is.

UnrealMcName

I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures here. We were successful! They claimed a delay in getting payment data and they had sent us the PCN in error, see our appeal and their response below. 

Images attached of their PCN and the old signage (proving you could pay later) and current signage

We went with the wording as below:

---------------------------

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

I was made aware by the driver that the correct fee was paid during the time parked. A multi-day parking ticket for £A.AA was purchased online under order number BBBBBBB through the www.britannia-parking.co.uk website, with coverage starting on CC/08/25 and ending on CC+1/08/25. These details were confirmed on the website during booking, on the confirmation page after booking and in the subsequent email confirmation. There were no references to times of day and no reason to think the payment was not valid. Instead, the confirmation makes it clear that payment covers the entire day of parking and specifically states: "This booking has a flexible start time, you can arrive anytime on the first date of your booking." Please see attached confirmations. 

In addition to the confirmation given in the booking, the Britannia Parking signage at EEEEEEEE Station Car Park has also stated "...pay the cheapest rates at any time during your stay and up to 24 hours after entering". Please see attached photo. In the event there have been any changes to the Terms and Conditions, then removal of a sign or a change in the small print must be both transparent and prominent to be considered fair, as per section 64 (3) and 64 (4) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. There has been no transparent or prominent update to the notice and it is unreasonable to expect a frequent commuter to reread the terms and conditions upon every entry to a station car park. As a result, per section 62 (2) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, any notice that contains a different message to that in the attached photo cannot be binding in this instance.

The online payment system at www.britannia-parking.co.uk allows payment of same day parking at any time of the day. Failure to inform a user of this system at the point of payment that their payment will be invalid would mean they were misled into buying something, a breach of their Consumer Rights for which they are covered under the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Payment for this parking was made in good faith, following signage that had been read and recorded, via the website as directed, and before exiting the car park. Any suggestion otherwise would be contrary to the requirement of good faith that the Consumer Rights Act demands. 

Any one of the above reasons is alone sufficient to require cancellation of the PCN. 

I therefore respectfully request that this PCN be cancelled and my personal data be expunged from your records.

---------------------------

And received the reply below

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10/09/2025

Dear FFFFFFFFFFF,

Re: Parking Charge Number GGGGGGGGGGG, Vehicle: HHHHHHHH

Site: EEEEEEEEEE Station Car Park
Issue date: CC/08/2025

Thank you for your appeal received on 25/08/2025

The appeal has been reviewed. The photographs and any evidence have all been taken into account.

Please be informed that on this occasion we have experienced a delay in receiving the booking data for the date of your stay.

We are completing a full investigation of the process to ensure all data is received and processed within the required time frame.

This Parking Charge has been cancelled and no further action is required.

Following this correspondence, we will be redacting all your personal details, due to us requesting your data from the DVLA in error. The data we obtained was your full name and address from our system.

If you have any questions at all, please email our Data Protection Team - DPT (at) Britpark (dot) com

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused.

Parking Charges Department

Britannia Parking
---------------------------

Their NTK received 8/25

The photos (from a year prior) showing pay later

The signage taken after NTK received, "pay later" sign gone but nothing stating a change made...

We also sent a photo of proof of payment, which isn't really needed here. Thanks for your help, forum, and keep up the good fight!

Coupon-mad

Very good outcome but they should never have had your DVLA data. At least they admitted that.