First PCN as hirer in free retail park – Lakeside warden also damaged car!

XcelestialX

Hire car PCN from Premier Park at Lakeside – and to make things worse, the warden left dings in my car!
(I’ve already read the NEWBIES thread, but wanted to check specifics about hire car PCNs and the damage issue.)

Summary of key facts:

• Date: August bank holiday Monday

• Location: Lakeside Shopping Centre (free retail park)

• Parking situation:

  • Disabled bays full, so parked at the end of a standard bay

  • Slightly over bay line on right side (next to empty space + pavement, not another bay)

  • Chose this position to allow safe access for disabled passenger

• Blue Badge: in car but not displayed (as bay was not disabled)

• Stay planned: ~15 mins

• Signage: not obvious, very small text (checked later on Google Maps)

• PCN: issued by Premier Park → sent to hire company → hire company charged £35 admin fee → PCN reissued in my name

• Damage: two tiny door dings (like trolley/stone chip marks) – 100% certain not there before, noticed immediately on return. Strong suspicion they were caused by the attendant who issued the PCN.

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Full details

On the August bank holiday Monday, Lakeside Shopping Centre was extremely busy. Most of the disabled bays were full, so I parked at the end of a standard bay. On the left, another car had parked very close, so I positioned my car slightly over the right-hand bay line. To be clear, there was no bay on that side – just a small empty space and then the pavement – so I wasn’t obstructing anyone. I did this simply to allow safe entry and exit for my disabled passenger.

A Blue Badge was in the car, though I didn’t display it as I was in a regular bay. I only planned to stay about 15 minutes.

The signage at this car park is not prominent – I later checked on Google Maps, and the wording is very small. To be honest, I didn’t notice any signs at the time as it’s a free retail park, and I rarely go there.

The PCN
Premier Park issued a PCN to the hire company. The hire company then charged me £35 simply to pass on my details. Premier Park has since reissued the PCN in my name.

The damage
When I returned to the car, I immediately noticed two very small marks on either side of the front door – more like shopping trolley dings or stone chips with tiny indentations, rather than large dents. I can confirm with certainty these were not there when I parked and left the car. Given the timing, and then later receiving the PCN, I strongly suspect the attendant who issued the ticket may have caused the damage.

My next steps

• Call Lakeside’s security team to ask them to cancel the PCN, review CCTV, and check what the warden was doing when issuing the ticket.

• Follow up with an email to Lakeside.

• Consider whether I can counterclaim for the car damage and the £35 admin fee from the hire company, as this whole process has already caused unnecessary stress and financial loss.

Questions for the forum

1. Should I draft my initial appeal as the hirer while also contacting Lakeside directly?

2. Any particular approach you’d recommend when contacting the shopping centre/security team?

3. General advice on the best way to fight this PCN?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Gr1pr

The first item on your agenda is to check if PP complied with POFA 2012  ( you should already know this  )

If they did then it's pointless not revealing the driver 

If they didn't,  a hirer keeper has a slam dunk case at popla , but possibly not a known or admitted driver 

Any complaint about the pcn or damage is probably between the hirer and the Lakeside management company 

I expect that customers park at their own risk

The Lakeside may not release CCTV footage to you

Check your hire agreement to see exactly what it says in relation to charging you that £35 fee

Coupon-mad

No parking firm issues compliant NTHs!

XcelestialX

Thanks for your replies.

I’ve checked the Notice to Hirer that PP sent me. They didn’t include any of the documents required under POFA Sch.4 paras 13/14 (no copy of the hire agreement, no copy of the original Notice to Keeper, no statement of liability). Just the Notice itself.

That looks like a clear POFA fail, meaning as hirer/keeper I cannot be held liable.

I’ll be sending the initial appeal (below) and will be ready for POPLA when PP inevitably reject.

I also spoke to Lakeside Shopping Centre management. They weren’t very helpful – just told me to appeal to PP first, then they “may” look at cases afterwards. They gave me a Savills email to write to. I’ll still follow that up in parallel, but I’m not holding my breath.

Of course I won’t be revealing the driver in any correspondence.

Draft appeal to PP:

Dear Premier Park,

I am the hirer/keeper of the above vehicle.

I dispute your Parking Charge Notice because you have failed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“POFA”), paragraphs 13 and 14.

Specifically, you have not served the mandatory documents with your Notice to Hirer. POFA makes it clear that in order to transfer liability to a vehicle hirer, the operator must include:

- a copy of the hire agreement,

- a copy of the original Notice to Keeper, and

- a copy of the statement of liability provided by the vehicle hire company.

As none of these documents were enclosed, you have not complied with POFA. Therefore, you cannot hold me liable as the hirer/keeper.

Please cancel this charge, or issue a POPLA code so I can escalate my appeal.

Yours faithfully,  

[Name]  

Hirer/Keeper

Coupon-mad

They gave me a Savills email to write to.

Write to Savills NOW. First. Before appeal. Savills cancel PCNs all the time!

XcelestialX

Update:

Thanks for the guidance.

I’ve now sent a formal complaint to Savills (Lakeside management) before appealing to Premier Park, as advised.

In my email I:

• Quoted the PCN reference and VRM clearly.

• Set out the facts (disabled passenger, all disabled bays full, vehicle parked at end of row next to unused space, not on pavement, no obstruction).

• Raised the Equality Act 2010 angle, stressing that penalising this situation is a failure to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person.

• Highlighted the new damage found on the car when returning, plus the hire company admin fee that’s already hit me financially.

• Made it clear that Savills are contractually responsible for their agent (Premier Park) and must instruct cancellation.

I kept the email written as hirer/keeper only (no driver identified) and signed off in my own name, which is already on the Notice to Hirer.

Now I’ll wait and see if Savills step in. If not, I’ll revert to Plan B with the POFA appeal and then POPLA.

Coupon-mad

Perfect. I reckon it'll be cancelled this week.