ACPOA- Lease Car

kaylouem

Hi, I’d like advice please on the following… Back story is, driver dropped off passenger at Stansted AirPort Express set down and forgot to pay the fee of £7.00. Remembered a couple of days later but it was too late to pay. They did actually try to set up autopay on the airport website before travelling to the airport but the facility wasn’t working!

We have a private lease car (in my husbands name) and he has received a letter from the lease company to advise they have received the PCN from APCOA. They also say that they have informed APCOA that it’s a lease car and have sent them my husband’s details in order to transfer liability to him. They did also provide a 3rd party authorisation letter so he could deal with the Parking company direct in order to appeal or pay.
My husband hasn’t acted upon it yet as he was waiting for the reissued PCN but he hasn’t received anything from the parking company as yet. But now he only has 3 days left before the 28 days of issue of the PCN is up. He is going to appeal as hirer on the ‘not relevant land’ route and most probably ( although at present just a presumption ) the lack of lease documents sent with the PCN as is usually the case, but we are wondering if he has to act before the 28 day deadline even though we haven’t actually received the PCN as yet?
The lease company have also stated that if they receive further notices from APCOA they will pay the charge and recover the amount from my husband which we do not want to happen!
He is going to email the lease company today to tell them not to do that and that he intends to appeal the PCN. Hopefully they take heed!
So Should he contact the parking company using the 3rd party authorisation letter to appeal or wait for reissue? Is it also worth offering to pay the original £7.00 set down fee as a peace offering and bargaining tool for them to cancel the PCN in the hope that it will save the aggro of possibly having to go to POPLA!? The driver did genuinely forget to pay, they weren’t out to deliberately evade the fee!
Appreciate any help from you guys.

Woodstok2000

Offering to pay the £7 will not resolve anything. APCOA make their money from the scam charges - the £7 goes to the landowner, so they have a vested interest in pursuing the charge.

kaylouem

Photos of PCN and lease company letters;

APCOA .jpeg

Lease company advice.jpeg

3rd party autho.jpeg

Coupon-mad

My husband hasn’t acted upon it yet as he was waiting for the reissued PCN but he hasn’t received anything from the parking company as yet.

Good. He waits for the NTH which will take a couple of weeks.

But now he only has 3 days left before the 28 days of issue of the PCN is up.

No, that deadline doesn't apply to him. That document wasn't sent to him.

He must wait for his NTH.

kaylouem

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81918012#Comment_81918012

Thanks @Coupon-mad , I’ll check in again once we receive NTH. It’s been nearly 4 weeks since the first NTK so hopefully the PO doesn’t go back and chase the lease company 😬 Although we have informed the lease company that we intend to appeal the charge and instructed them not to pay it, hopefully they pin that note to the file 🙏🏼😩

kaylouem

Good afternoon @Coupon-mad NTH received and I am about to appeal to APCOA using the 'not relevant land' template on the Heathrow Gatwick group thread, but just a couple of questions…. I assume I only have to change KEEPER to HIRER and keep everything else as it is?
and is that template wording enough or do I need to include the wording from the lease car appeal template stating the non compliance re lack of hire agreement documents etc?
Thanks in advance

Gr1pr

Do both IMHO

Just dont mention or infer who was driving, no extra stuff, just the law

kaylouem

Great thanks. Just a quick check to make sure I am doing this correctly as Hirer please.

I refer to the above-detailed Parking Charge Notice (“PCN”) issued to me by APCOA as a Notice to Hirer. I confirm that as the hirer of this vehicle, I am its keeper for the purpose of the corresponding definition under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“POFA”) and I write to formally challenge the validity of this PCN.

You will no doubt be familiar with the strict requirements of Schedule 4 of POFA to be followed in order for a parking operator to be able to invoke keeper liability for a Parking Charge. There are a number of reasons why your Notice to Hirer did not comply with POFA; in order that you may understand why, I suggest that you carefully study the details of Paragraphs 13 and 14 of Schedule 4 in particular.

Given that APCOA has forfeited its right to keeper liability, please confirm that you shall now cancel this charge. Alternatively, should you choose to reject my challenge, please provide me with details of the Independent Appeals Service (POPLA), their contact details and a unique POPLA appeal reference so that I may escalate the matter to POPLA.

Furthermore, due to this being airport land you will be well aware there is NO keeper liability due to the byelaws in force and thus not relevant land.

As there is NO keeper liability then liability cannot flow from the driver to the keeper and thus is an auto win @POPLA .

Please therefore cancel the notice or issue a POPLA code where you will auto withdraw

If you waste your time asking for driver details this will be ignored and you will still lose at POPLA if you dont cancel the PCN

So let's save my time and yours and cancel this PCN you simply cannot win this (and you know it)

Thanks in advance for any feedback. 🙂

Coupon-mad

Yes that'll do.