Stansted airport express drop off/pick up - help please parking charge

GL4C4 · 1 May at 9:39AM

I am seeking advice on a PCN from APCOA at Stansted Airport (Express Set Down). I have never seen the original PCN and only became aware of the situation in March 2026 via Trace Debt Recovery.

Timeline:
1. 09 Jan 2025: Bought a 3-month Royal Mail Redirection service (£49) to redirect mail to our new address.
2. Mid January 2025: Moved out from my old address.
3. 12 Feb 2025: Alleged incident at Stansted Airport, no payment made by the driver,

4. 18 Feb 2025: APCOA claims the initial letter was issued (never received).

5. Summer 2025 V5C address updated.

6. 06 March 2026: Received first letter from Trace at my new address

7. April 2026: Engaged in a formal dispute with APCOA and a SAR request.

What I have done so far:

1. Challenged Keeper Liability: I informed APCOA that as the land is subject to Byelaws, it is not 'relevant land' under POFA 2012. I have declined to name the driver.
2. Exposed Contradictions in Parking Operator and their Debt collector email/letters:

APCOA support admitted in email: "The Parking Charge that has not been issued under this act and has been issued as a non-POFA charge".
Trace sent me a demand citing: "In accordance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 Schedule 8 (6)" to presume delivery and claim keeper liability.

3. Refuted 'Liability by Inaction': APCOA support I has claimed I am "now liable for this charge due to a lack of action" despite admitting it is non-POFA. I have challenged them to provide the statute that makes a silent keeper liable on Byelaw land; they failed to do so.

4. The SAR Standoff: I submitted a SAR to the their DPO and provided my foreign passport for ID. The DPO has refused to process it, stating they require my V5C as proof of identity to "confirm the vehicle belongs to yourself".

Current Status: I have told APCOA I will not negotiate a debt that is not mine. The DPO is currently blocking my SAR because I won't provide the V5C.

What do I do now?

Gr1pr · 1 May at 9:41AM

Ignore them, nothing will happen

Coupon-mad · 1 May at 9:44AM

Seconded. You could have just ignored Trace. Come back if you get a LBC from Moorside but you are correct: no keeper liability.

cragfoot · 11 July at 9:19AM

The advice re parking charges at Stansted is good if long winded to follow through. I just want to draw attention to my experience recently to help others avoid a charge. My complaint submitted to APCOA is below. Basically I parked at the Express Drop Off for 4 minutes and paid online the following day. The payment seemed go through without a problem and the online APCOA page gave that impression. However it hadn't and I had no evidence from my credit card records to show that it had. So I paid up. The advice is to check that the payment has gone through. I should have realised myself that there was an issue because my bank app did not contact me to ask for approval. I am left with the feeling that the APCOA payment software is not clear or is inadequate, and it is easy to assume that you have paid when you haven't. For APCOA it is an easy way to boost their income.

I used the Express Drop Off facility from 14:52:01to 14:56:13 on 25/06/2026. I paid the parking fee the following day online, and it seemed from the details on the payment page that the payment had gone through. However I received a parking charge notice by post issued on 04/07/2026 for an amount of £100 reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. I could find no record of payment having left my credit card account so I was left with no alternative other than to pay the charge. I was certain when I paid that the payment had been made and am unhappy that the APCOA payment software gave that impression. It seems an easy way for APCOA to extract a hefty extra charge while appearing to be legal and above board. My complaint is that the APCOA software is inadequate and I feel that the charge I have paid has been extorted from me.