PCN from council paid by car hire company-London

hassthefish

Hi

So I am a UK citizen but living abroad.

I came to visit the England for a wedding and hired a car for the trip. During that time I received an automated PCN related to parking in a bus lane. There were parking signs allowing this and the photo on the PCN even shows other cars parked in the same space.

I only received the PCN via the hire company, after they had already paid the penalty 'on my behalf'.

When I attempted to contest the ticket I was unable to as it had already been paid. The PCN clearly states this too, if you wish to contest it you must not pay.

The hire companies own terms and conditions state they will only pay this fine if they are unable to transfer it to me which I have asked and they refuse to provide any evidence that they even attempted to do so.

On top of the £80 ticket they add a £60 'admin' fee.

It seems like this is a scam to grab more money.

Am I right in saying that as they removed my right to contest the ticket from the issuing body I am able to contest it directly with the rental company? Should they also have made an attempt to transfer the ticket to me, or at least allow me knowledge of it and the ability to pay it before they did so?

I have asked them these questions multiple times and they keep just threatening me with debt reclamation and have provided no evidence they did anything, other than repeatedly sending me their terms and conditions which clearly state they should have tried to transfer the PCN to me.

Any help is appreciated. I can pay the fine if needed but their actions feel like very dubious legal ground but of course I'm not a lawyer.

Thanks!

la531983

Its not a scam, this creates extra work for the car hire company, they are merely billing you for it and would have been in the agreement you signed

Keep_pedalling

This was a local authority issued PCN and paying it is the legal responsability of the registered keeper and not transferable to the driver, so it seems they have not broken their terms and conditions.

Being allowed to park in an active bus lane seems unlikely, can you supply the exact location you got the ticket.

James_Poisson

You do not have to pay their invoice just because they make threats! They should be members of the BVRLA you can make a complaint through their website here:

https://www.bvrla.co.uk/home/consumer-advice/making-a-complaint-adr

hassthefish

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82146916#Comment_82146916

It was in Leyton (London), on the road across from the Lion & Key hotel.

There was a sign and parking bays drawn over the bus lane and many other people parked there. I've tried to track down the specifics but can only find general rules for the area. I wish I'd taken a photo of the sign but at the time didn't feel i would need to.

Thanks for the help

born_again

You agreed to the hire co's T/C where they bill you for their administration costs in such matters.

They will simply take it from the card used to pay for the hire. Which you are unable to dispute as you agreed to T/C.

James_Poisson

You can park in that bus lane between 10AM and 4PM but you have to pay:

Keep_pedalling

So what time were you parked there? If it was between 10am and 4pm did you pay?