UKCPS Parking Fine- Unable to Appeal Online (Lease Car)- Quick Help Needed Please

PureVessel

Hey guys,

Apologies if this is somewhere in the NEWBIES thread but I have received 3x parking fines from UKCPS but to my leased/hire car. I have strong grounds to appeal given I've parked there for 8+ months and they recently (apparently) changed/made stricter their restrictions. Also the signage is just confusing. Plus, I don't pay parking fines. This has hit 10+ people and it looks like they've fined almost every single day during that time period so I am assuming another few fines will come through over the next few days.

I was about to appeal them all but it's the first time doing this process under a lease/hire car. The leasing company immediately paid the first one and let me know about 10 days after issue date that it had come through and been paid. Despite then jumping on a call with the leasing company whereby they said they will transfer liability to me for the future ones and not automatically pay… they have now fully paid the next 2x fines too and let me know today. They said if I appeal (and win) they will not charge me for the fine payments or "admin charges".

Despite all 3x fines being within the 28 day appeal time given by UKCPS- when putting the appeal numbers into their site I get the below error (see screenshot below) that I assume (not totally sure) is because the leasing company has already paid for them as I am still within the time period to appeal and shouldn't be getting these errors. The leasing company said follow the normal appeal process… but that is impossible.

Do I really need to WRITE to UKCPS (???) and there is absolutely no other way that I can appeal? The final day of the 28 days is in 2 days I believe (1st one issues 9th Sep)

UKCPS error screen…

UKCPS NtK and email from leasing company…

Thanks again for the help!

Coupon-mad

"They said if I appeal (and win) they will not charge me for the fine payments or "admin charges".

They lied.

You can't appeal due to what they did. There is NO opportunity to appeal now.

No paying.

Refuse and bounce all the payments and email the lease firm to explain why.

This is unlikely to be stipulated in your lease contract (not about parking invoices) and in any event, they offered you an alternative agreement verbally: they said they wouldn't pay any more, when you phoned them. So they - your lease firm - breached that promise.

Show us the wording of your Car Lease agreement section about 'fines and charges'.

PureVessel

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82160785#Comment_82160785

makes more sense now… fml. Assuming I just challenge this with the lease firm then.

It’s strange that in their email to me (see snip in original post)- they explicitly say “If you decide to appeal this and are successful, please send the proof of cancellation to XXX and we'll refund the fine and admin fee.” Whilst it is clearly not possible. I’m assuming this is going to amount to around 5x fines of £60 each + £35 each “admin fee” so a considerable amount. I have no evidence of the woman on the call stating that they will “make a note on my account and forward any fines to me from now on”. The last email from them stated that…

”Ordinarily, penalty charges would be represented. Representation is where we, as the registered keeper of the vehicle, transfer liability for the fine from ourselves directly to you. This allows you to either pay the fine directly to the authority or submit an appeal.

However, there are certain operators that do not accept representation from XXX, meaning immediate payment is required. To avoid further escalation, we have therefore paid this penalty on your behalf and recharged you accordingly.

UKCPS Ltd is one of these operators that do not accept representations, meaning we have to pay these fines on your behalf.”

Hire contract wording below on parking fines…

IMPORTANT: Your Potential Financial Responsibilities for Claims, Fines, Damage, Charges and Fees

4.1.

You are responsible for the use and safekeeping of the Vehicle. Except where a liability or cost arises as a result of

our negligence, fraud or breach of this Agreement, you will pay us, when we make written demand, any costs,

expenses, losses or damages we suffer as a result of:

a. any claims whatsoever made against you or us arising out of, or in any way connected with, your use of the Vehicle; and

b. any fines, fees, charges or other penalties issued by any public or private entity resulting from your use of the Vehicle contrary to any applicable laws, including violation of traffic or parking regulations or restrictions and congestion charging

4.2. You shall pay any other reasonable costs or fees incurred by us directly resulting from the breach by you of any of your obligations under this Agreement or enforcement of our rights under this Agreement.

Coupon-mad

That's better worded than most. It is an attempt by them to make you pay for literally anything described as a 'charge', but it is clearly unfair for them to just pay UKCPS because "waaah, UKCPS don't let us transfer liability".

That is actually untrue.

UKCPS are an IPC member and many among what some might call "that bunch of shysters" make it bloody difficult for lease firms to transfer liability.

IMHO it is clearly deliberate because if they make it hard for lease firms - and routinely refuse ToLs unless lease firms jump through all sorts of hoops - then this is the result: UKCPS GET PAID EVERY TIME!

What's not to like, from UKCPS' point of view…after all they are reverting to type: they are ex-clampers with a terrible reputation over the years.

This is an extension of wheelclamper thug mentality: clamping was banned so they and their ilk will always find another way to ensure they can rip off consumers.

Utter scammery by the PPCs that do this. It doesn't tend to happen with BPA members.

Not that that helps you.

I would email the lease firm very clearly 'ordering' them to transfer liability to you by naming you as DRIVER (not hirer, driver) in any future UKCPS PCNs received, because that can't ve refused by a PPC.

Confirm that you were driving and tell the lease firm you are relying on the promise of the woman on the phone to send the PCNs to you. They reneged on that promise.

That plus the fact that just paying these because UKCPS make ToLs hard, is an unfair term means you WILL NOT pay any of these back, if the lease firm pays any.

Then get on to your card provider and block all these payments (except for the normal cost of leasing the vehicle).

I'd also plan to return the car asap and go to another provider. This is unacceptable.

MrJenkinsEsq

That clause only covers charges "resulting from your use of the Vehicle contrary to any applicable laws". A private parking charge is a contractual sum. Breaching a parking company's terms is not breaking the law.

If it did cover them it would be unfair and not binding anyway. The hire firm could have passed the charge to you at no cost, leaving you free to dispute it. Instead you pay whatever it chose to pay, valid or not.

The Court of Appeal recently-ish held a term unfair where it applied to every situation regardless of the circumstances and put all of the risk on the consumer. It made no difference that the consumer had read and agreed it. The test is whether a properly informed and advised customer could be expected to agree to the term. With the term gone all sums attached go with it. (Glaser v Atay [2024] EWCA Civ 1111 at [71], [72], [107] and [109]).

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2024/1111.html

I've assumed the hirer is an individual. Is it an individual or a company?

Have you been charged? Or are they just threatening to charge you?

MrJenkinsEsq

With some assumption and written to cover all cases. Delete the CRA and Glaser bits if the hirer was a company.

Dear Sir or Madam

Agreement [number]. Vehicle [registration]. UKCPS notice [reference].

I understand you have received private parking charge notices from UKCPS for this vehicle.

If you have not paid them, do not. If you have already paid them, that was your choice and the cost is yours. Either way you have no authority to charge me. Any sum you have already taken from me for these charges or a related fee must be refunded within 14 days. Any sum you take in future must be refunded on the same basis.

1. Your clause covers only charges "resulting from your use of the Vehicle contrary to any applicable laws". A private parking charge is a sum claimed under an alleged contract (ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67). UKCPS alleges a breach of its own terms, which is denied. It does not and cannot allege a breach of any law.
2. If the clause did cover them it would be unfair and not binding (Consumer Rights Act 2015, s 62; Glaser v Atay [2024] EWCA Civ 1111 at [71], [72] and [109]). It would make me pay whatever any private company demands, valid or not, while you carry no risk.
3. You never need to pay. Paragraph 13 of Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 ends your liability as keeper if, within 28 days of the notice to keeper, you send the parking company a signed statement that the vehicle was on hire, a copy of the hire agreement and a copy of my statement of liability. The parking company then has to deal with me.
4. If you pay instead, you bear that cost in full. I dispute the charges and I do not ask you to pay them. Someone who pays another's alleged debt without request or legal compulsion is a volunteer and cannot recover it (Owen v Tate [1976] QB 402).

Within 14 days please:

• refund any sum already taken
• confirm that you will not pay or charge me for this or any future private parking notice and will use paragraph 13 instead
• send me a copies of any notices to keeper and of anything you have sent UKCPS.

Any sum not refunded will be disputed with my card provider and recovered through the county court with interest and costs.

Yours faithfully,

1505grandad

Is the leasing company a member of the BVRLA - if so the following document might be relevant as it includes:-

"Crucially, the BVRLA has successfully made sure that the Code includes the requirement for private parking companies to have a process for transferring liability for Parking Charge Notices for rental and leasing companies."

https://web.archive.org/web/20251008000346/https://www.bvrla.co.uk/resource/shifting-liability-added-to-private-parking-code-of-practice.html

"……………. and they recently (apparently) changed/made stricter their restrictions."

The ppss CoP states:-

https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/Sector%20Code%20Templates/sectorsingleCodeofPracticeVersion1.1130426-2.pdf

"3.4. Material changes – notices

Where there is any material change to any pre-existing terms and conditions that would not
be immediately apparent to a driver entering controlled land that is or has been open for
public parking, the parking operator must place additional (temporary) notices at the site
entrance for a period of not less than 4 months from the date of the change making it clear
that new terms and conditions/charges apply, such that regular visitors who might be
familiar with the old terms do not inadvertently incur parking charges."

They are not fines.