UK Parking Control Limited's oversight in adhering to the 28-day statutory period, as outlined under POFA, resulted in a £295 costs for unreasonable conduct.

At Contestor Legal Services, we have successfully represented our client in a recent dispute against parking charge charges issued by UK Parking Control Limited at the County Court at Stafford.

In a nutshell, our client's vehicle was observed entering and exiting a car park at McDonald located on Penn Road - 314, WV3 0LH. With no recollection of who was driving the vehicle on 16/10/2023 and 22/10/202, our client denied any liability as the driver.

 When proceedings were issued against our client by UK Parking Control, we quickly identified that their claim was in breach of CPR 16.4(1)(e) and Practice due to their failure to conduct proper procedures. Our client approached us for representation and assistance in preparing his witness statement, where he raised additional points regarding the defective notice to the keeper and the issue of locus standi.

 At first hearing due to limited amount of time, the court ordered the Claimant to file and serve a supplementary witness statement in response to the new points raised. However, the supplementary statement failed to adequately address the issue of the defective notice to the keeper. Represented by our experienced Lay Representative, Mr. Jackson Yamba, we drew the court's attention to Schedule 4 para 9(2)(i) and Schedule 4 para 9(2)(f) of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA).

 It was argued on behalf of our client that the date on the notice should be the date on which it was posted, as stated in the legislation. For instance, the first Notice to Keeper was dated 22/10/2018. Assuming this was the correct date of posting the Notice to Keeper according to Schedule 4 para 9(6) of POFA, the notice should have been deemed served on 24/10/2018. The 28-day statutory period should have started counting from 25/10/2018 and ended on 21/11/2018, giving the UK Parking Control the right to recover from the keeper starting from 22/11/2018.

 However, UK Parking Control Limited sent a notice letter on 21/11/2018, stating that 28 days had lapsed. It was clear that the 28-day period was not  observed by UK Parking Control Limited , reaffirming that the date on the notice to the keeper was not the date on which it was posted. The court fully agreed with Mr. Jackson Yamba's submission and found that UK Parking Control Limited had unreasonably shortened the statutory period by one day. The same submission was made for the second Parking Charge Notice. The court ordered UK Parking Control Limited to pay our client loss of earning of £95 and our attendance costs of £200.

 This case highlights yet another example of a parking operator using the provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 without properly observing the statutes. With over 20,000 motorists potentially finding themselves in similar positions each day, as evidenced by the number of parking tickets issued, we strongly encourage motorists to seek our legal expertise before accepting any parking charges.

 Choose Contestor Legal Services for expert representation and ensure your rights are protected. Don't let defective parking notices cost you unnecessary expenses. Contact us today.