If you find yourself asking the question “I received a PCN but I wasn’t the driver”, then we will outline below what your options are depending on the type of notice you have received. It depends if it was a Parking Charge Notice or a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) as to how you can proceed. It would be ideal first to know the fundamental difference between a PCN and a Parking Charge Notice:
Councils, the police and Transport for London can only issue a PCN, which is a fine. Private Parking Companies (PPCs) are not legally allowed to use the word fine and are even banned from using the word penalty on their notices. They are just invoices.
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Parking Charge Notice
A Parking Charge Notice is essentially an invoice for payment for breaching the terms and conditions set by the PPC. A Parking Charge Notice is also know as a Notice To Driver. The relationship between a motorist and the private parking company is governed by contract law. So this means where the PPC’s terms and conditions have been breached, they can only claim the loss of revenue they experienced, rather than inflated amounts they usually demanded.
If you were not driving at the time the Parking Charge Notice was issued, you can contact the PPC and give them details of the driver, and they will have to pay the charge. However, if you do not know who was driving at the time, then a Notice To Keeper will be issued when:
- After 28 days, and no more than 56 days after the service of the Notice To Driver; or
- If no Notice To Driver was issued (such as being caught by an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system). No later than 14 days after the vehicle was parked.
If the charge is not settled by the driver, the PPC will apply to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for the keeper’s details, and send them a Notice To Keeper. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA) introduced the notion of Keeper Liability. If the Parking Charge Notice remains unpaid, the amount can be recovered from the keeper of the vehicle.
If you want to appeal the Parking Charge Notice, the first step you must do is to do it via the PPC’s own appeals process. The correct appeals process is outlined on the Parking Charge Notice. If there is an online option, you must always choose this option. If it rejected by the PPC, you can them move on to an independent appeals process.
You will first need to find out if the PPC is a member of either:
You can then make your way to:
- Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) – If the PPC is a member of BPA, or;
- Independent Appeals Service (IAS) – If the PPC is a member of IPC.
Penalty Charge Notice
A PCN is usually issued by a Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) who works for the local council and makes sure parking regulations are upheld. The police and Transport for London can also issue a PCN. Road traffic contraventions can also be caught on camera and sent to the Registered Keepers address, such as being caught stationary in a yellow box junction.
The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions section 6 outlines that where a PCN has been issued to a vehicle where a road traffic contravention has occurred, the person liable to pay it is the owner. This is presumed to be the Registered Keeper of the vehicle, unless proven otherwise.
The Registered Keeper may not have been the driver at the time of the road traffic contravention, but they are legally liable for the PCN. Just because another person was driving the vehicle does at the time of the road traffic contravention, the Registered Keeper is still liable for the PCN.
The details of the Registered Keeper would be obtained from the DVLA. The charging authority or local authority will use these details to process and send the PCN to the Registered Keeper. This is unless the PCN was fixed to the windscreen or handed to the driver.
The only scenario where the Registered Keeper won’t be liable for the PCN is if the vehicle has been hired or leased. During the hiring or leasing of a vehicle you would have signed a statement of liability. This acknowledges that you are liable in respect of any PCNs served in respect of any road traffic contravention involving the vehicle during the hiring or lease agreement.
Is The Registered Keeper Responsible For Parking Fines?
If you receive a Parking Charge Notice, you could give the PPC the driver’s details, however, you don’t have too. You can read more about if you need to give them the drivers details here.
If you receive a PCN, the registered keeper is responsible for the charge, even if you were not the driver.
TLDR: I Received A PCN But I Wasn’t The Driver
- The police, councils and Transport for London can only issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). These are fines;
- Private Parking Companies (PPCs) are only issues invoices;
- If a Parking Charge Notice isn’t paid, then the amount can be recovered from the keeper of the vehicle;
- When a PCN is issued, the Registered Keeper is legally liable for the charge;
- If you receive a Parking Charge Notice, you can give the PPC the driver’s details, however, you don’t have too;
- The only scenario where the Registered Keeper won’t be liable for the PCN is if the vehicle has been hired or leased.
Sources used to write this article: