When the Protection Of Freedoms Acts 2012 (POFA) was introduced, an additional change in law was implemented for keeper liability. It applies to Parking Charge Notices incurred on private land. The following article will go through how keeper liability and POFA are related.
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Is The Registered Keeper Responsible For A Parking Charge Notice?
If you are the registered keeper of a vehicle and someone else was driving it when the Parking Charge Notice was incurred, you are technically not responsible to pay the Parking Charge Notice. In order to pass on the charge to the person who was driving, you will need to pass on their information to the Private Parking Company (PPC).
However, if you don’t know who was driving at the time, or don’t want to pass on that information, there is no legal obligation to do so. The PPC must follow a strict set of procedural steps in order to be able to recover the charge from a registered keeper. If you know that the PPC has failed to follow one of the procedural steps, then you can decline to give them the drivers details.
However, if you do decline, you should advise the PPC where they didn’t comply with the POFA. You should also only do this after the end of the period for service of the notice to keeper.
Advising the PPC too early could prompt them to re-send a notice to keeper that is compliant with the POFA.
Keeper Liability And PCNs
The following procedural steps must be taken in order for keeper liability to apply:
- The ticket was issues to a vehicle in a car park in England or Wales. Keeper liability doesn’t apply in Northern Ireland or Scotland.
- The vehicle wasn’t stolen at the time of being given the Parking Charge Notice. If it was, you will need to provide evidence it was to the PPC (such as a police report).
- The vehicle was parked on relevant land. Schedule 4 of the POFA section 3 (1) outlines: relevant land means any land (including land above or below ground level) other than:
- (a) a highway maintainable at the public expense (within the meaning of section 329(1) of the Highways Act 1980);
- (b) a parking place which is provided or controlled by a traffic authority;
- (c) any land (not falling within paragraph (a) or (b)) on which the parking of a vehicle is subject to statutory control.
- The Notice To Keeper must be severed no earlier than 28 days, and no longer than 56 days, since the service of the Parking Charge Notice.
- The creditor does not know the name and address of the driver.
- Either:
- (a) The driver received a Notice To Driver, this is what the POFA call a Parking Charge Notice, followed by the Notice to Keeper. Both of these must comply with the requirements set out in the POFA; or
- (b)Where a Notice To Driver was not served because of the use of an ANPR system, so just a Notice To Keeper has been served.
- The maximum monetary amount that can be be recovered from the registered keeper under keeper liability is the amount specified on the Notice To Keeper.
- The creditor must have made application to the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for your name and address either:
- (a) NO EARLIER than 28 days after the Notice To Driver was issued; or
- (b) NO LATER than 14 days after the vehicle was parked, where a Notice To Driver was not issued.
- Subject to Schedule 4 of the POFA where the vehicle was hired, the hire agreement may include an obligation for the hirer to pay all parking charges. If the hire company receives a Notice To Keeper, they can provide evidence of that liability to the creditor. They may also provide the name and address of the driver. As long as it was within 28 days of the service of the Notice To Keeper, the hire company will not be liable for the parking charges.
Notice To Driver
Schedule 4 of the POFA section 7 outlines the mandatory requirements that must be included on the Notice To Driver. If any of the information is missing, the Notice To Driver becomes invalid, and Schedule 4 of the POFA section 6 has not been complied with. Failure to adhere to Schedule 4 of the POFA section 6 means the registered keeper can’t be held liable to the debt of the driver. The requirements that should be on the Notice To Driver are:
- Which car the Parking Charge Notice relates to;
- What land the vehicle was parked on;
- The period of time the vehicle was parked for;
- How and when the parking rules were broken and/or breached;
- What the charges are for breaching the parking rules, the maximum additional costs they may pursue, and the date by which those charges should be paid;
- Any discounts for paying within 14 days. This is usually at least 40% of the full charge under the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice. This means it only applies to BPA members;
- How to pay and to whom the money will be going to. This will be the creditor;
- The time and date the Parking Charge Notice was issued;
- How complaints and appeals can be dealt with.
If the Parking Charge Notice was issued to the driver it may also state the PPC may ask for registered keeper details from the DVLA. It should be noted this can only be done after 28 days since the Parking Charge Notice was issued to the driver.
What Is A Notice To Keeper?
The Notice To Keeper is a letter sent by a PPC to the registered keeper of a vehicle to inform them of an outstanding Parking Charge Notice. A Notice To Keeper is sent when a Notice To Driver (the Parking Charge Notice) has been issued to a vehicle, but remains unpaid.
Notice To Keeper
Schedule 4 of the POFA section 8 and 9 outlines the mandatory requirements that must be included on the Notice To Keeper. If any of the information is missing, the Notice To Driver becomes invalid, and Schedule 4 of the POFA section 6 has not been complied with. Failure to adhere to Schedule 4 of the POFA section 6 means the registered keeper can’t be held liable to the debt of the driver. The requirements that should be on the Notice To Keeper are:
- Which car the Parking Charge Notice relates to;
- What land the vehicle was parked on;
- The period of time the vehicle was parked for;
- Advise that the driver is liable for the parking charge, the amount and that it has not been paid/paid in full;
- State whether the Notice To Driver was either placed on the vehicle or given to the driver. The information regarding paying the original Parking Charge Notice and when by also needs to be provided again;
- Specify the outstanding amount of the parking charge, the maximum additional costs they may pursue, and the dispute resolution arrangements;
- Outline that the registered keeper can pay the outstanding parking charge; or
- If they weren’t the driver of the vehicle, they can provide the name and address of the driver at the time and to pass a copy of the notice on to the driver;
- How to pay and to whom the money will be going to. This will be the creditor;
- Notify the registered keeper that if the parking charges are still outstanding after 28 days, the creditor will be entitled to recover the parking charge from them;
- Any discounts for paying within 14 days. This is usually at least 40% of the full charge under the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice. This means it only applies to BPA members;
- Date of the notice.
Schedule 4 of the POFA sections 8 and 9 outline the time constraints for serving a Notice To Keeper. If this is not complied with, then the registered keeper can’t be held accountable for the debt the driver incurred.
A Notice To Keeper can be served by ordinary post. The POFA requires that in order for the Notice To Keeper to be valid, it must be delivered either:
- If a Notice To Driver was issued. No earlier than 28 days after, 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 ANPR system). No later than 14 days after the vehicle was parked.
Is A Registered Keeper The Same As An Owner?
They can be the same person. However, they can be different people. The owner is classed as the person who bought the vehicle. It could also be someone who received the vehicle as a gift. The registered keeper is the main user of the vehicle.
Is The Registered Keeper Responsible For Parking Fines?
If the driver of the time of the parking infraction is named to the PPC, then the registered keeper isn’t liable for the parking fine. Equally, the registered keeper can’t be held liable for the parking fine if there are any errors with the Notice To Driver and/or Notice To Keeper (see requirements above). However, if the driver at the time of the parking infraction isn’t named, and the Notice To Driver and Notice To Keeper are done correctly, then the PPC will try and make the registered keeper liable for the charge.
TLDR: Keeper Liability And POFA
- The person driving the vehicle at the time of receiving the Parking Charge Notice is responsible for the payment of it. Irrespective of who the registered keeper is;
- There are specific procedural steps that must be taken in order for keeper liability to apply;
- A Notice To Keeper is notification from a Private Parking Company (PPC) to the registered keeper of a vehicle to inform them of an outstanding Parking Charge Notice;
- Schedule 4 of the POFA outlines the mandatory requirements that must be included on a Notice To Keeper and Notice To Driver in order for them to be valid;
- The owner of a vehicle is someone who bought it. The registered keeper is the main user of it;
- The PPC will ultimately try and make the registered keeper pay the charge if the driver at the time of the parking infraction isn’t named.
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