Parking Charge Notice - wrong vehicle details

[ASW]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a bit of advice regarding the best way to deal with a PCN (parking charge notice, issued by a private company rather than a local council).

Notably the PCN contains incorrect details - the registration number, make, model and colour are all incorrect compared to the vehicle the PCN was affixed to (my car).

There are some details and genuine misunderstandings that explain why I was parked in the wrong space, but I don't think they're relevant or a good use of the forum's time just now, so I just want to focus on the incorrect PCN details for now. One pertinent thing is that there was another vehicle behind mine which also had a PCN affixed to it at the same time. I'm fairly certain that vehicle matches the details on the PCN I received.

My questions are:

- Does having completely incorrect details invalidate the PCN I received?

- If the PCN on vehicle behind mine contained the details of my car, would that make any difference?

- Should I appeal the PCN now, or wait for a follow up letter in the post (assuming the other PCN did indeed contain my car's details and they trace me via the DVSA)?

Appealing based on the incorrect details was my first thought, but to do so I'd need to enter the other vehicle's registration as if it were my own, and supply my name and address which I'd rather not do unless really necessary. After all, the PCN I have isn't mine to appeal. If I wait for a follow up, the mismatch between the photos and the PCN I have would presumably work in my favour, but I'm unsure. Any other suggestions are very welcome.

Thanks,
ASW

[des8]

I would ignore this PCN, and wait to see if the parking company ever send you a Notice to Keeper.
They have about two months in which to do this.

Whatever you do, do not identify the driver

[ASW]

Thanks des8

Is that the 56 day rule? I was considering the idea of ignoring it and seeing if an NTK ever got to me. If it did, would I be right to say it was invalid because a matching notice was never given to the driver or affixed to the vehicle?

Interested in your point about not identifying the driver. Is that something that would make a lot of difference? Does the same apply in the hypothetical situation where the keeper and driver are the same person?

[des8]

If the parking company do not know the identity of the driver, they can transfer liability for the parking charge to the keeper of the vehicle under the regulations of the Protection of Freedom Act 20112 (POFA2012) schedule 4.
Some parking companies are prone to getting the procedure wrong, and so cannot successfully transfer liability to the keeper.
If that happens, and they do not know the identity of the driver, they lose!
Even if they are the same person the company does not know that, so do not identify the driver

So I would suggest you edit your first post so the identity of the driver cannot be inferred eg write "the driver was parked .." etc


Regarding time limits for issuing a NTK, as a notice was placed on the car sec 8 (5) of POFA 2012 applies:
"The relevant period for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) is the period of 28 days following the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice to driver was given."

If you want you could post up a copy of the PCN placed on the car so we can check it for errors.
First remove identifying details, but leave in dates and times