Parking Charge Notice for Leaving site at Central Six - Coventry

[Bigdavey]

Hi, I have received a Parking Charge Notice for Leaving site at Central Six - Coventry. The picture on the notice shows the picture on my car front and back. There is nothing on the notice evidencing I have left site. You are allowed to park for up to 3 hours, the car was removed in that time. I have read the sign, there is nothing that says you can't leave site, it just says customers only so I would of thought you have 3 hours to buy something. I would of thought it unlikely they can prove I left site, I didn't have passengers that stayed on site and that I didn't buy anything in the 3 hour period. Advice much appreciated on the next steps please. I have no evidence to say I did buy anything.

[des8]

Please post up a redacted copy of the parking charge notice (leave in all dates and times) and if available a picture of the signs.
If you can't upload to this site, suggest you use a hosting site and post a link to it here.

[Bigdavey]

Notice posted and hthe sign split into 2 as wouldn't load

Please post up a redacted copy of the parking charge notice (leave in all dates and times) and if available a picture of the signs.
If you can't upload to this site, suggest you use a hosting site and post a link to it here.

[PallasAthena]

Firstly, NEVER identify who was the driver of the vehicle at the time, neither to the parking company nor on online advice forums. You give away valuable legal protections if you do. Say, eg, "The driver parked..." not "I parked...". For that reason we generally advise never to use the parking company's appeal process since they typically require the registered keeper to identify the driver, which you are not legally required to do. And anyway hardly anyone wins appeals, waste of time.

I recommend you also post this on the Free Traffic Legal Advice site [no connection with LegalBeagles] www.ftla.uk They specialise in this type of issue and have some very knowledgeable people who give advice.

I am not an expert on this but I note that, as you say, the alleged "Term breached" is "Parked and left site Central Six Retail Park" but no evidence of that is included in the Parking Charge Notice (PCN). The PCN shows only two photographs of your car, front and back, taken about 50 seconds apart. So presumably taken by one of the parking company's employees with a hand-held camera. Which tells you nothing, you don't deny that your car was parked there. No people appear in the photgraphs.

The signage you posted does say "You must remain on site" (one of the 4 yellow symbols on the sign). My lay-person's comment is that if the parking company alleges that "You must remain on site" is a contractual term the contract is only with the driver so it is only the driver who must remain on site. The contract term can't apply to passengers as they aren't parties to the contract. Nor does the signage say the driver must ensure any passengers remain on site.

If the parking company alleges a breach of contract by the driver it is their responsibility to prove that the driver did leave the site. The driver does not have to prove that they didn't.

"Customer Parking Only" is a separate and different term of their alleged contract and they are not claiming that the driver breached it so irrelevant whether there is evidence that the driver bought something at the site.

Do nothing at the moment and wait for more advice here and on FTLA site.

[des8]

You could try writing to them thus, but don't expect them to roll over.
Do not identify the driver

Dear Sirs,
I have received your Notice to Keeper xxxxx for vehicle VRM xxxx

You have failed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of The Protection Of Freedoms Act 2012 namely, but not limited to, failing to specify the period of parking to which this notice applies as prescribed by section 9 (2) (e) of the Act. You cannot, therefore, transfer liability for the alleged charge from the driver at the time to me, the keeper.

There is no legal requirement to name the driver at the time and I will not be doing so.

I do not expect to hear from you again, or your debt collectors, except to confirm that no further action will be taken on this matter and my personal details have been removed from your records.
Yours etc