Parking Charge issued by APCOA PARKING

[KornflakeKev]

I drove my car to Manchester Airport during the early hours of 18th April 2025. My intention was to collect my daughter who had just arrived on an incoming flight. Owing to unfamiliarity with the airport layout and the fact that it was dark, I made the mistake of entering the Drop Off Zone instead of the Pick Up Zone. A member of staff appeared and directed me to the correct area. I immediately left the Drop Off Zone through the departure exit, (the barriers were up), collected my daughter from the Pick Up Zone, stopped at the barrier, paid £6.50 to exit and drove home. A few days later, I left my home to visit a relative in southern England. I was away from home for just over two weeks. On my return, I discovered that I had been issued a £100 parking charge by APCOA PARKING. The penalty was for failing to pay on leaving the Drop Off Zone. To me, this seems excessive and unfair. Should I pay the charge or just ignore it?

[des8]

Please post up a redacted copy of the charge notice you have received.

As long as the parking company don't know the identity of the driver, it is most probable that they cannot transfer liability for the charge to you the keeper, as the airport land is governed by bylaws and so is not relevant land for the purposes of PoFA2012

Do not write to them yet ... we can offer a template after seeing the charge notice

[KornflakeKev]

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my message regarding the APCOA parking charge issue. I am attaching a redacted copy of the charge notice that I was sent, just as you requested. You advised me to delay writing to the parking operator and said that after you had seen the redacted charge notice, you could offer me a template.

Thank you for your time,
KornflakeKev

Redacted copy of Parking Charge.pdf

[des8]

I would write to them as follows:

Dear Sirs,
I have just received your Parking Charge Notice xxxxx for vehicle VRM xxxx

I am the registered keeper of the vehicle, and as such I am not liable for the charge.
You are aware the location is subject to statutory controls and therefor is not relevant land for the purposes of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Accordingly only the driver is liable for any alleged breach of the parking terms & conditions and as I am under no legal obligation to reveal the identity of the driver I will not be doing so.

Any further communication with me on this matter, apart from confirmation of no further action and my details being removed from your records, will be considered vexatious and harassment. This includes communication from any Debt Collection companies you care to instruct.

Yours etc

first class post with free certificate of posting from a post office

DO NOT IDENTIFY THE DRIVER


Just for the record, how long was your vehicle in the drop off zone?
Did you note that the discounted amount required was £5? (would probably have been worth paying that just to avoid the hassle of disputing it but too late now!)

[KornflakeKev]

Thank you for your letter template and for taking interest in my case. In answer to your question about the length of time my vehicle was in the Drop Off Zone: according to the parking charge notice, it was there for exactly two minutes. A member of staff demanded to know what I was doing there. When I told him that I had come to collect my daughter from an incoming flight, he directed me to the Pick Up Zone and I immediately made my way to the Drop Off Zone exit. The exit barrier was raised and I thought this meant that I was entitled to proceed. I wasn't trying to avoid payment. Had the barrier been down, I would have paid the exit fee but I didn't know that I was required to.The member of staff said nothing about it. On leaving the Drop Off Zone, I drove to the Pick Up Zone, as instructed, collected my daughter, drove to the Pick Up Zone exit barrier, paid the £6.20 exit fee, waited for the barrier to be lifted, and made my way home. A few days later, I left my home and drove to southern England in order to visit a relative. I was there for more than two weeks. During that time, the parking charge notice must have been delivered to my house. Had I known about it, I would have paid the £5 discounted amount but I knew nothing of the letter's existence until I had returned home, and by that time, it was too late. I made a simple mistake and I feel that I'm being made to pay dearly for it. I hoping that if this case goes to court, the judge will deal leniently with me, if I'm truthful and I explain my situation clearly. I know that the terms and conditions of use of the facility were on display but two minutes isn't a very long time in which to read them all. Thank you again for your help.

[des8]

Thanks for the explanation as it sets out the situation perfectly.

As long as they do not know the identity of the driver they cannot obtain any payment.


The driver is the only person who could possibly be liable.
If this was a normal private parking charge, the liability could be transferred from the driver to the keeper, if certain conditions mandated in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) were met.
One of the conditions is that the land is "relevant".
In the words of PoFA “relevant land” means any land ..... other than.....any land .... on which the parking of a vehicle is subject to statutory control."
Manchester airport land is subject to statutory control.
There is no way they could enforce this charge through court action, unless they are able to identify the driver.

[lancs lad]

Hi
I have also had the same parking charge at Manchester Airport sent to our address this week and will also fight this. There are new parking conditions now in place at Manchester Airport, introduced over the last month, and they have transitioned to an online-only payment system, effective after drop-off or pick-up.

I did not know this and entered the car park to pick up my wife. I hate paying online after the event, as I am so busy I would likely forget. In this case, you have only 24 hrs to pay.

The signs are all clear once you enter the car park, but not before. You cannot use the machines to pay, as indicated by the signage. So I drove out.

I was charged £ 100 in total, and I received the same Parking charge for two minutes in total, entering and waiting to get back out.

question:
Do I use the template suggested above and do not enter into any further discussions, or, could I use the "not accepting the contract" as the signs were only explaining about the payment system once I had saw them. And the signage was only clear after going through he barrier.

Of course, the second version would admit I must have been the driver or passenger?

ps has anyone used the "I am the keeper not the driver" letter with success ?

[des8]

lancs lad

I would stick to the template as above.
If you wanted you could dispute the charge on the basis that as the keeper you have been advised the signage was not viewable by the driver prior to entering the area.
No need to identify yourself as the driver.

ps has anyone used the "I am the keeper not the driver" letter with success ?
This is a defence that stands up in court, but is dependent on the operator failing to comply with the conditions mandated in PoFA 2012.
Don't expect a parking company to roll over at your first appeal

If you make further posts could you please start your own thread to avoid confusion.

[Pezza54]

Please read the article "How to beat an unfair private car parking ticket, by retired judge Stephen Gold" at www.thisismoney.co.uk
A lengthy but informative article that covers recent changes (mediation), appeals, viable and effective defences to claims