Parking Charge Notice: the registered keeper's defence

I have just received (or my husband has received as he is the owner) a 'Parking Charge Notice' from Hexagon Parking Control for allegedly 'Parking' our car outside the exit to a shoppers' car park. After being initially bewildered by this, I recall the occasion where I had indeed been parking in the car park whilst shopping whereupon on leaving the car park my telephone rang and I pulled in to answer it as my earpiece wasn't switched on. I never left my car and kept the engine running because I was only a couple of minutes. No one came to the car to tell me to move on or issued me with a ticket, I was not obstructing anything and I had no intention of 'parking' there. Can I really be liable to pay their ticket of £120 reduced by 50% if paid in 14 days? Their 'evidence' is a photo (not date stamped) of my car showing the licence plate, and the time and date of the alleged offence shown above. Can this be enforceable?

You have committed no enforceable offence and these are not parking tickets recognised by any statutory authority but are in fact civil claims made under contract law. The theory is that by parking there you have entered into a "contract" with the parking company which entitles them to a (usually unreasonable) fee. If you paid the reduced fee of £60 what you are really doing is not paying a fine but "accepting an invitation to settle out of court."

It is possible they could seek to recoup their "fee" through the small claims court but you would have a good defence if you could assert you were not properly warned of the "contract" by adequate signage, that you were indeed not 'parked' at all. You might even enlist the shop concerned to come to your assistance. The court would be likely to adjudicate in your favour.

In this case they appear to have to obtained registered keeper details (your husband) from the DVLA. But it would be the driver who entered into any such contract with the parking company. Your husband merely as the registered keeper (and presumably not present) could not be deemed to enter into any such contract. Nor unlike in any case involving the police is he under any duty whatsoever to disclose details of who was the driver to a private company.

The quick and dirty solution is that he should write to Hexagon saying he is indeed the registered keeper of the vehicle but that he was not the driver at the time and thus had no contract with them. Furthermore that he chooses not to identify the driver to them.

He may have to respond to a couple more letters in a similar manner but eventually they will almost certainly go away.

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