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#Post#: 120129--------------------------------------------------
UKPC PCN - Electric Charging Bay - Lanes Shopping Centre Car
Park, Sutton Coldfield
DIR By: glent
Date: May 30, 2026, 11:35 am
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The driver entered the car park in a petrol powered vehicle
which provides two free hours parking for visitors to any of the
retail outlets on site. The car park was extremely busy and the
driver pulled into one of two empty bays that were visible.
Once in the bay, it became apparent that the bay was only for
electric vehicle parking. Having read the sign stating this, the
driver left the bay. Failing to find an empty bay for
non-electric vehicle parking, the driver left the car park. The
vehicle was stationary for a total of 60 seconds in the electric
vehicle parking bay.
The ONLY sign prohibiting the parking of non-electric vehicles
was in the two electric parking bays themselves and it would not
realistically be possible to read the sign when approaching the
bays.
The registered keeper received a PCN requesting payment of £100,
reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. The reason given for the
PCN was as follows:
“Parked in an electric vehicle designated bay. The recorded
duration of stay was 0 Hours 1 Minutes 0 Seconds.”
The registered keeper appealed to UKPC on the basis that there
should be a consideration period allowing a driver to read and
understand any terms and conditions before either deciding to
accept or decline those terms. UKPC refused the appeal.
The registered keeper then appealed to POPLA on the same
grounds.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance! :)
#Post#: 120133--------------------------------------------------
Re: UKPC PCN - Electric Charging Bay - Lanes Shopping Centre Car
Park, Sutton Coldfield
DIR By: ixxy
Date: May 30, 2026, 12:13 pm
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Have you had a response from POPLA?
Can't see this going to court, they would have to have a very
compelling argument to convince a judge that a contract had been
entered into in 60 seconds.
#Post#: 120154--------------------------------------------------
Re: UKPC PCN - Electric Charging Bay - Lanes Shopping Centre Car
Park, Sutton Coldfield
DIR By: glent
Date: May 30, 2026, 6:20 pm
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POPLA have given me 7 days to respond to the evidence provided
by UKPC to my appeal.
UKPC's evidence letter is below. Any advice about how I should
respond?
*****
On 18/04/2026, a parking event occurred relating to vehicle
registration XXXX XXX. The event was recorded by our ANPR
cameras at Instavolt - M The Lanes because the vehicle was a Non
EV vehicle parking in an EV Bay.
The parking charge rate was £100.00, reduced to £60.00 if
payment was received within fourteen days.
Following the parking event on 18/04/2026, UKPC had reasonable
cause to obtain the details of the registered keeper from the
DVLA for the purposes of issuing a Parking Charge Notice (PCN)
by post- a copy of this PCN is included in this pack. The PCN
was issued on 22/04/2026
An appeal was received from the vehicle keeper MR XXXXX XXXXXX
on the 04/05/2026, which the appeals department investigated and
decided to reject.
Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 discusses the
recovery of unpaid parking charges. It allows parking operators
to hold the registered keeper liable to pay unpaid parking
charges if the operator has not been provided the name and a
serviceable address of the driver.
Our initial notice clearly states "UK Parking Control Ltd do not
know the name and address of the driver. We therefore invite
you, the registered keeper, to pay this Parking Charge or
provide us with the name and current address of the driver so
that we may write to them and request payment" and as no driver
details have been provided to us we are continuing under keeper
liability.
The site is managed by ANPR systems which simply take images of
vehicle registration numbers entering and exiting a bay; to
calculate the total amount of time the terms and conditions were
breached for. They have been specially calibrated to only take
photos of contravening vehicles within the bays they are
directed at.
In terms of the technology of the cameras themselves, the
British Parking Association audits the camera systems in use by
parking operators in order to ensure that they are in good
working order and that the data collected is accurate.
Independent research has found that the technology is generally
accurate. Unless we are presented with sufficient evidence to
prove otherwise, we work on the basis that the technology was
working at the time of the alleged improper parking
Parking a non-electric vehicle in a designated EV charging bay
is a clear violation of parking terms and conditions, regardless
of the reason given. EV bays are specifically reserved for
vehicles that need to charge, supporting drivers who rely on
access to charging infrastructure to continue their journeys.
When a petrol or diesel vehicle occupies these spaces without
authorization, it prevents electric vehicle users from accessing
essential facilities, potentially causing significant
inconvenience or disruption.
Parking in a restricted bay, such as one designated exclusively
for electric vehicle use, constitutes a substantive breach of
the clearly stated terms and conditions of use rather than a
minor procedural oversight. Accordingly, the operator is
entitled to issue a Parking Charge Notice without the need to
afford a five-minute consideration period.
It can be seen from the images that the EV bays are clearly
marked via signage, with visually obvious EV chargers between.
As such UKPC contend that there is no reason to pull into an EV
bay for even 1 minute, if the vehicle is not electric.
For clarity, both the consideration period (before a contract is
formed) and the grace period (after parking has ended) are
distinct and not intended to extend the allowable parking
duration. As per SCoP these periods must not be combined or
treated as additional parking time. Neither of these are a free
period of parking.
The signage in place clearly sets out the terms and conditions
of parking, forming the basis of the contractual agreement. Upon
entering the car park, it is the responsibility of the motorist
to review these terms and ensure compliance before deciding to
park. If a motorist is unable to comply, does not understand, or
disagrees with the terms, they should refrain from parking and
thereby not enter into the contract. Otherwise, by choosing to
park, they accept the terms and may be held liable for a Parking
Charge Notice, as stated on the signage.
The driver of the vehicle does not need to have read the terms
and conditions of the contract to accept it. There is only the
requirement that the driver is afforded the opportunity to read
and understand the terms and conditions of the contract before
accepting it. It is the driver’s responsibility to seek
out the terms and conditions, and ensure they understand them,
before agreeing to the contract and parking.
Entrance signage on site directs motorists to contravention
signage on site, thus affording motorists the ability to locate
and acknowledge those terms before agreeing to stay or leave the
site.
Our signage conforms to the guidelines set out within the code,
and we are audited regularly by the BPA for those standards; the
signs must be provided to make it easy for motorists to find out
what the terms and conditions are and that the signs contain the
specific parking terms throughout the site, so that drivers are
given the chance to read them at the time of parking or leaving
their vehicle. Signs must be conspicuous and legible, and
written in intelligible language, so that they are easy to see,
read and understand. The BPA audits have confirmed that we
follow this to their standard.
It is also important to remember that if a motorist chooses to
park on privately owned land, they are entering into a parking
contract. Parking contracts are legally binding agreements. Like
any other contract, they must be adhered to strictly. The
concept of acting in "good faith" does not override the clear
obligations set out in the contract. Compliance with the terms
is not optional, and there are no discretionary or “grey
areas” once the contract has been accepted. Furthermore,
the signage clearly tells motorists the penalty for a breach of
the terms and conditions. UKPC are simply employed to manage the
car park.
UKPC must maintain a consistent approach when issuing and
upholding a charge. In this instance, this vehicle had been
parked on site in direct breach of the terms and conditions of
parking on site as stated on signage.
UK Parking Control signage complies fully with section 18 of the
British Parking Association Code of Practice and we reject the
suggestion that it is vague or misleading. Entrance signage
advises motorists that terms of parking apply, and that notices
within the car park should be checked to identify the full terms
and conditions. These notices are placed throughout the car
park. It is ultimately the responsibility of the motorist to
ensure they identify the terms of parking, and then decide
whether to park their vehicle, or leave the site if they are
unable to meet those terms.
The parking charges issued by UK Parking Control Limited are
based on a contractual agreement between UKPC and the driver, as
detailed on the signage displayed in the car park. The signage
states the terms and conditions of parking and explains that a
parking charge will be payable if the terms are not met by the
driver. We ensure that signage is ample, clear and visible,
wholly in line with the British Parking Association Code of
Practice. It is settled law that a driver is deemed to have
accepted the terms and conditions of parking by the act of
parking and leaving a vehicle.
Ultimately, it is fundamentally the responsibility of the
motorist to identify the terms of parking when leaving their
vehicle on private land. If they feel they are unable to adhere
to the terms, they may leave the site before agreeing to those
terms.
There are sufficient signs advising drivers that parking a Non
EV vehicle in an EV Bay may result in a parking charge being
issued. MR XXXXX XXXXXX's vehicle was parked in an EV bay
despite not being an EV; consequently, the parking charge was
issued correctly.
A letter was sent to MR XXXXX XXXXXX informing him of our
decision on the 08/05/2026.
#Post#: 120158--------------------------------------------------
Re: UKPC PCN - Electric Charging Bay - Lanes Shopping Centre Car
Park, Sutton Coldfield
DIR By: InterCity125
Date: May 31, 2026, 1:11 am
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We'll need to see the text of your initial appeal to POPLA.
POPLA will not allow additional appeal points to be added at the
comments stage.
We need to focus on the fact that no contract was entered into.
It may also be helpful if you could post up the original PCN.
#Post#: 120161--------------------------------------------------
Re: UKPC PCN - Electric Charging Bay - Lanes Shopping Centre Car
Park, Sutton Coldfield
DIR By: glent
Date: May 31, 2026, 2:40 am
---------------------------------------------------------
This is the text of my original appeal to POPLA:
*****
I would like to appeal on the grounds that although the vehicle
was stationary in the electric charging bay, it was not parked.
The driver was a learner driver at the end of his driving
lesson. He had agreed with the driving instructor that the
lesson would end at the car park in question so that he could
visit one of the retailers on site.
The car park was extremely busy with no visible spaces and cars
queuing at the entrance, exit and inside the car park. The
driver could not just stop in the middle of the car park to get
out and read the signs detailing the terms and conditions of
parking in the car park. Given how busy the car park was, the
driver pulled into the first visible vacant space before reading
the signage.
Having read the signage, it was apparent that the bay was for
electric charging use only. Given how busy the car park was and
how difficult and stressful it would be for the learner driver
to now reverse out of the bay into queuing traffic, the driving
instructor advised the learner driver to leave and continue on
to the retailer. The instructor then reversed the car and left
the car park.
The vehicle was stationary in the electric charging bay for a
total of one minute and zero seconds.
The British Parking Association clearly states in its guidance
that a consideration period should be given. As a matter of
contract law, drivers need to be given an appropriate
opportunity to understand and decide whether to accept the terms
and conditions that apply should they choose to park a vehicle
on controlled land.
#Post#: 120165--------------------------------------------------
Re: UKPC PCN - Electric Charging Bay - Lanes Shopping Centre Car
Park, Sutton Coldfield
DIR By: glent
Date: May 31, 2026, 3:10 am
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This is the original PCN:
HTML https://ibb.co/NQPwPcF
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