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#Post#: 123445--------------------------------------------------
Smart Parking PCN – Excess of the Permitted Free Time –
McDonald's near Heathrow Airport
DIR By: tylersoze
Date: July 1, 2026, 3:11 am
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Hello,
Upon entering the car park, the driver found a space, parked up,
and went inside the McDonalds, ordered food and ate inside.
After eating the driver took a multiple virtual meetings from
the car park and when they left the car park they had exceeded
the maximum parking period by 90 minutes. I, the registered
keeper, received a PCN through the post (unsure of the exact
date) and appealed with the following statement on Jan 25th.
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I have received your Parking Charge Notice (Ref: SPxxxxxxxx) for
vehicle registration mark XXXXXXX, in which you allege that the
driver has incurred a parking charge. I note from your
correspondence that you are not seeking to hold me liable as the
registered keeper, under Schedule 4 of the Protection of
Freedoms Act 2012 ("The Act"). You have chosen not to issue a
Notice to Keeper in accordance with The Act, and it is now too
late for you to do so.
There is no obligation for me to name the driver and I will not
be doing so. I am therefore unable to help you further with this
matter, and look forward to your confirmation that the charge
has been cancelled. If you choose to decline this appeal, you
must issue a POPLA code.
---------------------------------------------------------
Smart Parking denied the appeal on the 6th of Feb with the
attached letter.
Smart Parking Appeal Rejection
HTML https://ibb.co/ZRMHK11d
CCJ Claim Form
HTML https://ibb.co/hJd2rwK3
#Post#: 123446--------------------------------------------------
Re: Smart Parking PCN – Excess of the Permitted Free Time –
McDonald's near Heathrow Airport
DIR By: jfollows
Date: July 1, 2026, 3:17 am
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You have to file a defence or Acknowledgement of Service by 6
July.
If you file AoS you have to file a defence by 20 July.
Please post the original PCN to see the basis for the defence.
You say that it was issued too late; what are the relevant
dates?
If the PCN is issued on 20/1/25 for an alleged contravention on
8/1/25 then it will be deemed to be delivered on 22/1/25, 14
days after. Any later issue date will make it too late for the
requirements of PoFA 2012. Smart has form for lying about only
needing to issue the PCN within 14 days of receiving the details
of the registered keeper, rather than within 14 days of the
parking event.
--- Quote ---
> (4)The notice must be given by—
>
> (a)handing it to the keeper, or leaving it at a current
address for service for the keeper, within the relevant period;
or
>
> (b)sending it by post to a current address for service for the
keeper so that it is delivered to that address within the
relevant period.
>
> (5)The relevant period for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)
is the period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on
which the specified period of parking ended.
>
> (6)A notice sent by post is to be presumed, unless the
contrary is proved, to have been delivered (and so “given” for
the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)) on the second working day
after the day on which it is posted; and for this purpose
“working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a
public holiday in England and Wales.
--- End Quote ---
If this is the McDonalds on Mondial Way then we have previously
established it to be outside the area of statutory control by
Heathrow Airport.
Presumably you did not appeal to POPLA, who may well have
cancelled this for you?
#Post#: 123453--------------------------------------------------
Re: Smart Parking PCN – Excess of the Permitted Free Time –
McDonald's near Heathrow Airport
DIR By: tylersoze
Date: July 1, 2026, 4:16 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for the quick response.
I don't have the original PCN, is there any way to get those
details? When I log into their system, it just shows images of
the driver entering and exiting the car park, but no details of
when letters were sent.
Yes it is the McDonalds on Mondial Way.
I did not appeal to POPLA.
The only other date I have is an automated response from them
responding to my appeal. Automated Email Response
HTML https://ibb.co/R4N19Vhn
#Post#: 123454--------------------------------------------------
Re: Smart Parking PCN – Excess of the Permitted Free Time –
McDonald's near Heathrow Airport
DIR By: jfollows
Date: July 1, 2026, 4:28 am
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Send a Subject Access Request to Smart asking for all personal
details they hold on you, which will include the PCN.
If you're going to defend this on the basis of late service,
it's vital that you can elaborate on this properly. Presumably
your original appeal, therefore, was just a guess?
File an AoS by 6 July so you have until 20 July to receive the
PCN and use it as a basis for your defence.
#Post#: 123455--------------------------------------------------
Re: Smart Parking PCN – Excess of the Permitted Free Time –
McDonald's near Heathrow Airport
DIR By: InterCity125
Date: July 1, 2026, 4:40 am
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Smart normally respond to SARs pretty quickly.
Might be worth asking Smart for proof of posting - the chances
of Smart requesting keeper details, printing out the PCN and
then posting it (all on 20th Jan 2025) would seem very remote.
#Post#: 124840--------------------------------------------------
Re: Smart Parking PCN – Excess of the Permitted Free Time –
McDonald's near Heathrow Airport
DIR By: tylersoze
Date: July 15, 2026, 1:59 pm
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I submitted the SAR on July 1st but SmartParking have not
responded as of today, July 15th, and I need to submit my
defense by July 20th. Does anyone have any suggestions of what I
should file without all of the details from the SAR?
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