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#Post#: 82223--------------------------------------------------
Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: icedspurs83
Date: July 22, 2025, 4:11 pm
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Background:
- Parked in retail park to eat at Nandos with children
- No parent and child parking so parked towards edge of end bay
to access car seats on both side of car (see image below)
- No notice on car on return
- PCN issued to lease company. Lease company have paid notice,
but provided letter of authorisation for me to appeal
---------------------------------------------------------
Image of contravention:
HTML https://i.imgur.com/7ELS4KS.jpeg
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Notice received is as follows:
Page 1:
HTML https://i.imgur.com/yfH3Iba.jpeg
[u]Page 2:
HTML https://i.imgur.com/7DCCvMu.jpeg
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[b]Signage in car park
Apologies - I have not had a chance to go back out to the car
park. I will do so to take pictures of the signage.
In the meantime, here are two helpful street view images
(albeit, from 2021) - exact location here
HTML https://maps.app.goo.gl/SmRyvWNhVMfjWbcE9
It doesn't appear the entrance to the car park has any signs.
First one is one of the sign (apologies for blurriness)
HTML https://i.imgur.com/UfB5VTw.png
Second one is of the car park - I have circled where my car was
parked, and the nearest sign
HTML https://i.imgur.com/pslSgts.jpeg
Request
I would be grateful if you could let me know whether you think I
have grounds for appeal. If so, I would appreciate if you could
share any input as to what to include in the appeal / how best
to go about doing this.
Thanks[/u][/b]
#Post#: 82268--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: b789
Date: July 23, 2025, 2:55 am
---------------------------------------------------------
If your stupid ignorant lease company have paid the charge,
there is absolutely nothing you can do to appeal this. Premier
Park are laughing all the way to the bank and your only recourse
is to either chargeback the amount your stupid lease company
have paid or sue them for it in the small claims track of the
county court.
If your lease company is a member of the BVRLA, report them as
being incompetent idiots. All they had to do was follow the
instruction on the back, right at the top which states:
--- Quote ---
> Vehicle Hirers
> If you are a vehicle-hire firm and the vehicle was on hire at
the time of the parking incident, please let us know and provide
us with a copy of the hire agreement and a copy of a statement
of liability signed by the hirer under that hire agreement.
--- End Quote ---
Having done that, they would be absolved of any liability under
PoFA 2012 as the Keeper of the vehicle and Premier Park would
have had to issue a Notice to Hirer (NtH) in your name and,
knowing how every single unregulated private parking firm
manages to screw this part up, you would only have had to appeal
to POPLA for this to be cancelled.
Check your lease agreement and show us exactly what it says
about parking charges, not fines or penalties, as a Parking
Charge Notice (PCN) is simply a speculative invoice and an
unregulated private parking firm is not an 'authority' of any
kind. You have been stung by the incompetence of your lease
company and you should make sure that any charge they make to
you is refunded, either by getting your bank or credit card
company to make a chargeback or by making a claim in the county
court small claims track.
I suggest you write to your lease company with the following
which will put you in a very strong position should they try to
charge you for their mistake and you then need to recover the
money, either through a chargeback or with a court claim:
--- Quote ---
> Subject: Formal Complaint and Demand for Refund – Mishandling
of Parking Charge Notice
>
> Dear [Lease Company Name],
>
> I am writing to express my profound disappointment and anger
at your handling of a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) issued by
Premier Park in relation to a leased vehicle under your
management. Your decision to summarily pay the charge—rather
than correctly transferring liability to the hirer in accordance
with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA)—is
both procedurally negligent and demonstrative of a troubling
lack of competence in managing statutory obligations.
>
> The Notice to Keeper (NtK) issued by Premier Park included
clear instructions for vehicle-hire firms, prominently stating:
>
> [indent]Vehicle Hirers If you are a vehicle-hire firm and the
vehicle was on hire at the time of the parking incident, please
let us know and provide us with a copy of the hire agreement and
a copy of a statement of liability signed by the hirer under
that hire agreement.[/indent]
>
> Had your team taken the minimal effort required to read and
act upon this guidance, liability would have been lawfully
transferred to the Hirer, and Premier Park would have been
required to issue a Notice to Hirer (NtH). This would have
afforded the Hirer a straightforward route to appeal.
>
> This Parking Charge Notice (PCN) is not a 'fine' or 'penalty'
issued by an 'authority' under statutory law. It is simply a
speculative invoice from an unregulated private parking firm,
yet you have decided arbitrarily to simply pay it and asked the
Hirer to appeal, which is an impossibility. Had you bothered to
actually read the NtK, you would, or should have known that once
this speculative invoice had been paid, there is no recourse to
appeal as it clearly states on the back, just under the
instructions to Hire/lease companies that:
>
> [indent]Appeals & Enquiries
> Please note, where payment of the parking charge is made this
will preclude the ability to appeal.[/indent]
>
> Instead, your actions have deprived the Hirer of any
opportunity to appeal, handed an unregulated private firm an
unearned financial reward, and demonstrated a worrying disregard
for both statutory process and customer protection. This is not
merely an administrative oversight—it is a failure of basic
competence.
>
> I therefore require the following:
>
> [indent]• A full refund of any amount charged to my account in
relation to this PCN.
> • Written assurance that your internal procedures will be
reviewed and amended to ensure future compliance with PoFA.
> • Confirmation of your membership status with the British
Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), as I am
considering escalation via their ADR scheme for breach of Code
of Conduct.[/indent]
>
> Should you fail to issue the refund within 14 days of this
letter, I will pursue recovery through a chargeback or the small
claims track of the County Court without further correspondence.
>
> I trust you will treat this matter with the seriousness it
warrants and take immediate steps to rectify the consequences of
your mismanagement.
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
> [Your Name]
> [Your Address]
> [Your Contact Information]
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 82271--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: b789
Date: July 23, 2025, 3:03 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Just to point out, you cannot appeal an NtK that is not
addressed to you as you are not the Registered Keeper. This is
why the lease company should transfer liability to you as the
Hirer and the operator then has to issue a Notice to Hirer (NtH)
in your name.
They have absolutely no idea who the driver is and ONLY the
driver can be liable. As the NtK and no doubt the subsequent NtH
are and would have been non-compliant with PoFA paragraph
9(2)(a) and subsequently paragraphs 13 and 14, as long as the
driver is not identified, there would be no liability.
All the Hirer has to do is refer to the driver in the third
person. No "I did this or that", only "the driver did this or
that". These types of PCNs are "golden tickets" as long as the
Keeper or Hirer don't mess it up, just like your lease company
have managed to do.
#Post#: 82276--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: icedspurs83
Date: July 23, 2025, 3:33 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you both. In response to the points you've raised:
- This is a company car scheme, so amounts are taken out of my
payslip.
- The lease company has given me a letter of authorisation that
"permits me to appeal and discuss the charge" with Premier Park
- The policy wording on fines is not very helpful - see below:
--- Quote ---
> You are responsible for all fines. These can include parking
fines, fixed penalties, camera offences, bus lane contraventions
and all congestion charges/pre-payments incurred whether the
vehicle is being used for business or private purposes. For all
congestion charges, all bus lane fines, parking fines and
penalty charge notices, Zenith will be charged directly as
registered keeper of the car. This cost will then be charged to
you with the addition of an administration fee of £10 plus VAT
as a deduction from your net salary.
--- End Quote ---
My questions are therefore as follows:
- Whilst I will certainly complain to the lease company, they
have been useless in the past and expect them to point to the
unhelpfully worded policy and stand behind the fact they just
pay it off regardless. Given there is no opportunity to
chargeback, I think I am out of options bar attempting to
escalate the complaint through their complaints process / or
small claims court. Do you agree?
- In terms of appeal, recognising Premier Park will not allow me
to appeal, does that preclude me from appealing via POPLA?
- In terms of other options - feels like I am out of luck - do
you agree?
#Post#: 82278--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: DWMB2
Date: July 23, 2025, 3:35 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote ---
> Check your lease agreement and show us exactly what it says
about parking charges, not fines or penalties
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 82279--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: b789
Date: July 23, 2025, 3:39 am
---------------------------------------------------------
It is not a FINE or an OFFENCE and you received no PENALTY! If
they are deducting this money from your payslip then you will
have to sue them for the money in the county court. This is a
simple procedure done online and we will advise through every
step of the way and they would be liable for the fixed costs of
the claim too.
It costs £35 to file the claim using MCOL. It would be heard at
your local county court.
There is NOTHING you have shown us in that agreement that
permits them to charge3 you for a speculative invoice from a
private firm.
#Post#: 82280--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: icedspurs83
Date: July 23, 2025, 3:44 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you both - this is incredibly helpful (and apologies for
missing the emphasised point on charges versus fines/penalties -
annoyed I missed that!)
Just to confirm, there is no other reference to 'parking
charges' (or similar) in the agreement.
---------------------------------------------------------
Ok - so I will escalate via the lease company in the first
instance and report back. Thank you for the template wording
above - this is incredibly helpful.
In respect of the charge itself - am I right in saying there is
no way of appealing it (either via company or POPLA)? Just
wondering whether running that appeal in parallel to the
complaint with the lease company gives two avenues as opposed to
one.
#Post#: 82291--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: b789
Date: July 23, 2025, 5:36 am
---------------------------------------------------------
There is NO WAY that the unregulated private parking firm is
going to let you appeal when it very clearly says on the back of
the NtK the if paid, there is no appeal opportunity. You can try
and waste your time and effort whilst they snigger at your
wasted effort.
I have just discussed this case with my friend, a district
judge, and he has agreed that you have been wronged by your
lease company and the only recourse you have if they refuse to
refund you is to sue them for the money.
As I mentioned, it would cost you £35 to file a claim ending
MCOL and when you are successful, assuming they don't agree to
settle before a hearing, you would receive the amount you are
claiming plus your costs, which would include the £35.
#Post#: 82293--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: icedspurs83
Date: July 23, 2025, 5:46 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Understood - thank you very much.
I've complained to the lease company - I will report back when I
hear.
#Post#: 82658--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premier Park PCN - Not Parked Wholly Within Bay - Capital
Shopping Park, Cardiff
DIR By: icedspurs83
Date: July 25, 2025, 7:32 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Hi both
See below from Zenith - not very helpful...
--- Quote ---
> I am sorry to hear you unhappy with how we have handled this
notice. Please note this notice has been paid and recharged in
line with the agreement made with your company. Due to this we
would be unable to amend this process. We would advise to speak
to your Fleet team or HR team if you are unhappy with the
current agreement.
>
> In regards to the appeal process; Although Issuing authorities
portals will not allow you to submit an appeal due to the
payment being made, you are still able to appeal in writing
directly with the issuing authority. To do so you will need to
write a letter of appeal and send this along with the third
party permission letter attached directly to Premier Park.
Please note the address for Premier park can be found on the
third party permission letter. If your appeal is successful we
will need proof of cancellation and refund from Premier park so
that we can raise the appropriate credit.
>
> As we have followed the process agreed with your company
correctly we would not be able to issue a refund and would
advise to appeal with the issuing authority in writing if you
believe the notice has been issued in error.
>
--- End Quote ---
To my mind a few points coming out of this are:
- They've effectively ignored the crux of the arguments made
- Them to point to what provision in the agreement they have
with my employer talks about notices like these (as opposed to
penalties and fines, which this is)
- My agreement (which is from my employer, but surely based on
the terms they entered into with Zenith) only talks about
penalties and fines
- Whilst I have no experience, it would hugely surprise me if
writing in to appeal overturned what they've clearly written in
the letter and what POPLA write on thier website (i.e. if you
pay you admit liability - end of story no appeal permitted)
- I wonder if I am still permitted to go through their
complaints procedure without needing to go through my employer
Would welcome your thoughts on how best to respond.
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