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#Post#: 104221--------------------------------------------------
APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: DTishere
Date: January 1, 2026, 9:04 am
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Hi everyone,
Received a parking charge notice from APCOA even though the
Heathrow drop-off payment was made.
Dropped off a friend on 15 December and paid online after
reaching home. Card statements shows payment made, but didn't
receive a confirmation email and don't have any reference
details to check whether the correct vehicle registration was
entered.
An appeal was submitted and proof of payment was uploaded. Has
anyone experienced a similar situation? Any advice on what to
expect or what further steps can be take would be greatly
appreciated.
Appeal wording:
Payment for the Heathrow drop-off was made online on 15 December
using an American Express card. Proof of payment has been
uploaded. As the required fee was paid, I request that this
charge be cancelled.
PCN had the following written on it: The contravention is a
BREACH OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE of the facility. Signs
are clearly displayed throughout the area showing these terms
and conditions.
#Post#: 104237--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: jfollows
Date: January 1, 2026, 11:02 am
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Just search the forum for
APCOA Heathrow
and you will see that they never take anyone to court.
Yes, plenty of people have had the same thing.
#Post#: 104260--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: b789
Date: January 1, 2026, 6:49 pm
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As long as you did NOT select the option identifying as the
driver and that is the sum total of your appeal, you will be OK.
If you did identify as the driver, then you have wasted the
easiest ever way to get this cancelled. As long as the driver is
NOT identified, APCOA have no way to transfer liability from the
unknown (to them) driver to the known Keeper.
This is the normal appeal that is guaranteed to get the PCN
cancelled, whether at Heathrow or any other airport that uses
barrier-less (ANPR) entrapment for extorting the
drop-off/pick-up fee:
--- Quote ---
> I am the registered keeper. APCOA cannot hold a registered
keeper liable for any alleged contravention on land that is
under statutory control. As a matter of fact and law, APCOA will
be well aware that they cannot use the PoFA provisions because
[name of airport] Airport is not 'relevant land'.
>
> If [name of airport] Airport wanted to hold owners or keepers
liable under Airport Bylaws, that would be within the
landowner's gift and another matter entirely. However, not only
is that not pleaded, it is also not legally possible because
APCOA is not the Airport owner and your 'parking charge' is not
and never attempts to be a penalty. It is created for APCOA’s
own profit (as opposed to a bylaws penalty that goes to the
public purse) and APCOA has relied on contract law allegations
of breach against the driver only.
>
> The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have
been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation
of the law of agency. Your NtK can only hold the driver liable.
APCOA have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a
complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.
--- End Quote ---
So, did you identify the driver by selecting anything other than
"Keeper" or "Other"?
Whilst the above appeal is guaranteed to get the PCN cancelled,
it does not mean that you have to pay a penny to APCOA, because
they are benign. They NEVER litigate but it does mean that you
have prolonged the process by many many months because, if the
driver is identified, they do have the name of the liable party.
That means after a POPLA appeal which is unlikely to be
successful, the Keeper will start to receive a load of useless
debt recovery letters.
Debt collectors are not a party to the contract allegedly breach
by the driver and have no standing to sue or do anything except
to try and intimidate the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree
into paying out of ignorance and fear. You can safely ignore all
debt recovery letters and, as far as anyone's concerned, you can
use them as free emergency loo paper or shred them and use them
as hamster bedding.
As it is APCOA, the debt collectors will eventually hand the
case back to APCOA and they will give up and move on to more
gullible victims. So, even if you do nothing else, nothing will
come of this in the long run.
So, has the driver been identified?
#Post#: 104387--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: DTishere
Date: January 3, 2026, 6:25 am
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I don’t think they asked me to identify who the driver is.
However, they do ask for my name and email address, as I am
making the appeal and I am different from the registered keeper
of the car. I’m not sure whether this automatically counts me as
the driver.
#Post#: 104488--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: DWMB2
Date: January 4, 2026, 7:10 am
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I think you need to clarify what has happened here. In your
opening post you say that you have received a PCN.
But now you say you are not the keeper. So have you received a
PCN, or have you appealed a PCN that was not addressed to you?
#Post#: 104505--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: DTishere
Date: January 4, 2026, 8:55 am
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The PCN was issued to the registered keeper (my wife). I
submitted the appeal on her behalf.
#Post#: 104527--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: DWMB2
Date: January 4, 2026, 10:14 am
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But using your own name?
What option (if any) did you select for your relationship to the
vehicle when appealing?
#Post#: 104532--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: DTishere
Date: January 4, 2026, 11:11 am
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I used my own name. There was no option provided to select or
state my relationship to the vehicle when submitting the appeal.
#Post#: 104595--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: DWMB2
Date: January 5, 2026, 4:27 am
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If the system will let you, I'd be tempted to submit a second
appeal, using the keeper's details this time, and the wording
above from b789.
If not, you'll probably have to see what happens - there's a
fair chance they may just ignore your appeal, as from their
perspective you are a third party with nothing to do with the
parking charge.
#Post#: 105701--------------------------------------------------
Re: APCOA Heathrow Drop-off PCN despite payment
DIR By: DTishere
Date: January 13, 2026, 8:44 am
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Just got an email that the PCN has been cancelled.
Following were the wording used: Thank you for your letter
received on 31 December 2025 regarding the above Parking Charge
Notice (PCN).
Having considered the circumstances, we have cancelled the
Parking Charge Notice on this occasion.
Please retain this letter as proof of cancellation, should you
need it in the future.
Yours sincerely,
APCOA Customer Support Centre, APCOA Parking (UK) Ltd acting on
behalf of Heathrow Airport Limited.
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