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BPA Guide to members

Parking Management on private land

Contents of the Guide:

1. Introduction

1.1.Why is this Guide needed?

1.2.Relationship between this Guide and the BPA Code of Practice

1.3.BPA Exemption from liability statement

2. Contract Law and parking

2.1.Establishing your contracts

2.1.1. What is a contract?

2.1.2. Elements of a contract:

i. Offer and acceptance

ii. Consideration

iii. Terms

[2.2.] Your operating contract with the landlordlandlord/landowner

2.2.[2.3.] Your contract with the driver

2.2.1.[2.3.1.] Who are parties to this contract?

2.2.2.[2.3.2.] When might this not be the case?

2.2.3.[2.3.3.] How is the transaction of offer and acceptance carried out?

2.2.4.[2.3.4.] What is the consideration in a parking services contract?

2.2.5.[2.3.5.] Discounts

2.2.6.[2.3.6.] Genuine pre estimate of loss.

2.2.7.[2.3.7.] Assessment of a genuine pre estimate of loss

2.3.[2.4.] Timing and contractual terms

2.4.[2.5.] Privity of contract in parking contracts

2.5.[2.6.] Content of the parking services contract

3. Trespass

4. Important legislation

4.1. Introduction

4.2.Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

4.3.Companies (trading disclosures) regulations 2008 SI 2008 /495

4.4.Business Names Act 1985/companies act 2006

4.5.The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 2083)

4.6.Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (SI 2008 1277)

4.7.Electronic commerce regulations 2002 SI 2002/2013

5. Guidance on providing parking facilities for disabled people

5.1. Introduction

5.2.Obligations on public bodies

5.3.Summary

6. Dealing with abandoned vehicles

6.1. Introduction

6.2.Checking that a vehicle has been abandoned

7. Identifying the driver where the registered keeper claims they were not driving the vehicle

7.1. Introduction

8. Protecting vulnerable drivers when carrying out immobilisation or removal

8.1. Introduction

8.2.Who are ‘vulnerable’ drivers?

8.3.Who are members of the vulnerable drivers group?

8.4.Who can become vulnerable because of external circumstances?

8.5.What priority actions should drivers take to remove or reduce danger or distress to a vulnerable driver?

8.6.Risk assessment checklist

9. Appropriate use of ANPR

9.1. Introduction

9.2.ANPR and data protection

9.3.Assessing the impact of ANPR on your parking operation.

9.4.Administering your ANPR system

9.5.Disclosure of ANPR data

9.6.Retention of CCTV/ANPR images

9.7.Other operator responsibilities

9.7.1. Informing people about your CCTV/ANPR system

9.7.2. Subject access requests

9.7.3. Security Industry Authority Licensing

10. Grace Periods

10.1.

11. General Good Practice

11.1. Introduction

11.2. Liveried Vehicles

11.3. Uniform

11.4. Learning and Development

12. Signs and Notices

12.1. Signs

12.2. Notices and other communications with drivers

12.3. Model wording

12.4. 11.3.1 Wording that may be used on mandatory entrance signs

12.5. 11.3.2 Terms and Conditions signs

12.6. 11.3.3 Manually applied Parking Charge Notice (Notice to Driver)

12.7. 11.3.4 Postal/ANPR Parking Charge Notice (Notice to Keeper)

12.8. 11.3.5 Reminder letter (formerly Notice to Owner)

13. Glossary

Section 1 Introduction

1.1: Introduction: Why is this guide needed?

Our members will be familiar with the difficulties experienced by Private landlordlandlords/landowners (in this guide the term landlordlandlord will include tenants of the private land in question), or by the members themselves when acting on behalf of private landlordlandlords/landowners, in relation to non-compliance by drivers with the rules which apply to any particular car park.

From time to time, drivers will park without permission, fail to pay for parking or park for longer time than has been paid for, or park in some other ‘unauthorised’ way. However, unlike on-street parking enforcement by public authorities, private land owners have fewer powers and lack the statutory enforcement regime to encourage compliance with their rules.

From time to time, drivers will park without permission, fail to pay for parking or park for longer time than has been paid for, or park in some other ‘unauthorised’ way. However, unlike on-street parking enforcement by public authorities, private land owners have access to fewer powers to enforce compliance with their rules and they must rely on law relating to contract and trespass. These are complicated areas of law and in this guide we have attempted to explain why sticking to the Code of Practice is important and how best to do it.

This guide provides practical advice to members to improve the effectiveness of the management of ‘unauthorised parking’ of vehicles on private land.

1.2: Relationship between this Guide & the BPA Code of Practice

Members of the BPA that are involved in vehicle clamping or removal where they have lawful authority, or the issue of parking chargestickets on private land must become Approved Operators and comply with the Approved Operator Scheme Code of Practice, a new version of which was revised and published in August 2012, and is enforced from 01st October 2012. The Code sets out minimum standards and the BPA has a regime in place to monitor compliance.

This guide is intended as a practical handbook setting out a methodology to be used on a day-to-day basis by operators, when setting up or reviewing the parking management schemes under their control. It is a reference work, and is complementary to the objectives and usage of the Code. It will not be used to enforce the AOS Scheme of Sanctions.

1.3: BPA Exemption from liability statement

In drawing up this guide, the BPA has endeavoured to act with reasonable care and skill in its preparation. However the BPA excludes all liability for any loss sustained by members or third parties as result of them complying with this guide. Whilst it is recommended that members comply with this guide, it should not be considered as a replacement for relevant legislation. Members should familiarise themselves with all appropriate legal provisions and ensure that these are followed.

Section 2 Contract lawand parking

2.1: Establishing your contracts

In managing parking schemes on private land, operators generally act within the parameters of two separate contracts:

[1.] A contract with a landlordlandlord/landowner to manage and operate the parking scheme on their behalf.

1.[2.] A contract with a motorist to provide facilities to park in a car park.

These two contracts set out the authority for an operator to act in a particular way, so it is important that each contract is clear and legal.

Before describing the essential elements of these particular contracts, we have set out here some basic contractual principles, which operators should note.

To establish parking contracts with drivers, use clear signs and notices as part of your day-to-day operations. This is because having a contract in place will give the driver, you, and the landlordlandlord/landowner on whose behalf you may be acting, the greatest degree of certainty about the relationship that is being created when the driver parks on private land. This certainty will lead to:

better relations with drivers

speedier resolution of disputes

and

an overall improvement in the relationships between all parties in dealing with that scarce and valuable resource – a private parking space.

2.1.1 What is a contract?

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. Contracts do not need to be written down: they can be made by the spoken word, in writing or by a combination of both.

Generally, only the parties to a contract can enforce it. So in a parking management contract you may need to:

establish that you are authorised to enter into contracts for parking

or

demonstrate that the motorist has made an agreement with you rather than, for example, with some other organisation or individual (such as the landlordlandlord/landowner).

A contract must contain certain key elements.

2.1.2 Elements of a contract:

i) Offer and acceptance

One party (the ‘offeror’) must make a clear and definite offer to enter into an agreement with the other party (the ‘offeree’). When the offer is unconditionally accepted by the offeree a contract is formed at that moment. Up until the point of acceptance there is no contract. See below for examples of offer and acceptance in a parking context.

ii) Consideration

In any contract, there must be ‘consideration’ – something given up by each party in exchange for the benefit they receive. Typically, in a contract, one party receives goods or services in exchange for payment to the other party. The consideration by one party is the handing over of the money for example, and by the other party the handing over of the goods or the carrying out of the services. This can clearly be applied to many parking situations when the driver pays for the right to park for a given period.

iii) Terms

A contract will contain obligations on both parties which define the extent of their respective duties. These obligations are often set out in writing in the contract, or are spoken, or may be a mix of spoken and written terms. The contract terms for parking services will usually be written on signs that drivers can see before they accept the offer of parking services and enter into the contract.

Some terms will be ‘implied’ by the circumstances. So although they are not written on signs they will still be part of the legal agreement. Also, terms can be inserted into the contract as a result of legislation. This will be considered in detail in section 4.

2.2 Your Operating contract with the landlordlandlord/landowner

Operators may offer parking services on private land only if they have established the right because they own the land, or have the landowner’s permission. These rights will arise from different circumstances depending on the relationship between the operator and the land or landowner. One of the following circumstances may apply (these scenarios are non-exhaustive):

Scenario 1: The operator owns the land himself outright as the freeholder, or has taken a lease of the car park and as a tenant is occupying the land and therefore effectively has similar rights of ownership as the freehold owner.

Scenario 2: The operator has a management service contract with the client landlordlandlord/landowner. The contract may require the operator to provide various services on the land including cleaning, security, and maintenance of the lighting and management of the vehicles parked in the car park. In such a contract the operator will usually invoice his client for his services and any income received (for example, from parking services) will belong to the landlordlandlord/landowner.

Scenario 3: The operator has an agreement with the landlordlandlord/landowner in which the landlordlandlord/landowner assigns some or all of the rights to operate the car park to the car park operator. In this case the operator may be contracting directly with the drivers on his own behalf. He will be acting as the principal in the contract. The relationship between the landlordlandlord/landowner and the operator may vary in this scenario, from the landlordlandlord/landowner purely paying a premium for the operators’ services, by paying a fee for the erection of signage, or by sharing a portion of the income with the operator, for example.

It is important to be clear about such terms and conditions when setting up a parking management contract with a landlordlandlord/landowner. The general rule is that the principal and not the agent can take steps to enforce a contract. If the parking operator is merely acting on behalf of the landlordlandlord/landowner then normally the operator is acting as an agent. In these circumstances the parking operator has no rights to recover the debt and it is for the principal (iei.e. the landlordlandlord/landowner) to do so. If you have been granted full parking management rights you should ensure that:

the property is clearly defined (preferably on a map)

and

the landlordlandlord/landowner with whom you are contracting has ‘possession’ of

the land.

For example, the landlordlandlord/landowner may have granted tenancies to one or more retail operators. If so, you need to make sure that the parking rights have not been transferred to the tenants as part of their leases. If these rights had been transferred to the tenants, then they would be ‘in possession’ and would be the only parties able to grant you the parking rights. In law, the landlordlandlord/landowner would have ‘assigned’ those rights and would no longer be able to assign them again to you.

2.3 Your contract with the driver

The most important contract for operators to focus on is the contract that they wish to establish with the driver. Whilst PoFA has introduced some changes regarding liabilities for payment, it is still the driver who is the contracting party in the first instance. However the operator has the right to recover unpaid parking charges from the registered keeper as described under schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012may obtain outstanding parking charges from the keeper if they do not provide a serviceable name and address for the driver. When pursuing outstanding charges, notices that are sent to the registered keeper should make clear the date and time of the incident and should point out to the keeper that they are invited to disclose the details of the driver to you. If the name and/or address supplied is not serviceable in any way, then you have the right to recover unpaid parking charges from the registered keeperare allowed to obtain outstanding charges from the keeper.

It is important to remember though that if you are given a serviceable name and address for the driver, you must use this information. It is unlawful for you to pursue the keeper of the vehicle if you have a serviceable name and address for the driver

Applying the contractual principles set out in section 2.1, we will dissect the parking services contract into its parts.

2.3.1 Who are the parties to this contract?

In most circumstances the parking operator is the offeror in the contract and the driver is offeree. The offeror is providing parking and related services. That offer is then accepted by the driver of the vehicle – the offeree.

2.3.2 When might this not be the case?

If you have a managed service contract with the landlordlandlord/landowner, and the landlordlandlord/landowner has not assigned to you any rights to the income from the contract, then the ‘offeror’ will in fact be the landlordlandlord/landowner. They will be the ‘principal’ in any contract with the motorist, and you will just be an agent. In the event of non-payment, only the principal is able to enforce the contract. A dispute about this question will add considerably to the costs of recovering unpaid charges. We therefore strongly advise you to make sure your client knows that, if non-payment leads to legal action to enforce the contract, you must have been assigned the necessary power to act on your own behalf in the contract between you and the landlordlandlord/landowner or otherwise the landlordlandlord/landowner will be responsible for the legal enforcement action.Sometimes the driver may claim to be an agent, and therefore not the offeree under the contract. They may be acting for their employer, who may own the vehicle, or for somebody else. However someone acting for their employer will be authorised to enter into contractual arrangements with a supplier (offeror) as an agent; for example buying fuel using a fuel or company credit card is a contractual arrangement – the offeror supplies fuel and the offeree agrees to give consideration (i.e. payment) for such supply.

An additional question arises when parking operators are trying to identify drivers and their source of information is the DVLA database. This will reveal the registered keeper, not the driver.

2.3.3 How is the transaction of offer and acceptance carried out?

This will depend upon the facts of the case. Remember that the act of acceptance completes the process of agreeing the contact: up until the point of agreement, the contract is incomplete and therefore not enforceable. The exact moment of contracting is important; as it is at that instant the terms of the contract are fixed. It is not usually possible to introduce new or additional contractual terms after the point of acceptance.

There are many scenarios where differing methods of enforcement are used, and we would suggest that where you have doubts you take legal advice on the model that you use in relation to your specific car park and your ability to enforce against drivers in that specific scenario.

2.3.4 What is the consideration in a parking services contract?

The offer to provide a parking space is the key consideration passing from the offeror, that is to say, from the parking services operator.

However, both parties must provide consideration in a contract, not just the offeror. Usually the offeree's agreement to pay for parking service will be the other half of the bargain.

When no payment is required from the driver, there will be another obligation on the driver that amounts to consideration. This consideration does not have to be in money terms, and in some cases could be quite a minor duty on the driver. It is arguable, for example that the obligation to stick a timed ticket inside their windscreen could be interpreted as the driver’s consideration, even without them having had to pay for the ticket. In a retail park where use of the car park is free to customers, the driver’s consideration is their promise to ‘be a customer’ and that they will do this by entering retail premises of one of the park’s retailers in exchange for being allowed to park.

It could also be argued that in a retail park or supermarket where there is a maximum stay time, the consideration could be the Charge Notice that the driver agrees to pay if they stay for longer than the maximum period.

2.3.5 Discounts

When you issue your parking chargestickets, the Code states that you must offer a discount for prompt payment, and that discount must be at least by 40% of the face value.

It is important that you offer a discount, because this will give the motorist an incentive to pay at the lower rate: it will lower your administration costs and ensure that your amount of outstanding debt is lower.

In addition, a 40% discount for early payment may encourage drivers not to frivolously challenge the parking charge notice, or to subsequently try to use the independent appeals service: a lower discount rate could result in more motorists challenging parking charges and using the independent appeals service where they may not have a legitimate reason, because there is relatively little difference between payment at the discounted rate and payment at the higher rate.

2.3.6 Genuine pre estimation of loss (GPL)

It is a basic principle of the law of contract that the courts will not uphold ‘penalties’ for breach of contract. The parties to a contract may agree at the time of contracting that, in the event of a breach, the party shall pay a sum of money to the other. If this sum is a genuine pre estimate of loss which is likely to flow from the breach then it represents liquidated damages and is recoverable without the necessity of proving the actual loss

Gary Osner, 29/10/12,

Is it worth referencing the recent Appeal court judgment Parking Eye –v- Somerfield in respect of penalties

suffered. If this is not the case the payment will be held to be a penalty, because the sum will be seen to be extravagant in relation to the losses incurred by the operator.

This principle follows with the issuing of Parking Charge Notices. The charge must be reasonable and not excessive and regardless of the amount that you charge, it must reflect the genuine pre estimate of loss that you suffer. We would not expect this charge to exceed £100, but where your charge does genuinely exceed this cost you must apply to us to request an assessment of your charge before you use it. As a Code Owner we have a legal responsibility under Consumer Protection Regulations to ensure that the parking charges levied by operators are fair and reasonable, and not excessive. As mentioned above, we consider £100 to be a fair and reasonable charge, and we have been advised by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that a charge that is offered above this advisory limit should be assessed in terms of its fairness. The higher above £100 the charge is, the less likely it is to be fair, according to the OFT.

2.3.7 Assessment of genuine pre estimate of loss

General principles of Fair Business Practice

The AOS sought advice from the OFT about fair assessment of loss resulting from breaches in parking contracts on private land When carrying out an assessment of a Parking Charge, there will be an awareness of the following principles of fair business practice, asking if the charge satisfies the following principles:

That the charges should be limited to covering your costs. Charges should be set out clearly and fully as a part of the process to recover the parking charge.

That there should be transparency in all dealings with the motorist, with early disclosure of key terms and conditions (including rates and charges).

That the contract terms are fair and clear, that they are in plain and intelligible language and that they are easily understood by the motorist.

That you have forbearance towards the motorist who is experiencing difficulties, ensuring that they have sufficient opportunity to discuss their situation.

That you take proportionate action on outstanding charges, with due consideration of all options available.

That you take reasonable steps to ensure that other intermediaries who regularly act on your behalf do not engage in unfair business practices or act unlawfully.

That you do not act in any way which is deceitful, unfair or improper, whether unlawful or not.

Applying the test of fairness

The application of this test is based upon the view that a court is likely to regard whether a charge is likely to enable you to recover more than the damages which would be


Is it worth mentioning the on-street charges in London

awarded at Common Law in the event that the motorist had been individually sued. Therefore the charge should:

Reflect a reasonable pre estimate of the limited additional administrative costs which occur as a result of the enforcement process and which can be identified with reasonable precision.

Reflect a fair attribution of those costs. Be based on a genuine estimate of the total number of expected Parking Charge

Notices issued in a 12 month period. Treat costs other than those limited additional administrative costs as a general

overhead and disregard them in the calculation of the charge.It should be stated at this point that only a Court can ultimately determine that a charge is unfair or excessive, and would use the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 (UTCCR) for guidance.

As mentioned before, a genuine pre estimate of loss is calculated as arising from the limited additional administrative costs arising from the process of the charge. Costs may be included if they are foreseeable, if they can be specifically identified and defined, and can be reasonably attributed to the enforcement process.

These costs may include:

Costs which are directly attributable to the enforcement action. Staff costs Premises Telephone Letters and postage IT systems and support Depreciation of assets related to the enforcement process. Human Resources Overheads that are shared with other functions of the business that has a

substantial association with carrying out the enforcement process. General costs associated with the membership to the independent appeals

serviceThis is not an exhaustive list, and you may find costs presented that are similar in nature to those mentioned above.

Costs that should not be included

Guidance from OFT considers that the following should not be included in the assessment:

Debt Collection Agency costs – which will be recovered by the agency themselves.


If the operator employs a DCA, surely this is part of their genuine losses

Fraudulent costs – where motorists intentionally give false information and the operator incurs extra costs. It is not considered to be fair to pass these costs to the general public.

Capital costs – such as the additional costs of debt and equity financing. Inflated administrative costs – for example if a barrister is employed to pursue

certain charges. The individual costs attributed to a specific appeal that has been sent to the

Independent Appeals Service. It is not reasonable to include these specific costs as a loss incurred through the whole operation, because it is not the intention of Government that the motorist will pay for the appeals service.

In calculating your genuine pre estimate of loss, you must also be aware that you have a duty to mitigate your loss, and courts may well ask to see evidence of this. For example, it is not acceptable to inflate administrative costs to justify your genuine pre estimate of loss. Drivers may well challenge these figures if they appear to be excessive.

If the assessment of the charge proves to be in excess of the advisory limit, and is proven to be unreasonable and excessive, we will notify you of this and ask you to revisit your costs. Should you refuse to do this, then you should be aware that this would be sanctionable under clause 19.5 (in England and Wales) or clause 33.1 (in Scotland and Northern Ireland) and that 10 points would be issued for Sanction 5.15 - ‘Exceeding the recommendation for parking charges, without the approval of the BPA’.

2.4 Timing and contractual terms.

We have seen that the moment of accepting the offer gives rise to the contract, and at that moment the terms are fixed. This is important where there is a dispute about what the terms of the contract are: for example, whether the requirement to pay an excess parking charge for an overstaying parked car is part of the contract.

The location of the signage alerting the driver to the contractual terms is critically important here. If the driver can only learn about particular terms such as the existence of an excess charge after accepting the contract, those terms will not be included in the agreement. The case law on this topic is extensive. From a practical point of view, operators should ensure that important terms such as those concerning excess charges, parking charge notices or the existence of a clamping or removal scheme are clearly and obviously referred to on signs before the driver accepts the offer to park. This usually means giving the driver sufficient notice before the driver is in a position where they cannot change their mind and go back: they must still have the opportunity not to enter into the contract.


10 points seems very harsh as surely this is there to be challenged in court?


If a motorist appeals, loses and then refuses to pay the amount of the PCN, I disagree that the POPLA costs should not be added. This would be unfair on the operators particularly in view of what is being suggested on the forums. This needs to be a direct cost added when the account is passed for recovery.

Warning notices on chargestickets received by the driver at the time of entering the car park will be too late. The car park operator must do enough to give notice of the contractual terms to the driver in advance of the contract being formed. It appears that the more unusual or onerous the terms, the more clearly and explicitly notices must be pointing them out. Only if the operator were able to show that the driver ought to have known about the terms (perhaps because he regularly parked in the car park) might a more relaxed view be taken by a court about what was necessary to include on the external signage.

2.5 Privity of contract in parking contracts

A fundamental rule of common law is that only the parties to a contract can enforce it. This is the legal concept of ‘Privity of contract’. An exception to this rule is where one party to the contract does so on behalf of another, and therefore acts as his agent. The principal is the real party to the contract, and only he can enforce it.

One aspect of the Privity rule is that a contract cannot impose obligations on a third party who was not a party to the agreement. This rule has clear relevance in a contract for parking services, where a parking operator wishes to identify the driver but only has access to the DVLA registered keeper database. This register will tell him the name of the vehicle keeper but will not identify the driver. There is no contractual obligation on the registered keeper because in respect of the parking services contract the keeper will not be a party to it. He will be a ‘third party’ and will therefore not be bound by the contract’s terms, unless he was also the driver - in which case he will be bound, as he will have been one of the two contracting parties.

2.6 Content of the parking services contract

The content of the contract for parking services needs to be expressed clearly as it is this content which the operator will seek to rely on if they wish to take subsequent action to enforce the terms of the contract. The BPA recommends that operators include express terms in their parking contracts, and that these terms be included on signs visible to motorists before the contract is formed. These signs should be displayed throughout the parks at locations where drivers can read them easily. Operators economise on signage at their peril!

Signage and notice contents and recommendations are set out in Section 10.

Section 3 Trespass

Whilst the majority of parking on private land can be enforced under the formation and breaking of contract terms, there are certain scenarios where this would not apply, particularly if the motorist is explicitly not invited to park on the land. In this case the motorist is a trespasser and would be committing the Tort of Trespass.

Although the definition of trespassing can vary from a civil to a criminal offence depending on where the act of trespassing takes place, the basic definition of the legal term remains the same. Trespassing is the legal concept of intruding on another person’s property that you do not have permission to be on.

Although trespassing is no longer considered a criminal offence for the most part in England, up until 1694 trespassing was considered a criminal offence with a fine issued for the Breach of the Peace. Now the only cases in England when trespassing is considered a criminal offence is where statute law exists relating to trespassing and forcible entry, or being on dangerous ground such as railway properties.

So if a driver parks on private land where he has not been invited to park or given permission to park he would be trespassing. In some situations – a private road for example – it would be necessary to use the law of trespass to recover damages. The law of contract is not applicable in situations like this. Signage indicating that the land or property in question is private and that parking is not allowed there should be clear and positioned where it can be seen by drivers. As with pre estimates of loss for parking contracts, claims for damages resulting from trespass should be fair and reasonable.

Section 4 Important legislation

4.1 Introduction

This section of the guide deals with three areas of legislation (companies, consumer and electronic commerce), which operators must take into account in running their business. Each imposes obligations or restrictions on what trading organisations, such as parking operators, must do.

The Protection of Freedoms Act bans the acts of clamping and removal in England and Wales where there is no lawful authority. It also provides a process in Schedule 4 to allow the operator to pursue the registered keeper of the vehicle for unpaid parking charge notices if they are not provided with a serviceable name and address for the driver.

The Companies (trading disclosures) regulations 2008 impose obligations on companies on displaying their registered names and other details in places where they do business, as well as in certain documents.

The Business Names Act 1985, now replaced by sections in the Companies Act 2006, impose rules on the use of unregistered trading names

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 require that consumer contracts do not include unfair terms, such as excluding liability for negligence which causes personal injury. Operators must also not include a requirement to pay disproportionately high sums in compensation for failure to comply with the terms of the contract.

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 impose additional obligations on businesses dealing with consumers – for example, operators will need to include identity of the operator, a geographical address in the contract and act in accordance with time limits . These regulations also impose a ban on misleading and aggressive practices.

The Electronic commerce regulations 2002 impose obligations on organisations that are trading on the internet, including information that must go into websites and during transactions online.

4.2 The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

The Protection of Freedoms Act is a piece of legislation, passed by the Coalition Government in order to return ‘freedoms’ to the British public that they feel have been eroded or removed over time through the implementation of other legislation. It deals with a wide range of issues including reforms of the Criminal Records Checks and storage of DNA data but the element which relates most to the parking industry is a ban of vehicle clamping and removals on private land without lawful authority.

‘Lawful authority’ applies in cases where specific legislation is in force which allows for vehicles to be immobilised or removed. These include public roads, where Road Traffic Regulations apply, and those statutory authorities such as the police, VOSA and DVLA (and their agents) retain the ability to clamp.

However, there are also parking areas where particular by-laws have been created that provide for parking enforcement. A good example of this is some railway station car parks. Under the Railways Act 2005, the Secretary of State made allowed railway operators to create by-laws which allow for vehicles to be immobilised or removed in certain circumstances.

There are many other organisations and public bodies which can establish ‘lawful authority’ through Acts of Parliament and local by-laws and these include airports, ports and harbours, strategic river crossings as well as some common land. Any terms and

conditions imposed by a landowner do not normally in themselves establish lawful authority.

A result of the introduction of the Protection of Freedoms Act has been the addition of Schedule 4, which enables the private car park operator to obtain any outstanding charges from the keeper of the vehicle, if the keeper is unable supply a serviceable name and address for the driver.

For more information about the Protection of Freedoms act, Schedule 4 of the Act and keeper liability, please consult your Code of Practice 2012, or click here to view our FAQ’s about this subject.

4.3 Companies (trading disclosures) regulations 2008 SI 2008 /495

These regulations require companies to display details of their registered office and registered name in a number of places.

Details are as follows:

Companies must display the registered name at locations where they carry on business.

They must display their registered name at the registered office. When they display their registered name and other details, these must be legible

to the naked eye. The registered name must be positioned so that it may easily be seen by any

visitor. The registered name must be put on business letters, notices, official

publications, invoices, other demands for money, receipts and all other forms of business correspondence and documentation.

The registered name must appear on company websites. Additional particulars are required on business letters, order forms and websites.

These include stating the part of the UK where the company is registered, the address of the registered office and the company’s registered number.

When a written request is made to the company for details of its registered office by somebody the company does business with, it must supply the registered office address and other details about company records and where they can be inspected, within five working days of receiving the request.

Operators must bear in mind that any car park at which they are providing a management service will be the location at which they must display the registered name in the way prescribed by these regulations. In addition, much of the correspondence an

http://www.britishparking.co.uk/Protection-Of-Freedoms-Act-clamping-and-towing-ban-FAQs

operator has with a registered keeper following non payment of a parking ticket (such as the Notice to Owner) will come under the rules set out in the 2008 regulations.

4.4 Business Names Act 1985/companies act 2006

This legislation is relevant to operators where they are trading under names which are not their registered or corporate names. So for example, where a company registered as John Smith Ltd. trades as “Smart Parking” the legislation would apply. The same rules apply to an individual who trades under a name which is not his or her surname or to a partnership which trades under name which does not include all of its partners. In these circumstances, various items of information must be disclosed, including the corporate registered name or the names of each partner or the individual person's name. In relation to each person named, there must be an address at which documents could be served.

The required information must be shown in a number of places including any place where the operator carries on business or where they deal with customers and suppliers. It must also be shown on business correspondence, on websites and on invoices, receipts and written demands for payment of business debts. The business information must be displayed in a prominent position so that it can be read easily.

Two sets of regulations apply to consumer contracts that need to be taken into account by operators.

4.5 The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 2083) contain provisions designed to protect consumers from unfair contract terms. Terms which are held to be unfair will not be binding on the consumer (unless they have been individually negotiated with the consumer). Under the regulations, a term is ‘unfair’ if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in one party's rights or obligations under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.

Terms may be regarded as being unfair if their purpose or effect is to:

force a consumer who does not fulfil their obligations to pay a disproportionately high sum

or

irrevocably bind a consumer to terms that they had no real opportunity of being aware of before the contract was agreed.

You therefore must consider whether your parking charges risk falling into either of these categories.

If the terms of a contract are in writing, they must also be in ‘plain, intelligible language’.

Some terms do not fall under the assessment of ‘fairness’ (as long as they are in plain, intelligible language). These are terms covering:

the definition of the main subject matter of the contract

or

the adequacy of the price in relation to the goods or services supplied in exchange.

4.6 Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (SI 2008 1277) You must also consider these regulations which prohibit unfair commercial practices. The regulations state that a commercial practice is unfair if it:

contravenes the requirements of professional diligence and

materially distorts or is likely to materially distort the economic behaviour of the average consumer with regard to the product or service or

if it is a misleading action, misrepresentation or omission,

or is aggressive, or

if it is listed in schedule one to the regulations (see Appendix below).

Prohibited, misleading or aggressive commercial practices must impact the consumer in relation to “transactional decisions “. These include any decision taken by a consumer, whether it is to act or to refrain from acting concerning:

whether, how and on what terms to purchase, make payment in whole or in part, retain or dispose of a product or

Whether, how and on what terms to exercise a contractual right in relation to a product.

A commercial practice can be a misleading action (and therefore unfair) if a trader fails to comply with a “commitment contained in a code of conduct which the trader has undertaken to comply with and the trader indicates in a commercial practice that they

are bound by that code of conduct, and the commitment is firm and capable of being verified, it is not aspirational, and it causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decisions they would not have taken otherwise, taking account of its factual context and if all its features and circumstances”. This means that for example parking operators who sign up to the British Parking Association's AOS code of practice and then fail to comply with the terms of the code, maybe at risk of breaching this part of the 2008 regulations.

A commercial practice will be a misleading omission, and therefore unfair, if it omits material information or provides material information in a manner which is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely and as a result causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision they would not have taken otherwise. The concept of ‘material information’ is defined and can include the identity of the trader such as his trading name and his geographic address, the price including any taxes or the manner in which the price is calculated. This definition could apply to an operator’s signage in a car park.

The commercial practice is aggressive, if (a) it significantly impairs or is likely to significantly impair the average consumer's freedom of choice in relation to the product or service through the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence and (b) thereby causes or is likely to cause the consumer to take a transactional decision they would not have taken otherwise.

In determining whether a commercial practice uses harassment, coercion or undue influence account shall be taken of its timing, location, nature or persistence, the use of threatening or abusive language or behaviour, the exploitation by the trader of any specific misfortune or circumstance of such gravity as to impair the consumer's judgment of which the trader is aware, to influence the consumer's decision with regard to the product, any onerous or disproportionate non-contractual barrier imposed by the trader, where a consumer wishes to exercise rights under the contract, including rights to terminate the contract. Any threat to take any action which cannot legally be taken could also be deemed to be aggressive.

Commercial practices that can be seen as unfair, include claiming to be a signatory to a code of conduct when the trader is not a signatory; displaying a Trustmark, quality mark or equivalent without having obtained the necessary authorisation; and claiming that the trader, including his commercial practices, or a product has been approved, endorsed, or authorised by a public or private body when the trader, the commercial practices or the product have not been approved, endorsed, or authorised. Any of these practices

could be relevant to an operator making false claims about his membership of the BPA or of the approved operator scheme.

‘Misrepresentations’ are essentially false statements. They are sometimes called mis-statements.

A fraudulent misrepresentation is a statement of fact made without belief in its truth –either recklessly, knowingly or without caring whether it is true or false – with the intention that it should be acted on, and it is in fact acted on. Contracts that are based on misrepresentation can be overturned. The offeree may also seek payment of damages, if any.

It is misrepresentation for an operator to claim or imply that the parking control and enforcement work they are doing is carried out under the statutory powers of the police or some other public authority. It is also a breach of the code of practice. It is also misrepresentation if an operator does not give clear information to the public about which parking activities are allowed and which are unauthorised.

4.7 Electronic commerce regulations 2002 SI 2002/2013

These regulations apply to websites which provide commercial services and as such include any website operated by a parking operator, which allows drivers to make payment.

The regulations require the provision of certain information included in the name of the service supplier, geographic address of the establishment, an e-mail address, the registered details and registered number contained at Companies House (if applicable), VAT number if applicable, any pricing and discount schemes, the codes of conduct the operator subscribes to (such as the BPA, AOS code of practice) and any terms and conditions.

Section 5 Guidance on providing parking facilities for disabled people

5.1 Introduction

There are no specific requirements to provide disabled parking in private car parks. However, the Equality Act 2010 imposes obligations of a general nature on service providers which parking operators must be aware of.

It is unlawful for service providers (which includes operators) to treat disabled people less favourably than others for reasons relating to their disability, unless such treatment

can be justified. In most circumstances, service providers must make reasonable adjustments to remove any barriers - physical or otherwise - that could make it difficult or impossible for disabled customers to use their services. Service providers do not have to make adjustments to make their services more accessible to disabled people if this will lead to a breach of any other legal obligation that may apply to them. However, these will be exceptional circumstances that apply only were the other legal obligations are very specific and leave the service provider no choice but to act in a certain way.

Most services are covered by the Equality Act. Anyone who provides a service to the public or section of the public is a service provider. There are a few exceptions: private clubs that have a meaningful selection process for members; transport, but only the transport vehicle, not everything else connected with it such as stations, airports and booking facilities; and education.

The service doesn't have to be impossible to use before the provider has to make changes. They also have to make changes when it's unreasonably difficult to use the service. They should think about whether any inconvenience, effort, discomfort or loss of dignity a disabled person experiences in using the service would be considered unreasonable by other people if they had to endure similar difficulties.

Some of the factors that service providers may have to take into account when considering adjustments include:

W whether taking particular steps would overcome the difficulty that the disabled person faces in accessing the service

How practicable it is to take these steps. The financial and other costs involved. How disruptive it would be. How much money and other resources they have available. How much they have already spent. What financial help is available to them?

Once a service provider has identified the physical features that may make it difficult for the disabled to use their service then the law gives them a choice. They can remove the feature, alter it to find a way of avoiding it or provide the service in another way.

5.2 Obligations on public bodies

Public service providers have a duty to ensure that everyone has equal access to their services regardless of disability, race, gender, belief religion or sexual orientation. It also applies to anyone providing services on behalf of a public authority, because that service has been contracted out.

Example: A hospital dedicates parking spaces close to its entrance doors for use only by people who use wheelchairs or those with other mobility issues. Non-disabled people and disabled people without mobility issues might also want a parking space. The extra distance they must walk may be an inconvenience. However, people with mobility issues face a degree of disadvantage compared to others if they do not have dedicated parking. They may be unable to work for the authority or access the service without the more favourable treatment of dedicated parking facilities.

The disability equality duty was introduced into legislation in the Disability Discrimination Act amended in 2005, and superseded by the Equality Act in 2010. It means the public bodies must have due regard to the need:

To promote equality of opportunity between disabled persons and other persons. To eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the act To eliminate harassment of disabled persons, that is related to their disabilities. To promote positive attitudes towards disabled persons. To encourage participation by disabled persons in public life, and To take steps to take account of the disabled person's disabilities even where

that involves treating disabled persons more favourably than other persons (for example, the provision of an accessible parking bay near a building where parking is not available for other visitors or employees).

Example a)

A hospital which charges for parking, may decide that disabled service users are not required to pay as they may have difficulties in accessing public transport, which other service users may have easy access to. The hospital also recognizes that the dedicated disabled parking bays have controlled access to eliminate abuse of this parking by non-disabled people. More favourable treatment is necessary in this case to provide equality of access to health care at the site.

Note the Act does not prohibit or restrict positive discrimination in favour of disabled people. This is because the disability discrimination act only protects disabled people against discrimination, and not those who are not disabled.

Example b)

A disabled student needs a dedicated car parking space because he is unable to use public transport. Nondisabled users also want parking spaces, but they will not suffer the same degree of disadvantage if they do not get one. The disabled student will be unable to attend the course if he does not have the space whilst the nondisabled student will merely be inconvenienced. More favourable treatment is necessary in this instance to provide equality of access to the course.

5.3 Summary

The Equality Act means disabled people have rights when accessing goods and services. Under the act, service providers cannot treat a disabled person less favourably than someone else. In addition, service providers must make reasonable adjustments to ensure a disabled person can use the service.

Being able to park is a key part of accessing services for many disabled people. If you provide the services, you must provide well-designed, accessible parking for the use of disabled people.

Providing the parking is not enough. You also have an obligation to ensure that the spaces are free to be used by disabled people and not abused by others. If you do not take steps to prevent abuse, you may be challenged under the Equality Act for not taking reasonable steps to enable disabled people to use your service.

Section 6 Dealing with abandoned vehicles

6.1 Introduction

Operators who discover vehicles which they believe have been abandoned on private land which they are managing need to be aware of how to deal with the situation.

Local councils have the primary responsibility for the removal of abandoned vehicles, whether on private land or on the public highway. The Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978, says:

Section 3 (1) “Where it appears to a local authority that a motor vehicle in that area is abandoned without lawful authority on any land in the open air or on any other land forming part of a highway, it shall be the duty of the authority, subject to the following provisions of this section to remove the vehicle”.

Section 3 (2) says “Where it appears to a local authority that the land on which a motor vehicle is abandoned as aforesaid is occupied by any person, the authority shall give him notice that they propose to remove the vehicle in pursuance of subsection one above but shall not be entitled to remove it if he objects to the proposal within the prescribed period”.

Section 4 says: “where a vehicle is removed in pursuance of section 3 above the appropriate authorities shall be entitled to recover from any person responsible such charges as may be prescribed in respect of the removal of the vehicle and the charges

ascertained by reference to a prescribed scale in respect of any period during which the vehicle is in the custody of the authority.”

6.2 Checking that a vehicle has been abandoned

Government advice is that there are a number of things that you can do to check if vehicle has been abandoned before you contact the local council:

Are any of the tyres flat or have any of the wheels been removed? Is there litter or a lot of leaves under the vehicle? This may mean that it hasn't

moved for some time. Is the windscreen or any of the windows broken? Does the vehicle have number plates? Does the vehicle contain items of waste like tyres, old newspapers or general

rubbish? Have any parts like the bumper or seats or radio been removed or damaged? Is there any graffiti on the vehicle? Are there other wires hanging from the dashboard because the vehicle has been

hotwired (driven without keys by connecting ignition wires together)? You should also check if there is a tax disc on the vehicle and whether it has

expired. If possible, check with your neighbours or with local businesses to see if anyone knows anything about the ownership of the vehicle.

You can report an abandoned vehicle to your local council using the direct.gov.uk website

More advice on dealing with abandoned vehicles can be found on the Keep Britain Tidy website.

Section 7 Identifying the driver where the registered keeper claims they were not driving the vehicle

7.1 Introduction

The introduction of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 providesenables the private car park operator the right to recover to obtain any outstanding charges from the keeper of the vehicle, if the keeper is unable supply a serviceable name and address for the driver, if the parking incident occurs in England or Wales.

You should be aware that this arrangement does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland. Therefore when issuing parking charge notices for car parks in these countries, or for issuing charges to registered keepers in these countries, you must ensure that


Now www.gov.uk

you adhere to the processes that you followed before the Protection of Freedoms Act became enforceable.

That is to say:

1. The keeper of the vehicle is not liable for the parking charge, except in certain circumstances where the Law of Agency may apply.

2. The motorist is not able to use the Independent Appeals Service once they have exhausted your appeals process.

There now follows a number of questions and answers that may help you to understand the concept of keeper liability:

Q: Are there obligations on the registered keeper to reveal the identity of the driver, if the registered keeper contests that he was in fact, driving the vehicle?

A: Because there is no specific legislation for parking on private land, there are differences of legal opinion in Scotland and Northern Ireland about whether a vehicle keeper is required to supply information about who was actually the driver. There is an argument to say that any electronic documents held by a third party (for example the records of who the authorised drivers are for a company vehicle fleet, held by the registered keeper) can be ordered to be disclosed to a civil court prior to proceedings being issued. Alternatively the operator may be able to apply to the court to obtain information from the registered keeper where the keeper has become involved in the wrongdoing by others. For example where the claimantplaintiff (here the parking operator) has been injured in some way by the act of the driver then an innocent third party (the keeper) may be required to assist the claimantplaintiff by identifying the wrongdoer.

An example of where this has been applied effectively is the case of Norwich Pharmacal Co. v Customs and Excise Commissioners. In this case, the owner of a patent knew that infringing goods were entering the UK, but could not ascertain their identity. The Commissioners, in the course of performing their duties, had information that would identify the imports. Also, they had unknowingly played a part in facilitating importation of infringing goods. The House of Lords found that where a third party had become involved in unlawful conduct, they were under a duty to assist the person suffering damage by giving them full information and disclosing the identity of wrongdoers. If the third party bears expense in assisting compliance with an order, the person seeking assistance is bound to reimburse those expenses. That expense however would be reflected in an award of damages against the ultimate tortfeasors, and this be recovered after the final hearing.

This process may be expensive with no guarantee of success, and the costs of an innocent third party may have to be paid by the operator. The operator must also be careful not to be in breach of the 2008 consumer protection regulations which prohibit the use of aggressive behaviour such as harassment, coercion or threatening language in attempting to obtain the details of the driver of the vehicle (see Section 4 of the Guide). The BPA’s practical advice is that operators should assess how strong the other evidence of identity that they have access to is by taking practical steps, before considering whether to try and force the keeper to disclose the driver’s identity. Ultimately the operator will have to prove that, on the Balance of Probabilities, he is suing the correct person if he sues the registered keeper who he believes to be the driver.

Operators should also note that this issue of driver contractual responsibility is different from on-street parking by public authorities, where statute imposes a legal liability on vehicle owners for parking and other civil traffic offences. In those cases, the operator acting for a local authority will be pursuing an unpaid debt against the registered keeper under the statutory liability, not under a contract.

In a contractual parking situation the parking chargeticket debt is owed by the driver of the vehicle. Unlike in the case of a ticket for speeding issued by the police (section 172 of the Road traffic act 1988 places an obligation on a vehicle keeper to identify the driver) there is no explicit legal duty on the keeper of the vehicle to identify who was driving it at the time the parking charge noticeticket was issued.

Two possible approaches exist to overcome this problem, where the vehicle keeper either fails to respond to correspondence or says he was not the driver but gives no information about who was driving.

The parking operator may be able to argue the driver was acting as an agent of the keeper and that the debt is therefore owed by the keeper of the vehicle under the Law of Agency. This argument may be effective where the vehicle concerned belongs to a company and the driver has been using it as part of his employment.

Alternatively, the parking operator proceeds with a court case and bases his claim on the argument that on the Balance of Probabilities the vehicle keeper was in fact, the driver.

The parking operator may be able to apply court rules to assist in taking the second course of action. If the operator decides to issue a claim in the courts for payment of the debt and the keeper puts in a defence that they were not the driver and therefore is not liable, the court may find that the defendant's pre-action conduct in failing to provide the name of the driver has led to unnecessary costs, putting them at risk of incurring extra

expense if the court then finds against them. However, this will be atin the discretion of the court and such a decision comes at a late stage in the claim recovery process.

Section 8 Protecting vulnerable drivers when carrying out immobilisation or removal

8.1 Introduction

The introduction of the Protection of Freedoms Act now makes it illegal to immobilise a vehicle on any land in England and Wales where there is no lawful authority. The BPA Code of Practice sets out targets for Northern Ireland and where that lawful authority exists to ensure that drivers who have had their vehicles immobilised or removed are able to gain full access to them as soon as possible. There may however be some circumstances where operators have to make choices about which driver to prioritise for de-clamping or vehicle return after charges have been paid. There may also be circumstances where operators should consider whether immobilisation or removal is an appropriate remedy even though the driver has ignored signs and notices warning of the risk of such action.

‘Vulnerable’ drivers require special attention. This part of the guide looks at how operators should behave towards this group and what priority actions they can take to reduce or avoid causing the distress or danger which vulnerable drivers may suffer as a result of an operator’s action. This section also sets out a risk assessment checklist for operators to follow in order to comply with best practice.

8.2 Who are ‘vulnerable’ drivers?

1. Drivers who are member of the defined group who by their nature are seen to be vulnerable.

2. Anyone else who because of external circumstances may become at risk because they don't have full access to their vehicle.

8.3 Who are members of the vulnerable drivers group?

Single women. Women accompanied by young children. Young people below the age of 21. Elderly people, whether on their own or as a couple. People suffering from a disability. People suffering from illness

8.4 Who can become vulnerable because of external circumstances?

Anyone who finds themselves without their vehicle in an area of high criminal activity.

Anyone experiencing extreme weather conditions when they are inadequately dressed.

An individual who has insufficient funds to deal with the situation of being without their vehicle unexpectedly.

Any driver unfamiliar with the location who finds they do not have the use of their vehicle during the hours of darkness.

8.5 What priority actions should operators take to remove or reduce the danger or distress to a vulnerable driver?

Operators should look to reduce or remove the risks to vulnerable drivers through the following alternative actions.

Attending the vulnerable driver as speedily as possible. Assisting the vulnerable driver. Prioritising the return or de-immobilisation of the vulnerable driver’s vehicle. Imposing alternative sanctions (such as issuing a parking ticket) instead of

immobilisation or removal. Accepting delayed or reduced payment if that addresses the particular source of

danger or distress.

8.6 Risk Assessment checklist

1. Pre-enforcement action: Is there evidence in the vehicle suggesting the driver may be vulnerable?

o If there is such evidence, what steps can the operator take to anticipate and mitigate the distress or danger their enforcement activity will have on the driver?

o Take alternative action where possible; immobilise rather than remove the vehicle; relocate rather than remove the vehicle; attach a parking charge (ticket) rather than immobilise the vehicle.

2. Post enforcement action: From evidence supplied by the driver (for example over the phone) does the

driver appear to be vulnerable?o If driver appears to be vulnerable, what is the likelihood of distress

threat or danger to the driver now they have reduced or no access to their vehicle?

o How serious is the distress threat or danger to the vulnerable driver now they have reduced or no access to their vehicle?

What external circumstances exist which may put the driver at risk or make them vulnerable?

o If driver appears to be vulnerable, what is the likelihood of distress threat or danger to the driver now they have reduced or no access to their vehicle?

o How serious is the distress threat or danger to the vulnerable driver now they have reduced or no access to their vehicle?

Where it appears to an operative that a driver is vulnerable, they should involve the operative’s management in making decisions.

What options are available to operators to mitigate the distress or danger to the vulnerable driver?

o Calling for assistance from operators colleagues.o Call police or ambulance to assist driver.o Calling the parents or relatives of the driver.

From the evidence obtained, what is the best alternative approach to take to the vulnerable driver if any instead of the planned enforcement action?

Having chosen the best approach to take and implemented the action, has this reduced or removed the distress, threat or danger to the driver?

Section 9 Appropriate use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)

9.1 Introduction

The section of the guide covers best practice in relation to the use of automatic number plate recognition systems by private party operators, and in particular the procedures they should put into place for handling the data they collect from the use of ANPR.

9.2 ANPR and Data Protection

Operators may not realise that the use of ANPR is covered by data protection rules. The police however certainly regard ANPR data1 as covered and the Information Commissioner Office (ICO) has published an updated CCTV Code of Practice in 2008 in which they say: “this code provides good practice advice for those involved in operating CCTV and other devices which view images of individuals. It also covers other information derived from those images that relates to individuals (for example, vehicle registration marks)”.

1 see paragraph 3.4.1 Data Protection Principles in their Practice Advice on the Management and Use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition 2009, produced on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers by the National Policing Improvement Agency.

The Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) defines “personal data” as “any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ('data subject'); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors…”

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) is the UK law transposing the Data Protection Directive and it defines personal data as data, “which relates to a living individual who can be identified (a) from those data or (b) from those data and other information, which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller”.

So it is clear that data captured by an ANPR system should be treated as “personal data” under the principles of the DPA and falls under the remit of the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The ICO’s Code of practice is a set of recommendations based upon the legally enforceable data protection principles set out in the DPA. This section of the BPA Guide draws extensively upon the ICO’s Code of Practice.

The Code of Practice covers systems which can capture images of individuals or information relating to individuals for any of the following purposes:

Seeing what an individual is doing.

Potentially taking action relating to an individual such as handing the images over to the police. Processing the data would fall under this heading.

Using the images in some other way that will affect the individual's privacy.

Most uses of CCTV by businesses will be covered by the DPA and by the ICO Ccode of Ppractice.

There is additional regulation of what is treated as covert surveillance activities by the law enforcement community. Covert surveillance is governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Operators who are providing information to the police specifically for covert surveillance should make themselves aware of the RIPA. However the RIPA is outside the scope of the BPA Guide to Operators.

9.3 Assessing the Impact of ANPR on your parking operation

In order to comply with the current best practice, parking operators must first decide whether to use CCTV/ANPR by taking into account what benefits can be gained, whether better solutions exist and what effect using such systems may have on

individuals. This should be done as part of an impact assessment on people's privacy. Such an assessment should look at whether the system is justified in all the circumstances, and if it is justified how it should be operated in practice.

Operators should as part of a privacy impact assessment ask themselves:

What organisation will be using the images and who will take responsibility under the DPA?

What is the purpose for using the system? What problems it is meant to address?

What are the benefits to be gained from its use?

Can this system deliver these benefits?

Can less privacy intrusive solutions achieve the same objectives?

What future demand may arise for wider use of images, and how will you address this?

What are the views of those who will be under surveillance?

What could you do to minimise intrusion of those that may be monitored?

When the system will be operated by or on behalf of a public authority (such as a university or hospital with a private car park) the authority will also need to consider human rights issues, and in particular the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This is concerned with the right to respect for private and family life and would include questions such as:

Is the proposed system established on a proper legal basis and operated in accordance with the law?

Is it justified in the circumstances?

Is it proportionate to the problem it is designed to deal with?

If the answers to such questions would be No, then it would not be appropriate to use the CCTV/ANPR system.

9.4 Administering your ANPR system

Operators who put in place a CCTV/ANPR system must ensure it is effectively administered. This is essentially a question of ensuring the personal information that is

collected is handled appropriately. Operators should nominate an individual who has responsibility for the control of the images, decide what is to be recorded, how the images should be used and who they may be disclosed to. The operator (not the individuals tasked with dealing with the data) will be treated as the data controller and will have a legal responsibility for compliance with the DPA.

Questions that operators should ask themselves under this heading include:

Who has responsibility for control of images and making decisions on how these can be used?

Has the operator notified the Information Commissioner's Office that they are a data controller (and paid the notification fee)? Does the notification cover the purposes for which the images are used and the disclosures that will be made?

If anyone outside the operator’s organisation is providing processing services, for example by editing or enhancing images, is a written contract in place with clearly defined responsibilities?

Operators have a broad responsibility to put in place clear procedures to determine how the system will be used. This means:

Identifying clearly defined and specific purposes for the use of the images and communicating those purposes to the individuals who operate the system.

Documenting clearly these procedures based on the code of practice on the handling of images. These procedures could include guidance on disclosing the images and keeping a record of disclosures.

Nominating an individual responsible for ensuring procedures are followed.

Ensuring proactive checks or audits are carried out on a regular basis to ensure the procedures are being complied with.

These procedures should be regularly reviewed in order to justify the continued use of the CCTV/ANPR system. The Information Commissioner needs to be notified on an annual basis, and the annual return may be the appropriate time to consider the continuing use of the system.

- The ICO Code of Practice sets out some rules of selecting, locating and using cameras. When number plate only information is being captured the key question is going to be “does the system produce images of sufficient quality for the purposes of accurately recording the vehicle registration mark?” Systems need to be able to identify vehicle number plates accurately. The ICO code also

considers procedures for looking after recorded material and using the images. It highlights that recorded material must be stored in a way that maintains the integrity of the image and then restricting access only to those people who need to have access. Once the reason that the recorded image was made is complete, the images should be deleted (be aware however that DVLA requires that companies must retain evidence sufficient to demonstrate that their data access is in line with their requirements for a period of two years).

.

9.5 Disclosure of ANPR Data

The ICO code makes some important points about the disclosure of images from CCTV and ANPR systems. Disclosure must be controlled, and consistent with the purpose for which the system was established. It is not appropriate to disclose images for unrelated purposes. However, it is acceptable to disclose images to law enforcement agencies, even if the system was not created for that purpose, if not doing so would be likely to prejudice the prevention and detection of crime. However, there is no obligation on operators to do this. Other requests for images should be approached with care as disclosure may be unfair to the individuals concerned.

Questions you should ask yourself are:

Are arrangements in place to restrict disclosure of images in a way consistent with the purposes for which the system was established?

Has clear guidance been given to the individuals who have to handle requests for disclosure so that they understand the circumstances in which disclosure is appropriate?

You should record the date of any disclosure along with details of who the images have been provided to and why this information was required. It will be a matter of your judgment about whether or not to disclose information recorded by CCTV/ANPR system. You have the discretion to refuse such requests, unless there is there is a legal obligation such as a court order, or individuals who have been photographed have information access rights (see below).

9.6 Retention of CCTV/ANPR images

There is no specific minimum or maximum retention period which applies to information recorded by CCTV/ANPR systems. Instead, the retention period should reflect the operator’s own purposes for recording the images in the first place. You should not keep images for longer than necessary to meet your own purposes and bear in mind the time limits imposed by the AOS Code on processing claims for unpaid charges.

Questions you should ask yourself are:

Have you decided on the shortest period that you need to retain the images, based upon your purpose for recording them in the first place?

Have you documented your image retention policy and is it understood by those who have to operate the system?

Have you put in place measures to delete images permanently through secure methods at the end of the period? Are you undertaking systematic checks to ensure that your retention period procedure is being complied with?

9.7 Other operator responsibilities

9.7.1 Informing people about your CCTV/ANPR system

You must let people know that they are in an area where surveillance is being carried out. You should do this using prominently placed signs at the entrance to the area you are monitoring and reinforce this information with further signs inside the area covered by the system. As a general rule, signs should be more prominent and frequent where it would otherwise be less obvious to people that their details are being recorded.

Signs should:

Be clearly visible and readable

Contain details of the organisation operating the system, the purpose for using the CCTV system and who to contact about the system.

Be an appropriate size, taking into account for example where signs are being viewed by pedestrians or by drivers.

Systems in public places should have signs giving the name and contact details of the organisation responsible for the system.

9.7.2 Subject access requests

If your CCTV/ANPR system records images of people as well as details of vehicle number plates, you should be aware of the rules regarding “Subject access requests”. Individuals whose images are recorded have a right to view the images of themselves and to be provided with a copy of the images. This must be provided within 40 calendar days of receiving a request. You may charge a fee of up to £10 (the current statutory maximum). Those who request access must provide you with details which allow you to

identify them as the subject of the images and also to locate the images on your system. Operators should consider:

Will the staff involved in operating the system recognise a subject access request?

Do you have internal procedures in place for handling subject access requests, including keeping a log of requests received and how they were dealt with?

A clearly documented process will help you.

Where operators are using ANPR systems which do not photograph individuals then, in our opinion, a subject access request will not be applicable. However if operators are using facial recognition technology in addition to ANPR in order to, for example, identify drivers, then the rules on subject access requests will apply.

9.7.3 Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensing

Although normal ANPR camera usage will fall outside of the SIA’s requirements, you should be aware of the requirement to obtain an SIA licence where manned guarding activities are being undertaken involving the use of closed-circuit television equipment for public space surveillance, and where certain other conditions are fulfilled. In these cases you must have appropriate specified training, which is defined on the SIA website, as well as a licence issued by the SIA.

Section 10 Grace Periods

10.1 Introduction and definition

A grace period is a period of time where the operator chooses not to enforce.

The Code of Practice states that as an operator you must have a policy for grace periods at your sites, and that you must be prepared to disclose this information to us or one of our agents. The following section goes some way to explaining why we feel that grace periods should be an integral part of your enforcement process.

10.2 Why grace periods are needed

There are two types of grace period that you should consider when establishing your enforcement regime:

1. A grace period that allows for motorists to enter the car park, understand the terms and conditions of the site and then leave if they choose not to accept them.

2. A grace period that allows for the expiry of permitted parking and leaving the car park.

The first grace period is vital as support for the entrance signs at your car park. In order to place an easy to read/understand sign at the entrance which states that terms and conditions are available within, you must give the motorist a reasonable time to read those terms and conditions and decide if they want to form a parking contract with you.

The second grace period allows the motorist to leave the car park at the end of the permitted parking period and can additionally be justified by the fact that whilst for example the meter or time shown on a pay and display machine is normally accurate to within a minute, motorists may not have synchronised their watches to ensure that they return in time to prevent the issue of the parking charge notice. It is also accepted that some leeway is prudent to avoid motorists being issued with a parking charge notice where the ‘overstay’ is only a few minutes.

There are other considerations that you should bear in mind when considering your grace period policy. Firstly (beyond the fact that it would be a breach of the Code) not having a policy leaves you open to a challenge of being unreasonable. There are many examples where media coverage seizes upon the opportunity to expose an operator for being disproportionately overzealous for what is in effect a very minor transgression.

However this does not mean that you should advertise the fact that a grace period exists at a car park. This could expose you to the motorist who would argue that a ticket issued a minute over the grace period is unreasonable and unfair.

10.3 The duration of the grace period

The Code of Practice is silent about the duration of the grace period that you should apply to your car park. This is for a number of reasons:

1. It is likely to be site specific.

2. The size of a car park is not consistent, therefore grace periods cannot be consistent. For example, you could not apply the same grace period to a 20 space pre booked car park at an airport as you would at a 200 space pay and display car park in a retail park.

3. The parking environment is not consistent. If your car park exits onto a very busy main road, the motorist will need more time to leave the car park, than if it was a car park on a nature reserve in the middle of the countryside. It is also good practice to take into account exceptional circumstances and apply them as

necessary. For example it may take much longer to exit a car park approaching the Christmas period than at other times of the year.

4. If a grace period were to be published, it is possible that some ‘selfish parkers’ may consider this grace period to be their ‘right to free parking’ in addition to the time that they have already purchased or that you have given them.

When you allocate the grace period to your car park, you should take these factors into account and ensure that it is reasonable:

1. allowing the motorist to form an opinion about your parking contract.

2. to be able to purchase a ticket within a reasonable time.

3. to allow them to return to their vehicle at or around the expiry time and leave the site within a reasonable time, taking exceptional circumstances into account.

Section 11 General Good Practice

11.1 Introduction

Section 9 of Code 2012 (Professionalism) explains in broader terms that operators and drivers should deal with each other in a respectful way. The code says that the operator should:

1. Clearly mark operational vehicles with their livery.

2. Ensure that front line operational staff are clearly identified by means of ID cards and uniform.

3. Deal with the public in a professional way, avoiding the use of aggressive or threatening language.

The following sections suggests how Good Practice may enhance the professionalism of your operation.

11.2 Liveried Vehicles

The use of livery on your vehicles will help to identify to the motorist that parking enforcement is taking place on the site. It will give the motorist reassurance that the parking operation is being undertaken professionally, and that the operator has nothing to ‘hide’ by using a ‘plain’ vehicle.


How does this affect self-ticketers (i.e. pub landlords etc.) Do they have to wear a uniform?


This needs defining

Naturally, the larger and bolder the identification of the vehicle, the easier it will be for the motorist to identify.

In some areas where the personal security of the parking attendant could be at risk, identification of the vehicle could heighten the risk to the attendant. If you are operating in such an environment, the use of magnetic livery panels is acceptable, provided they are removed whilst the operator is at work at the site in question, and then re-applied once the operator leaves. Again, the panels should be large and easy to identify when they are in place at other locations.

If an attendant is working on a single site, there is no need for their vehicle to display your livery while they are driving to and from work.

11.3 Uniform

The Code states that front line operatives should wear a uniform. The style and colour are not prescribed but the BPA expects that the uniform will allow your staff to look and feel smart and professional. However, we believe that in order to ensure a more professional image it would be good practice for your front line staff to wear any or all of the following garments:

1. Headwear

2. Shirts, trousers/skirts, jumpers in a corporate colour.

3. Hi-vis tabards/jackets/coats, marked with your logo, and/or their job title.

4. Workwear shoes/boots (not trainers or ordinary shoes).

5. Gloves, sunglasses.

A smart and comfortable uniform will enhance your corporate image and allow employees to carry out their duties better in extreme weather conditions. Remember to take into account any employees who cannot wear your issue clothing and headgear for medical or religious reasons and offer suitable alternatives or exemption.

11.4 Learning and Development

Parking enforcement officers should achieve the City & Guilds Level-2 Award for Parking Enforcement Officers at induction level and it should be standard for all operatives. Skilled and qualified personnel have the knowledge to carry out their role with confidence and conviction and present a more professional image to the

public/clients. This is a new qualification with one mandatory unit in conflict management. Candidates can then chose one of the remaining four units, one of which concentrates on enforcement on private land and has been developed specifically for those enforcing in accordance with the AOS Code of Practice.

We suggest that you use the level-2 NVQ in Controlling Parking Areas to consolidate learning once an operative is established in post. In addition to successfully completing the four mandatory units listed below, this qualification can be tailored to a particular job role by choosing units from the extensive list of optional units.

Give customers a positive impression of yourself and your organisation Carry out start and end working procedures within the parking control

environment Deal with information relating to controlling parking areas Reduce risks to health and safety in the workplace

Notice processing personnel should achieve the City & Guilds Level-3 Award for Notice Processors (Parking). There is a mandatory unit which gives an introduction to notice processing and information management across the parking profession and candidates can then chose one of the remaining two units, one of which concentrates on notice processing requirements for parking enforcement on private land and has been developed specifically for those processing in accordance with the AOS Code of Practice. Once a processor is established in post we suggest the level 3 business administration NVQ is undertaken and that the optional unit: administer parking and traffic challenges representations and civil parking appeals is selected.

There is now a comprehensive suite of qualifications in Leadership and Management for Parking providing the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in a variety of management roles. Developing your personnel at supervisory and management level will increase the level of customer service, enhance the standards of your organisation and raise professionalism in the sector. Each of the qualifications listed below has a range of units from which the candidate can choose so as to maximise the relevance for the individual, their employer and their career within parking.

Level 3 Certificate in the Management of Parking Operations Level 4 Certificate in Parking Leadership and Management Level 5 Certificate in Strategic Parking Leadership and Management Level 3 Award in the Management of Parking Operations Level 4 Award in Parking Leadership and Management Level 5 Award in Strategic Parking Leadership and Management

More information on all these qualifications and individual membership options can be found on the BPA website.

Section 12 Signs and Notices

12.1 Signs

Signs are the most important way of telling drivers what the terms and conditions are to use of a car park or other location. If your signs are difficult to read, placed in obscure places or fail to include terms that you subsequently may wish to rely on you may find that you are unable to enforce the terms you intended to apply.

The BPA Code 2012 along with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 sets out required content that must be included on signs.

Key principles in relation to signs:

Write your signs in such a way that they can be understood easily. Don’t use ‘legalese’ but instead use words and phrases that an ordinary person will easily understand.

Make your signs big enough to see and read. The wording must be legible. The Code states that signs must be at least 450 mm x 450 mm.

Make sure your signs can be easily seen by drivers as they come into the site. Don’t let signs get obscured by trees, high sided vehicles, dirt or other obstructions.

You must place a specific sign at the entrance to the site. This sign will summarise the enforcement regime and notify the driver that specific terms and conditions will apply inside.

Place enough signs around your site to ensure the driver has had every opportunity to see them. Bear in mind that courts have found in favour of drivers where signs have been inadequate or not sufficiently obvious to read. So don’t economise on signage if the consequence will be that a driver can credibly make the case ‘I couldn’t see any signs’.

If you operate a paid-for car park, put signs with the most important terms (most of the terms listed in the BPA AOS Code will fall into this category) at the pay point. If there is a barrier, make sure that the signs are visible before the driver


Is this not under discussion still?

passes the barrier. Otherwise he may claim he did not know the terms at the time he committed himself to park.

Make use of symbols or pictograms as well as words to facilitate understanding. The sign is intended to communicate not to confuse. So where symbols help to get your message across, use them.

Think about the times of day and other conditions that will apply when a driver is trying to park, and adapt your sign accordingly. Put it under a light if that is the only way to allow it to be read. Use retro-reflective paint if that helps to make it easy to spot and easy to read.

Include your company information details. Drivers need to know who they are dealing with, especially when faced with enforcement action. So don’t make this difficult by hiding your identity. Take notice of the companies and consumer legislation which applies to signs (see section 4 of this Guide).

If you use ANPR to identify vehicles, you must tell drivers that you are doing so and why you are collecting their data. See Section 21 of the Code and Section 9 of this Guide for more information on using ANPR.

Make it clear what actions by a driver will lead to enforcement and control activity. These actions should be clearly spelled out, such as, for example, a failure to purchase and display a ticket or permit, a failure to park correctly in an authorised bay, exceeding the time permitted on a purchased ticket or permit, parking an unauthorised vehicle such as a coach or lLorry in a car park authorised for private cars.

Include the minimum content prescribed by Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act.

12.2 Notices and other Communications with drivers

The BPA Code sets out in sections 20 and 23 the process for pursuing unpaid parking chargestickets, starting with a Parking Charge Notice and suggesting follow up reminder letters. We have included in this guide examples of wording that you may use for signage, Parking Charge Notices and subsequent communications with the motorist.

12.3 Model wording:

12.3.1 Wording that may be used on mandatory entrance signs

The information below enables you to construct a sign that outlines the enforcement regime that the motorist can expect when they enter the car park that you own/manage. When you specify the sign, you must be aware that it is a summary of the main Terms and Conditions that will be found on your signs in the car park. Therefore you should not add too many conditions to this sign; otherwise you defeat the object of placing a summary sign at the entrance to your site.

You shouldmust also use the exact wording that is supplied below (using the variations in parentheses where they apply) wherever possible. The intention is to provide a universal sign that will eventually be recognised by the motorist as the ‘private parking sign’ and that will give the motorist the instant assurance that you are an accredited member of the AOS. If you have a scenario where none of the wording below applies, let us know and we will add that scenario to the list below.

The recommendation is to add no more than two conditions from each group to the sign. Remember: the rest of your Terms and Conditions will be displayed prominently inside the car park.

The size of the sign is not as important in this instance as it is when you are developing your main terms and conditions signs. The size of the sign is determined by the legend in your Group 1 wordings below, and the size of the lettering as listed in Appendix B of the Code itself. For reference, your sign writer should look to the Transport Heavy alphabet that appears in the Transport Signs Regulations Guidance Document.

Group 1

Pay and display (except/free for blue badge holders)

(xx minutes/hours) Free Parking (for (XX) customers only)

Pay on exit

Pay (on foot/at machine) when leaving

Parking for customers only

(Residents/Staff/Permit holders) only

Authorised Parking only

No Parking

Group 2

ANPR cameras in operation

Charges apply (thereafter)

Private land

See notice(s) in car park for conditions

Terms and Conditions apply (24 hours/xx:xx – xx:xx)

12.3.2 Terms and Conditions Signage sShould include the following information:

Company Name and Logo

That the site is Private Land

Use the Parking logo that is found on the entrance sign

Summary of type of Enforcement used (eg. Ticket, ANPR)

When enforcement takes place (if not 24 hours)

Terms and Conditions for parking – must be simple and easy to understand

Tariff (if applicable); Aa separate tariff board is acceptable

Parking charges if breach of contract

Contact number for enquiries

Statement for requesting keeper details from DVLA

Add registered company details including address if not registered limited

12.3.3 A Parking Charge Notice that is applied manually (Notice to Driver) should include the following information:

Company Name and Logo

State that the vehicle was parked in breach of the terms and conditions displayed on signage

Give information such as VRM, Make and model, and time and date of parking event

Give the reason for applying the parking charge noticeticket

State the parking charge

State the discounted charge, and that the driver has 14 days to pay at the discounted rate

Give information about your own appeals process, including reference to the Independent Appeals Service


Why not add the statement here?

Give information of how to pay. Remember – you may not profit from the application of the credit card charge – this will be illegal from end 2012.

The above information is required under the terms of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act. You must comply with these requirements if you are to seek to recover unpaid parking charge notices from the registered keeper in the absence of driver details .

Use the private parking logo that is found on the entrance sign where possible

Add the details of your debt collection process

Add registered company details including a postal address if business not registered limited

This information is contained in the Code and is considered Good Practice or applies to other legislation

State that DVLA may be contacted to request keeper details Note: .

This is not a legislative requirement, but is required by DVLA

12.3.4 A Parking Charge Notice that is posted to the Keeper (Notice to Keeper) should include the following information:

Add Company logo and information

Dear (Registered Keeper)

We have issued Parking Charge Notice no. xxxxxx because your vehicle was parked in breach of the terms which apply at [name the car park].

Signs at the entrance to the car park and in other places around the site set out the terms and conditions on which parking is permitted. Drivers who breach the permitted parking terms and conditions are liable to pay a charge, according to the list of tariffs displayed in the car park.

A discounted charge of (Discounted Charge) applies if this Parking Charge Notice is paid within 14 days of issue. If you choose not do so, the full value of £[amount ] will be due.

We have obtained your details from DVLA as the registered keeper of the vehicle, through the Reasonable Cause request of pursuing an outstanding private parking charge. Details of the unauthorised parking were as follows:

Car park Location:

Date:

Time:


This may not happen so should be left out.

Your Vehicle Registration Number:

Make:

Colour:

The reason we issued this Parking Charge Notice to your vehicle is as follows: [give the reason]

If you were not the keeper (whether or not you were the registered keeper as noted on the vehicle’s V5 document) of the vehicle at the time it was parked or if the vehicle was stolen out prior to the beginning of the period of parking which is the subject of this notice or if the vehicle, please let us know. If you were not the driver we invite you to supply the full name and current postal address of the driver at the time so that we may address this request to them, and pass this notice on to the driver.

We now request this amount is paid using one of the payment methods described below. If within 28 days the parking ticket is not paid we will take further steps to recover the amount owed. These are [name your preferred recovery methods, such as hand over to debt recovery; issue court proceedings or whatever steps you use]. Additional charges [give the additional charges] will arise if we have to take any of these further steps.

If you wish to challenge the issue of the Parking Charge Notice, please refer to the appeals process on the reverse side of this letter. This describes the procedure we use to handle challenges following the issue of a Parking Charge Notice. If your appeal is not upheld, then you will be eligible to use the Independent Appeals Service POPLA. Details will be made available at the appropriate time.

If, after 28 days beginning with the day after that on which this notice is given, the Parking Charge Notice has not been paid in full, and we have not been made aware of the name and a current address for service of the driver, under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (‘the Act’), we do have the right, subject to the requirements of the Act, to recover from the keeper of the vehicle at the time it was parked so much of that amount that remains unpaid.

If you are a vehicle-hire firm and the vehicle was hired out at the time the parking took place, please also 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. Please note that we may have a right to recover unpaid parking charges from you.

The Information Commissioner and the DVLA each operates a complaints procedure for you to use if you believe your data has been used inappropriately to supply us with the vehicle’s registered keeper details. Information on how to complain can be found at www.direct.gov.uk www.gov.uk for DVLA and www.ico.gov.uk for the Information Commissioners Office.

How to pay this parking ticket: [include your process and your VAT number]

We will send you a receipt for your payment if you request one.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/

http://www.gov.uk/

http://www.direct.gov.uk/

Include contact information

Yours sincerely

12.3.5 Reminder letter

Dear (Registered Keeper)

Payment for Parking Ticket No. XXXXX is overdue. Please pay the charge of £ [amount] now. Payment details are at the end of this letter.

We recently issued Parking Charge Notice no. xxxxxx to your vehicle because it was parked in breach of the terms which apply at [name the car park] that we [own] or [that we are authorised by the landowners to manage on their behalf]. The Parking Charge Notice was [attached to your vehicle on the day] or [sent to you by post on the DATE] and has not been paid.

Signs at the entrance to the car park and in other places around the site set out the terms on which parking is permitted. Drivers who break the permitted parking terms are liable to pay a charge, according to the list of tariffs displayed in the car park.

A discounted charge applies if a Parking Charge Notice is paid within 14 days of issue but the opportunity to pay this parking ticket at the reduced rate has now expired and the full value of £[amount ] is now due.

We have obtained your details from DVLA as the registered keeper of the vehicle, through the Reasonable Cause request of pursuing an outstanding private parking charge. Details of the unauthorised parking were as follows:

Car park Location:

Date:

Time:

Your Vehicle Registration Number:

Make:

Colour:

The reason we issued a parking ticket to your vehicle is as follows: [give the reason]

If you were not the keeper (whether or not you were the registered keeper as noted on the vehicle’s V5 document) of the vehicle at the time it was parked or if the vehicle was stolen out prior to the beginning of the period of parking which is the subject of this notice or if the vehicle, please let us know. If you were not the driver we invite you to supply the full name and current

postal address of the driver at the time so that we may address this request to them, and pass this notice on to the driver.

We now request this amount is paid using one of the payment methods described below. If within 14 days the parking ticket is not paid we will take further steps to recover the amount owed. These are [name your preferred recovery methods, such as hand over to debt recovery; issue court proceedings or whatever steps you use]. Additional charges [give the additional charges] will arise if we have to take any of these further steps.

If you wish to challenge the issue of the Parking Charge Notice, please refer to the appeals process on the attached leaflet [ensure you have such a leaflet]. This describes the procedure we use to handle challenges following the issue of a parking ticket.

If, after 28 days beginning with the day after that on which this notice is given, the Parking Charge Notice has not been paid in full, and we have not been made aware of the name and a current address for service of the driver, under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (‘the Act’), we do have the right, subject to the requirements of the Act, to recover from the keeper of the vehicle at the time it was parked so much of that amount that remains unpaid.

If you are a vehicle-hire firm and the vehicle was hired out at the time the parking took place, please also 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. Please note that we may have a right to recover unpaid parking charges from you.

The Information Commissioner and the DVLA each operates a complaints procedure for you to use if you believe your data has been used inappropriately to supply us with the vehicle’s registered keeper details. Information on how to complain can be found at www. direct. gov.uk for DVLA and www.ico.gov.uk for the Information Commissioners Office.

How to pay this parking ticket: [include your process and your VAT number]

We will send you a receipt for your payment if you request one.

Yours sincerely

Include your registered company details, including the part of the UK where your company is registered, the address of the registered office and the company’s registration number

Include your Contact information

Section 13 Glossary

BPA: British Parking Association

ANPR: Automatic Number Plate Recognition

http://www.ico.gov.uk/

http://www.gov.uk/

Driver: Individual operating a vehicle

Keeper: The individual registered with DVLA as keeping the vehicle at their address.

Operator: Individual/Organisation in charge of car park

Land Owner: Individual/Organisation who owns car park

Immobilisation: Clamping

Member: Individual/Organisation who is signed up to the BPA

AOS: Approved Operator Scheme (part of the BPA)

ATA: Accredited Trade Association (which the BPA is)

Enforcement: Sanction (i.e. ticket, clamping)

Private Land/Parking:

Non-council run property (parking is un-legislated in these areas)

Public Land/Parking

Council run property (such as on street – parking is legislated in these areas)

ICO: Information Commissioner’s Office

DVLA: Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority – Government body which, among other things, manages the database that contains personal details of the keepers of road vehicles in the UK. It is alegal requirement that a vehicle is registered with DVLA.

PoFA Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The legislation that bans immobilisation on private land without Lawful Authority, and enables the operator to pursue the registered keeper for outstanding parking charges if the driver chooses not to admit liability.

POPLA Parking On Private Land Appeals – the name for the private parking Independent Appeals Service.


Landlord definition?

Appendix: Schedule one of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regulations 2008

SCHEDULE 1 Commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair

1. Claiming to be a signatory to a code of conduct when the trader is not.

2. Displaying a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without having obtained the necessary authorisation.

3. Claiming that a code of conduct has an endorsement from a public or other body which it does not have.

4. Claiming that a trader (including his commercial practices) or a product has been approved, endorsed or

authorised by a public or private body when the trader, the commercial practices or the product have not or making

such a claim without complying with the terms of the approval, endorsement or authorisation.

5. Making an invitation to purchase products at a specified price without disclosing the existence of any

reasonable grounds the trader may have for believing that he will not be able to offer for supply, or to procure another

trader to supply, those products or equivalent products at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are,

reasonable having regard to the product, the scale of advertising of the product and the price offered (bait

advertising).

6. Making an invitation to purchase products at a specified price and then—

(a) refusing to show the advertised item to consumers,

(b )refusing to take orders for it or deliver it within a reasonable time, or

(c )demonstrating a defective sample of it,

with the intention of promoting a different product (bait and switch).

7. Falsely stating that a product will only be available for a very limited time, or that it will only be available on

particular terms for a very limited time, in order to elicit an immediate decision and deprive consumers of sufficient

opportunity or time to make an informed choice.

8. Undertaking to provide after-sales service to consumers with whom the trader has communicated prior to a

transaction in a language which is not an official language of the EEA State where the trader is located and then

making such service available only in another language without clearly disclosing this to the consumer before the

consumer is committed to the transaction.

9. Stating or otherwise creating the impression that a product can legally be sold when it cannot.

10. Presenting rights given to consumers in law as a distinctive feature of the trader’s offer.

11. Using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without

making that clear in the content or by images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer (advertorial).

12. Making a materially inaccurate claim concerning the nature and extent of the risk to the personal security of

the consumer or his family if the consumer does not purchase the product.

13. Promoting a product similar to a product made by a particular manufacturer in such a manner as deliberately

to mislead the consumer into believing that the product is made by that same manufacturer when it is not.

14. Establishing, operating or promoting a pyramid promotional scheme where a consumer gives consideration

for the opportunity to receive compensation that is derived primarily from the introduction of other consumers into the

scheme rather than from the sale or consumption of products.

15. Claiming that the trader is about to cease trading or move premises when he is not.

16. Claiming that products are able to facilitate winning in games of chance.

17. Falsely claiming that a product is able to cure illnesses, dysfunction or malformations.

18. Passing on materially inaccurate information on market conditions or on the possibility of finding the product

with the intention of inducing the consumer to acquire the product at conditions less favourable than normal market

conditions.

19. Claiming in a commercial practice to offer a competition or prize promotion without awarding the prizes

described or a reasonable equivalent.

20. Describing a product as ‘gratis’, ‘free’, ‘without charge’ or similar if the consumer has to pay anything other

than the unavoidable cost of responding to the commercial practice and collecting or paying for delivery of the item.

21. Including in marketing material an invoice or similar document seeking payment which gives the consumer the

impression that he has already ordered the marketed product when he has not.

22. Falsely claiming or creating the impression that the trader is not acting for purposes relating to his trade,

business, craft or profession, or falsely representing oneself as a consumer.

23. Creating the false impression that after-sales service in relation to a product is available in an EEA State other

than the one in which the product is sold.

24. Creating the impression that the consumer cannot leave the premises until a contract is formed.

25. Conducting personal visits to the consumer’s home ignoring the consumer’s request to leave or not to return,

except in circumstances and to the extent justified to enforce a contractual obligation.

26. Making persistent and unwanted solicitations by telephone, fax, e-mail or other remote media except in

circumstances and to the extent justified to enforce a contractual obligation.

27. Requiring a consumer who wishes to claim on an insurance policy to produce documents which could not

reasonably be considered relevant as to whether the claim was valid, or failing systematically to respond to pertinent

correspondence, in order to dissuade a consumer from exercising his contractual rights.

28. Including in an advertisement a direct exhortation to children to buy advertised products or persuade their

parents or other adults to buy advertised products for them.

29. Demanding immediate or deferred payment for or the return or safekeeping of products supplied by the trader,

but not solicited by the consumer, except where the product is a substitute supplied in accordance with regulation

19(7) of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (inertia selling)(1).

30. Explicitly informing a consumer that if he does not buy the product or service, the trader’s job or livelihood will

be in jeopardy.

31. Creating the false impression that the consumer has already won, will win, or will on doing a particular act win,

a prize or other equivalent benefit, when in fact either—

(a)there is no prize or other equivalent benefit, or

(b)taking any action in relation to claiming the prize or other equivalent benefit is subject to the consumer paying

money or incurring a cost.

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