How to appeal/beat the airport drop-off scam

[b789]

For anyone interested, you do not have to pay the extortionate fees charged by airports to use the drop-off zones if they use a barrier less system. The simple reason is that, as long as the driver is not identified, and the ONLY way they can identify the driver is if the Keeper, the recipient of the Notice to Keeper (NtK), blabs it to them.

Because airport land (also ports/harbours and some country parks) is covered by byelaws, it is therefore under 'statutory control'. The ONLY way a parking firm can transfer liability form the unknown driver to the known Keeper is if they strictly follow all the requirements of PoFA 2012. One of the requirements to be able to rely on PoFA is that the land must not be under statutory control. In other words, airport land (and any other byelaws controlled land) is not "relevant" for the purposes of PoFA.

Because PoFA cannot be used, unless the driver is identified, they have nowhere else to go with this. Only the driver can be liable and there is no legal obligation on the Keeper to identify the driver to an unregulated private parking firm.

I have not paid a drop-off fee or paid a single PCN for not doing so for many years now. My latest was after the driver dropped off a family member at Manchester Airport. This was the PCN received:



Appealed with the following:

I am the registered keeper. APCOA cannot hold a registered keeper liable for any alleged contravention on land that is under statutory control. As a matter of fact and law, APCOA will be well aware that they cannot use the PoFA provisions because Manchester Airport is not 'relevant land'.

If Manchester Airport wanted to hold owners or keepers liable under Airport Bylaws, that would be within the landowner's gift and another matter entirely. However, not only is that not pleaded, it is also not legally possible because APCOA is not the Airport owner and your 'parking charge' is not and never attempts to be a penalty. It is created for APCOA’s own profit (as opposed to a bylaws penalty that goes to the public purse) and APCOA has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.

The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtK can only hold the driver liable. APCOA have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.

Just received the cancellation:



Another reason why you should never identify the driver.