How to Appeal a Notice to Hirer

A Notice to Hirer is a private Parking Charge Notice sent to a person or company identified as hiring a rental, lease or fleet vehicle at the time of a parking event. It normally follows a Notice to Keeper sent to the registered keeper or vehicle-hire firm.

The hirer and driver are not automatically the same person. A company may hire a fleet vehicle used by an employee, or an individual hirer may allow another insured driver to use a rental vehicle. The appeal should not identify the hirer as the driver unless that fact is confirmed and relevant.

In England and Wales, Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 creates a conditional process for recovering an unpaid driver's Parking Charge from a keeper or hirer. Paragraph 13 governs the documents a vehicle-hire firm must provide, while paragraph 14 governs the later Notice to Hirer.

How Liability Is Transferred

Paragraph 13 prevents the parking creditor from using Schedule 4 to recover from the vehicle-hire firm where, within the required period, the creditor receives:

• a signed statement from the hire company confirming that the vehicle was hired to a named person at the relevant time;
• a copy of the hire agreement; and
• a copy of the statement of liability signed by the hirer under that agreement.

The parking company must then issue a compliant Notice to Hirer with copies of those documents and the original Notice to Keeper before it can rely on paragraph 14 against the hirer.

Hire Contracts and Liability Statements

The BVRLA Guide to Road Traffic Offences and Charges explains that a liability statement may form part of a hire agreement, master hire agreement, leasing agreement or employment contract. For private parking, the guide recommends checking that the signed liability statement expressly covers parking charges or notices.

The BVRLA checklist identifies practical details expected in the hire record, including the hirer's name and address, vehicle registration and model, hire start and expected end, actual return where known, authorised extensions and replacement vehicles. Those details should match the vehicle and parking date on the Notice to Hirer.

The appeal begins by reconstructing the complete chain from the original Parking Charge to the Notice to Keeper, the hire company's response and the Notice to Hirer. A defect at one stage can affect statutory hirer liability even where the parking company still alleges that the driver breached the parking terms.

Confirm Your Capacity

Record whether you were the named hirer, the driver, both, or neither. Check whether the hire was in an individual's name, a company name or a fleet agreement. The appeal must describe the recipient's capacity accurately and avoid an unnecessary assumption about who drove.

Check the Transfer Deadline

Paragraph 13 requires the hire company's statement and supporting documents to reach the creditor within 28 days beginning with the day after the Notice to Keeper was given. If the required package was incomplete or late, the statutory transfer from the vehicle-hire firm should be examined closely.

Check the 21-Day Rule

Paragraph 14 defines the relevant period for giving the Notice to Hirer as 21 days beginning with the day after the paragraph 13 documents were given to the creditor. The notice and required accompanying documents must reach the hirer within that period where statutory hirer liability is claimed.

The creditor cannot recover from the hirer through paragraph 14 until a further 21 days beginning with the day the Notice to Hirer was given have elapsed and the other applicable conditions remain satisfied.

Check Every Enclosure

A paragraph 14 Notice to Hirer must be accompanied by:

• the hire company's signed statement identifying the named hirer;
• the hire agreement;
• the hirer's signed liability statement; and
• the original Notice to Keeper.

Receiving only the Notice to Hirer is not the complete statutory package. Missing documents, blank pages or selected extracts should be recorded before requesting anything further from the operator.

Check the Notice Wording

The notice must explain that unpaid charges may be recovered from the hirer, refer to the information in the Notice to Keeper, provide the prescribed 21-day warning, state any discount and dispute arrangements, identify the creditor, explain how payment may be made and specify the date sent or given.

The hirer address used for service should also be checked against the signed liability statement or an address at which civil proceedings could properly be served.

Check the Parking Event

The transfer documents do not prove that the original Parking Charge was valid. The parking company's photographs, ANPR times, signs, tariff records, permits and allegation must still be compared with what happened at the location.

The current Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice requires operators to allow an appeal within 28 days. The deadline printed on the actual Notice to Hirer should be checked immediately.

A Notice to Hirer appeal can challenge the transfer of statutory liability and the underlying Parking Charge. Both should be addressed where the documents and evidence support them.

Transfer Documents Were Missing

The operator may have sent the Notice to Hirer without the hire company's statement, hire agreement, signed liability statement or Notice to Keeper. Paragraph 14 requires the documents to accompany the notice when the creditor relies on statutory hirer liability.

Liability Statement Was Defective

Paragraph 13 requires a statement signed by the hirer acknowledging responsibility for parking charges that may be incurred while the vehicle is hired and identifying an address at which documents may be given. A general unsigned terms page or an agreement that does not contain the required acknowledgement may not satisfy that condition.

The liability statement may cover other road traffic charges as well, but the parking-charge responsibility and signature should be identifiable. The BVRLA guide also advises hire companies to ensure their liability clauses refer to parking charges or notices.

Hire Agreement Did Not Match

The agreement should identify the relevant hirer and vehicle and cover the date and time of the parking event. Check the registration, vehicle description, commencement, expected expiry, actual return, extensions and replacement vehicles. A mismatch can undermine the transfer to the named recipient.

Notice Arrived Too Late

The Notice to Hirer and accompanying documents must be given within the paragraph 14 relevant period. The date the hire company's package reached the creditor and the date the Notice to Hirer was delivered are both needed to assess the 21-day calculation.

Original Keeper Notice Was Defective

The hire-vehicle process begins with a Notice to Keeper. The applicable paragraph 8 or paragraph 9 timing, wording, land and keeper-liability requirements can remain relevant. A later Notice to Hirer does not repair a defective original statutory notice automatically.

No Parking Breach Occurred

Payment records, a valid permit, booking, resident or employer authority, a correct registration entry or the actual parking duration may contradict the allegation. The hire documents establish possession of the vehicle, not a breach of the parking terms.

Signs Were Not Clear

The entrance sign and terms near the vehicle should communicate the parking conditions and charge clearly. Poor placement, small text, darkness, conflicting instructions or missing tariffs can affect whether the driver was given adequate notice of the alleged contract.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires consumer terms and notices to be transparent and provides protection against unfair terms. The appeal should identify the actual term that was hidden, ambiguous or inconsistent.

ANPR Evidence Was Incomplete

Entry and exit images may not prove the period when the vehicle was parked. They may omit time spent finding a space, reading the terms or queuing to leave, or fail to show two separate visits. The complete image sequence and payment records should be checked.

Equality Duties Apply

The Equality Act 2010 may be relevant where a disabled hirer, driver or passenger needed additional time or another reasonable adjustment. The appeal should explain the disadvantage, adjustment and supporting evidence.

Hire Company Already Paid

A hire company may pay a Parking Charge and recharge the customer where the contract permits it. The BVRLA guide advises rental and leasing companies to ensure their agreements allow payment and recharge. Any administration fee or recharge is a separate contractual issue with the hire company and should be checked against the agreement and account records.

If the parking company has already been paid, the appeal should establish whether any operator challenge remains available and whether the dispute is now primarily with the hire company. The same amount should not be paid twice.

Evidence for a Hirer Appeal

Useful evidence can include:

• every page of the Notice to Hirer and its envelope;
• every document enclosed with the notice;
• the original Notice to Keeper;
• the complete hire, lease, master or fleet agreement;
• the signed liability statement and applicable contract terms;
• hire dates, return records, extensions and replacement-vehicle records;
• hire-company correspondence, recharge invoices and administration fees;
• operator photographs and the complete ANPR sequence;
• signs, tariffs, bay markings, payments, permits and bookings; and
• medical, disability, breakdown or witness evidence where relevant.

The documents should be read together. A hire agreement can prove that the vehicle was on hire while still failing to prove that the named hirer drove or that the Parking Charge was properly issued.

The appeal letter should identify the Parking Charge, vehicle, location, parking date, Notice to Keeper and Notice to Hirer. It should state whether the recipient is the hirer, driver, both, or another named party without making assumptions.

The letter should identify any missing paragraph 13 documents, defective liability statement, agreement mismatch, late paragraph 14 notice or missing prescribed warning. It should then set out the separate grounds concerning payment, permission, signs, ANPR evidence, parking duration, accessibility or operator authority.

Where the hire company has paid or charged an administration fee, the appeal should distinguish the operator dispute from the contractual complaint or recharge dispute with the hire company.

Submit the appeal to the private parking company named on the Notice to Hirer using the online portal, email address or postal method stated on the notice. The appeal must be submitted in the correct capacity for the confirmed facts; a named hirer should not automatically be described as the driver.

Check the Parking Charge reference, vehicle registration, hirer details and attachments before submission. Save the complete appeal, evidence list, confirmation page, email receipt or proof of posting.

A complaint to the rental or leasing company can be made separately if it paid the charge, added an administration fee, supplied inaccurate hire information or acted outside the contract. Do not assume that the hire-company complaint pauses the operator's appeal deadline.

If the operator accepts the appeal, it should confirm that the Parking Charge is cancelled and that the named hirer will not be pursued. Send the cancellation to the hire company where it has applied a recharge or administration fee.

If the appeal is rejected, check whether the operator has produced the complete paragraph 13 and paragraph 14 package and answered each statutory defect. The rejection may also introduce new signs, ANPR images, payment records or contract evidence.

The rejection should identify the available independent appeal service and provide the code or instructions required. The later appeal should answer the rejection rather than repeat the first letter unchanged.

The parking company's Accredited Trade Association determines the independent appeal service. GOV.UK guidance identifies POPLA for British Parking Association operators and the IAS for International Parking Community operators.

An eligible BPA rejection should provide a ten-digit POPLA verification code. POPLA guidance states that the appeal should be received within 28 days of the operator's rejection and include the complete grounds and evidence.

The Independent Appeals Service considers eligible Parking Charges issued by IPC members after the operator appeal. The Notice to Hirer, hire agreement, signed liability statement, Notice to Keeper, first appeal and rejection should be kept together for either independent service.

If the independent appeal succeeds, the Parking Charge is cancelled. If it is refused, the operator may request payment and later decide whether to pursue a civil claim. Refusal does not itself create a County Court judgment.