Legal Who is liable now? Andrew Morgan, parking team leader at SCS Law, questions what it means to begin proceedings An unpaid parking charge notice (PCN) can be recovered from the keeper of a vehicle provided the requirements of Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 have been complied with and the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current service address for the driver at the time that it begins proceedings. he introduction of Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA) was a welcome relief for parking companies. Before then, there was difficulty proving who the driver of the vehicle was at the time of the offence, which led to an ineffective recovery system. POFA allows a parking company to pursue the keeper of the vehicle instead (who, unless proven to the contrary, is taken to be the registered keeper) provided that: t he parking company has the right to recover the unpaid PCN from the driver (POFA, paragraph 5(1)(a)) t he parking company does not know the name of the driver and current address for service of the driver (POFA, paragraph 5(1)(b)) t he vehicle was not a stolen vehicle at the time the PCN was issued (POFA paragraph 4(2)(b)) the notice to keeper states that the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver, and invites the keeper to either pay the unpaid PCN or, if they werent the driver of the vehicle, to notify the creditor of the name and address of the driver and to pass the notice onto the driver (POFA paragraph 8(2)(e) and paragraph 9(2)(e)) the notice to keeper warns the keeper that if, after 28 days after the notice to keeper is served, the PCN has not been paid and the creditor does not know the name and current address for service of the driver, the parking company will have the right to recover the unpaid amount from the keeper (POFA paragraph 8(2)(f) and paragraph 9(2)(f)). T if the parking company is provided with the drivers details before it begins proceedings. This creates a further window during which the keeper can avoid liability, because no claim would be issued on day 29 given the requirement to comply with pre-action protocols first. Who to pursue The term begin proceedings has not been readily used in legislation before now, nor does it appear in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). It creates uncertainty and one would question the reason for its use. The immediate definition or interpretation of begin proceedings would appear to be either a creditor commencing pre-action protocol steps or a creditor issuing a claim in the county court. The latter would most align with CPR 7.2(1), which states that proceedings are started [emphasis added] when the court issues a claim form at the request of the claimant, and so this is the interpretation that we would recommend. This is further complicated by the fact that there is a period between the time when the claim is filed with (or, in the case of online money claims, submitted to) the county court and when it is actually issued. What if the keeper provides the required details during this window? Paragraph 5.1 of Practice Direction 7A states proceedings are started when the court issues a claim form at the request of the claimant but where the claim form was received in the The term begin proceedings has not been readily used in legislation before now, nor does it appear in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) However, notwithstanding the time limit imposed on the keeper by paragraphs 8(2)(f) and 9(2)(f), this right is taken away 26 britishparking.co.uk PN Apr20 pp26-27 Legal.indd 26 24/03/2020 16:58