NCP parking charge received 3+ months later

Yet another private parking charge question. Received this letter today, 01 May, for an alleged 11 minute 'max stay exceeded' in a taxi zone at a station back in January more than 3 months ago. Images are pretty grainy and the online ones are no clearer as to the exact location of this, so I'll check it out on foot because I'm surprised I stayed into any tax zones there.

I did try to search the forums and some other online sites but couldn't find a definitive answer as to whether I should be appealing this on these grounds or not.

Issued on 18 April according to the letter as well I notice, which doesn't give me much thinking time to pay up the reduced amount of £60 within 14 days if I wanted to! Envelope isn't date stamped, of course.

Any useful information would be grateful!

You don't state if you did park and overstay on that date, did you?

I can't even think where around the station the taxi zone is, but if it was just 10-11 minutes then I would have more than likely been picking someone up from the station.

So you can't remember if you went to the station? Is it your car in the picture? It's difficult to appeal if you can't give any evidence.

That said, as others have posted, the notice has been issued way past the date of the contravention, so I would go down that route. Ditto, do not identify the diver.

"You're credit rating will be trashed and bailiffs will take your children" [sic]

Probably a few nasty letters from their pet Debt Collection Agency. NCP aren't very litigious compared to some parking companies. If it does go to Court it will be harder to use the "I'm not required to name the driver" when under oath.

What I mean is that you may be asked by the Judge who the driver was if you were using the not naming the driver defence.

Do the emblems on the footer of the letter indicate whether they comply with the Popla stuff?

Yes, I am the keeper and the main driver of the pictured vehicle.

I'll appeal, but just want to make sure I'm using the correct information.

Worth bearing in mind that Railway Byelaws may be in operation as well so a PCN from NCP may not allow them to chase the registered keeper. Worth looking on pepipoo or MSE forums to see if there are recent examples which may be of use to you.

As the OP is the RK, NCP are screwed either way.

If they attempt to use PoFA 2012 Keeper liability, the NTK is clearly non-compliant with Schedule 4 Section 9(5).
See -.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/schedule/4/enacted
It's well out of time and no other rebuttal should be introduced at this stage in any response. That alone should see it binned.
KISS. Reply as the RK and say nothing at all about who was driving.

Another bar to PoFA 2012 RK liability is if parking is covered by Railway Byelaws [per Section 219 of the Transport Act 2000].
See 14(3) here - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7...
That will mean it is not 'relevant land'. See Schedule 4 Section 3(1)(c).

AFAIK, NCP has no authority to enforce Railway Byelaws. That is reserved to the station Operator which, for Chelmsford, will be Greater Anglia.
If GA wished to take action it would be by prosecution in a Magistrates Court and the required signage may well be deficient.

The shambolic situation at Chelmsford is discussed here - https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/parking-charg...
(n.b. don't go looking for PepiPoo: the site url returns an error and appears to be moribund. Worse, the relevant pages have not been archived to the Wayback Machine).

Interestingly my opinion is fight it because it'll be something more interesting than the monotony of paying bills and doing the day job lol.