Parking ticket whilst buying car - who is liable?
Discussion
I bought a car at Golders Green recently. I was arriving by bus so the seller said to meet in the nearest Sainsburys car park.
I didn't really want to meet there due to the fairly obvious proliferation of cameras and offered to walk half an hour to a quiet residential zone, but he seemed to have local knowledge, said there was a 2 hour parking, said the shop didn't open until 10:00, and was making his way home on the bus too. We were there from 06.50 to 07:24 and the cash transferred at 07:05. So who was the owner at the time of the "offence" and who is liable?
On hindsight this seems inevitable and I'm sure it happens often, but I still feel a like a total pilchard. Next time I'm dating any change of ownership as the day after just to be on the safe side for speeding or parking fines.
I didn't really want to meet there due to the fairly obvious proliferation of cameras and offered to walk half an hour to a quiet residential zone, but he seemed to have local knowledge, said there was a 2 hour parking, said the shop didn't open until 10:00, and was making his way home on the bus too. We were there from 06.50 to 07:24 and the cash transferred at 07:05. So who was the owner at the time of the "offence" and who is liable?
On hindsight this seems inevitable and I'm sure it happens often, but I still feel a like a total pilchard. Next time I'm dating any change of ownership as the day after just to be on the safe side for speeding or parking fines.
ingenieur said:
For parking tickets the answer is always the registered keeper. If there's any shenanigans it'll always fall back to the registered keeper with enforcement action ect.
Shouldn't the registered keeper be responsible for giving the name of the dtiver at the time of the offence ? (or is that just road traffic offences ?) You might have been sent a parking ticket in the post because your car’s previous owner parked where they shouldn’t have. This will happen if the ticket is posted after the previous owner told the DVLA they’d sold their car to you.
You’re not responsible for this ticket, so you should definitely appeal.
Write a short statement explaining that you weren’t the owner at the time of the parking offence. Send it to whoever contacted you about the parking ticket. Their contact details will be on the notice or letter they sent to you.
The types of evidence you could include are:
the date you bought the car
the full name and address of the previous owner – or the company that sold you the car
a copy of the DVLA registration certificate (V5C)
a copy of the receipt or invoice from when you bought the car, if you have it
As long as you’ve sent this evidence, the notice against you must be cancelled. It will then be issued to the person who was driving – known as 'transfer of liability'.
You’re not responsible for this ticket, so you should definitely appeal.
Write a short statement explaining that you weren’t the owner at the time of the parking offence. Send it to whoever contacted you about the parking ticket. Their contact details will be on the notice or letter they sent to you.
The types of evidence you could include are:
the date you bought the car
the full name and address of the previous owner – or the company that sold you the car
a copy of the DVLA registration certificate (V5C)
a copy of the receipt or invoice from when you bought the car, if you have it
As long as you’ve sent this evidence, the notice against you must be cancelled. It will then be issued to the person who was driving – known as 'transfer of liability'.
covboy said:
ingenieur said:
For parking tickets the answer is always the registered keeper. If there's any shenanigans it'll always fall back to the registered keeper with enforcement action ect.
Shouldn't the registered keeper be responsible for giving the name of the dtiver at the time of the offence ? (or is that just road traffic offences ?) Organisations (i.e. including local authorities) don't have the legal mechanism to be able to pursue anybody but the registered keeper. Something like speeding is handled by the police and they can go after anybody they want so long as they can get the evidence and get the CPS to charge.
Presumably this is an invoice from a private parking company made to look like a fine ?
The 'offence' is some kind of breach of contract by not adhering to the rules on the signs.
You can reply telling them that you were not the owner / keeper / driver, tell them who was, provide some evidence. Your defence is then that as soon as the transaction was completed you immediately removed the vehicle.
IMHO the 'offence' is the parking there in the first place & not the driving away afterwards.
Unless one of you folds & pays, they will keep sending increasingly threatening letters until maybe court - but it's civil & not criminal.
The 'offence' is some kind of breach of contract by not adhering to the rules on the signs.
You can reply telling them that you were not the owner / keeper / driver, tell them who was, provide some evidence. Your defence is then that as soon as the transaction was completed you immediately removed the vehicle.
IMHO the 'offence' is the parking there in the first place & not the driving away afterwards.
Unless one of you folds & pays, they will keep sending increasingly threatening letters until maybe court - but it's civil & not criminal.
ingenieur said:
For parking tickets the answer is always the registered keeper. If there's any shenanigans it'll always fall back to the registered keeper with enforcement action ect.
For private parking tickets the contract is with the driver. The parking company can only transfer liability to the RK if they comply to the letter with POFA (Protection of Freedoms Act) and few do.RK is not required to name the driver and should not do so under any circumstances.
Alickadoo said:
OK I'll bite. Why not?
For the reason of what happened I suppose, I was just a dummy who assumed the previous owner who lived half an hour away had local knowledge.Thinking a bit longer about it, Euro Car Parks are just going to go after whoever is on the V5, and the DVLA/V5 said I bought it that day, no time specific. I cant force the other dude to do anything so must chalk it up to expereince.
This does however open up a whole can of doubt about what else you could be liable for during the 24 hour period of the day you buy a car!
Edited by Loose_Cannon on Thursday 16th March 18:35
When I sell a car privately (or motorcycle!) I put the time of sale on the receipt. Even a downloaded proforma is better than nothing, just in case....
There are tales of new owners blasting through speed cameras and denying picking a car up until later in the day. Perhaps an urban myth but I expect it has happened.
There are tales of new owners blasting through speed cameras and denying picking a car up until later in the day. Perhaps an urban myth but I expect it has happened.
pocketspring said:
You might have been sent a parking ticket in the post because your car’s previous owner parked where they shouldn’t have. This will happen if the ticket is posted after the previous owner told the DVLA they’d sold their car to you.
You’re not responsible for this ticket, so you should definitely appeal.
Write a short statement explaining that you weren’t the owner at the time of the parking offence. Send it to whoever contacted you about the parking ticket. Their contact details will be on the notice or letter they sent to you.
The types of evidence you could include are:
the date you bought the car
the full name and address of the previous owner – or the company that sold you the car
a copy of the DVLA registration certificate (V5C)
a copy of the receipt or invoice from when you bought the car, if you have it
As long as you’ve sent this evidence, the notice against you must be cancelled. It will then be issued to the person who was driving – known as 'transfer of liability'.
You could also include time and date when insurance was taken out.You’re not responsible for this ticket, so you should definitely appeal.
Write a short statement explaining that you weren’t the owner at the time of the parking offence. Send it to whoever contacted you about the parking ticket. Their contact details will be on the notice or letter they sent to you.
The types of evidence you could include are:
the date you bought the car
the full name and address of the previous owner – or the company that sold you the car
a copy of the DVLA registration certificate (V5C)
a copy of the receipt or invoice from when you bought the car, if you have it
As long as you’ve sent this evidence, the notice against you must be cancelled. It will then be issued to the person who was driving – known as 'transfer of liability'.
I would say you owned the vehicle when the money was transferred, the same as if you bought a chocolate bar in a sweet shop with cash.
I would say that the onus for any parking charge was with the previous owner.
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