I was slapped with a £150 fine and threatened after I forgot to pay airport parking charge – here's how I beat it | The Sun
A LAWYER who was slapped with a £150 fine after he forgot to pay an airport parking charge has revealed how he beat it – and how you can, too.
Edward Levey KC forgot to pay the £5 drop-off fee at Heathrow Airport and found himself being threatened with "further action" if he didn't pay the inflated ticket.
But, the law expert says he found a way out of coughing up the cash, and has taken to Twitter to share it.
In a number of entertaining and educational threads, Edward shared his triumph against APCOA Parking, who issued the ticket.
He said if people end up in the same situation as he did "you may want to consider not paying it".
The Fountain Court Chambers‘ lawyer said, in his opinion, the £150 fine was “clearly unenforceable” and he had considered legal proceedings against the parking firm.
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He claimed there were two reasons the ticket was unenforceable – including that it was unfair under the Consumer Rights Act.
But Edward said he no longer planned to take legal action as the firm decided to waive the fine “as a gesture of goodwill” – after he contacted them with his legal concerns.
Edward said it wasn't long after he dropped his daughter at Heathrow Airport that he realised he'd forgotten to pay the £5 charge.
He says he missed the payment deadline and immediately called APCOA Parking, who told him to wait for the letter, then appeal it.
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Edward did exactly that, and said: "The letters were made to look 'official' and they were increasingly threatening in their content and tone."
He went on to say there were two reasons the fine was unenforceable, adding: "But before I explain, it is important to be clear that I am dealing *specifically* here with a situation where you are issued a PCN because you failed to pay a charge within a specified time limit."
Edward said the first reason was: "The relevant contractual term is 'unfair' under section 62 of the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) 2015."
And the second was: "The relevant term is an unlawful penalty and unenforceable at common law."
He explained the rise of the ticket from a £5 fee, because he didn't pay by within the less than 48-hour deadline, is "likely to be treated as unfair because it's a disproportionately high sum in compensation".
Edward added: "Now that doesn't mean it is definitely unfair, but it's a strong indication that a court would treat it as unfair."
He then went on to use a case and legal jargon to explain the second reason, which illustrated how “a court will not enforce a clause if it amounts to a penalty”.
Edward added: "The reality is that the entire system is designed to take advantage of the fact that people with the best intentions in the world simply forget to pay when they get home, as happened to me.
"The system is set up to make it as easy as possible for people to forget."
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You can read Edward's Twitter threads here, and here.
The Sun Online has approached APCOA Parking for comment.
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