Thank you both for your quick and helpful responses, and for all the other useful information in the forum. I’ve drafted a potential response which I’ve copied below if you wouldn’t mind having a read and giving some feedback please? (Apologies in advance if there are things I have misunderstood and therefore not construed correctly!)
I write in response to a Letter Before Claim, received in relation to PCN Numbers xxxx and xxxx. I dispute the debt on a number of points and confirm I will not be making any payment.
Given your client chooses not to comply with the requirements of Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, on what basis does it intend to recover these spurious amounts from me as the registered keeper of the vehicle, but not the driver?
Furthermore, on what basis were my details obtained from the DVLA given that (a) UKCPS does not comply with POFA 2012, (b) your client is not a BPA member, and (c) there would appear to be no lawful basis for obtaining them under the Vehicle (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002? I will be making separate complaints to both the DVLA and the Information Commissioner in relation to the release of my personal details, which is a clear breach of the UK General Data Protection Regulation.
Your client may not be aware but there is no such thing as “no stopping” in a parking contract; indeed, when considering whether to park, you would need to stop in order to read any relevant signage before deciding whether to park. As such, there is a grace period defined in law. Given that a private parking company cannot enforce general traffic laws, the penalty for “no stopping” is unlawful.
May I also take this opportunity to remind you that you have no right to increase the amount of the original penalty to cover the “nominal contribution to [your] client’s losses as a direct result of [my] non-payment”. Whilst your client chooses not to follow POFA, you and it may benefit from reading it.
Should your client wish to instigate legal proceedings in relation to this alleged debt, it will be defended vehemently and I shall be seeking a full costs recovery order for unreasonable behaviour. I shall also seek damages for breach of the Data Protection Act 2018, as per VCS v Philip, Liverpool CC Dec 2016.