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Keeper liability capped at the amount stated in the Notice to Keeper — added fees not recoverable from the keeper

Where a private operator (or its debt collector) pursues the registered KEEPER under POFA 2012, the law caps what the keeper can be made to pay: paragraph 4(5) of Schedule 4 says the maximum sum recoverable from the keeper is the amount specified in the Notice to Keeper (under paragraph 8(2)(c)/(d) or 9(2)(d)), less any payments received since. Later demands that inflate the charge with 'debt recovery costs', 'administration fees' or similar (typically +£70) exceed the statutory cap AS AGAINST THE KEEPER and are not recoverable via the POFA route. This does not decide what a court might award against a proven DRIVER on a contractual basis, and operators' trade-body code permits a capped escalation fee in some cases — but a keeper pursued under Schedule 4 cannot lawfully be required to pay more than the NtK figure. Distinct from UK-2025-010/UK-TECH-004 (the £100 headline-charge cap under the industry code).

Legal basis

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4, paragraph 4(5): 'the maximum sum which may be recovered from the keeper by virtue of the right conferred by this paragraph is the amount specified in the notice to keeper under paragraph 8(2)(c) or (d) or, as the case may be, 9(2)(d) (less any payments towards the unpaid parking charges which are received after the time so specified)'; paragraph 4(6) prohibits double recovery. England and Wales only. The BPA/IPC Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice (Code in effect from 1 October 2024; v1.1 in force 17 February 2025, foreword updated 13 April 2026) separately caps the parking charge at £100 (clause 8.2.1) and escalation at up to £70 once the charge is overdue (clause 9); the Government's own statutory code under the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 was withdrawn in 2022 and had not been re-issued in force at the time of verification.

How to identify this in your case

Applies when the customer is pursued as the registered keeper (not an admitted driver) and later letters demand MORE than the amount printed on the original Notice to Keeper — typically a debt-collection letter adding around £70. Compare the sum demanded now against the sum specified in the Notice to Keeper: any excess is above the paragraph 4(5) cap. The core charge may still be due if the operator complied with POFA, so this ground attacks the inflated portion (and the credibility of the demand), not necessarily the whole charge — pair it with any available compliance defect.

Sample appeal wording

Before you send this

Deadline. A late submission can be turned down without your argument being read. Check your notice for the deadline and how it is counted.
Paying may end it. Paying can count as accepting the notice and can close a challenge already under way. Part-paying or acknowledging an old debt can also revive a time limit that had expired.
The amount can change. Check what happens to the sum if you challenge — it may be held, re-offered lower, or keep rising, and fees or enforcement can continue meanwhile.
Use the official route. Use the method, recipient and form your notice specifies, with any reference, evidence and signature it asks for. Sent elsewhere, it may not count.
Only say what is true. Do not copy any statement of fact unless it is true for you, and check the legal point still applies. Delete what does not fit. It may be treated as your statement.
Careful what you volunteer. Avoid unnecessary admissions — naming the driver or accepting responsibility can remove arguments. But answer anything you are legally required to answer, and do include the evidence your ground needs.
Keep the record. Keep what you sent, the attachments, any receipt, and the reply. Note the next deadline.

Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at. Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details; leave any case citation as it is.

I am the registered keeper and I was not the driver. If you assert keeper liability, that liability arises solely under Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and paragraph 4(5) caps the maximum sum recoverable from the keeper at the amount specified in the notice to keeper. Your notice to keeper specified £[AMOUNT]; you now demand £[HIGHER AMOUNT]. The excess of £[DIFFERENCE], described as [FEE DESCRIPTION], exceeds the statutory maximum and is irrecoverable from me as keeper. I put you to strict proof of any legal basis on which a sum above the notice-to-keeper amount could be recovered from the keeper under Schedule 4. Please withdraw the demand for the excess and confirm the position in writing.

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Keeper liability capped at the amount stated in the Notice to Keeper — added fees not recoverable from the keeper

Legal basis

How to identify this in your case

Sample appeal wording

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Sources

Related appeal grounds

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