Multiple stay / re-entry — site treated as single visit

On open retail-park or hospital sites, drivers commonly leave and return on the same day. Some operators record only entry and exit and treat the longest gap as one continuous visit, generating overstay charges that bear no relationship to actual presence. The driver was elsewhere for part of the alleged stay. Demand mid-period images: if there are no images between alleged entry and exit, the operator cannot prove continuous presence; the burden is on them. Combined with parking receipts at OTHER locations, this is decisive.

Legal basis

UK GDPR Art 5(1)(d); PoFA 2012 Sch 4 para 9(2)(b); Civil Evidence Act 1995 s.9; common law standard of proof in civil case (balance of probabilities) — claimant's burden

How to identify this in your case

Long-duration overstay claim; busy retail/hospital site with multiple in/out within the day; you have evidence of being elsewhere during the alleged 'stay'.

Sample appeal wording

Dear [OPERATOR], Re: PCN [REF] — Alleged duration [X] hours I did not park continuously for the alleged period. I left the site at approximately [TIME] and re-entered at approximately [TIME]. Evidence of my whereabouts during the gap: - [Receipt from another location dated and timed]; - [Toll/transaction record]; - [Witness statement]; - [Dashcam]. Under UK GDPR Art 15 I require: (a) All ANPR images of vehicle [REG] at this site on [DATE], not just entry and exit; (b) Any patrol photographs; (c) Confirmation that you have no evidence of presence during [TIME GAP]. The burden is yours, on the balance of probabilities, to prove the period of parking. Entry plus exit images, without intermediate evidence, do not exclude the alternative explanation that I left and returned. The charge is denied. Yours faithfully, [NAME]

Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.

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Sources

UK GDPR Art 15
PoFA 2012 Sch 4 para 9(2)(b)