Scotland — Unjust enrichment / condictio indebiti claim for refund (5-year claim back)
Where you have paid a parking charge in Scotland that turns out to have been unenforceable (e.g., POFA-doesn't-apply, no contract, prescription expired before payment), you have a claim in Scots law for repetition (condictio indebiti — recovery of money paid by mistake or under undue pressure). Scots law of unjustified enrichment is more generous than English law of restitution: the threshold of 'mistake' is lower, and the time limit under the 1973 Act runs 5 years from when the obligation became enforceable (i.e., from payment). You can recover up to 5 years of past payments. This is particularly powerful for fleet operators, taxi drivers and frequent visitors who have routinely paid private parking charges in Scotland that were never enforceable.
Legal basis
Scots common law condictio indebiti; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 and Sch 1 para 1(b); Morgan Guaranty Trust v Lothian Regional Council 1995 SC 151 (unjustified enrichment in Scotland)
How to identify this in your case
You paid a private parking charge in Scotland addressed to you as keeper without admission of driving. POFA didn't apply, no contract proved against you. Up to 5 years of payments recoverable.
Sample appeal wording
Dear [OPERATOR], Re: Refund of parking charges paid in error In the period [START_DATE] to [END_DATE] I paid your company a total of £[TOTAL] in respect of [N] parking charges, particulars at Annex A. Each was paid in respect of a vehicle of which I was the registered keeper, on the basis of letters demanding payment from me as keeper for parking on private land in Scotland. I have since obtained legal advice that those payments were not due. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 Schedule 4 does not extend to Scotland (s.115(2) POFA 2012) and Part 8 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, which would have introduced keeper liability, has never been commenced. There is therefore no statutory or common-law basis on which a Scottish keeper is liable for an alleged contractual debt of an unidentified driver. I never identified the driver to you and never admitted driving. Each payment was made under essential error of law (Morgan Guaranty Trust v Lothian Regional Council 1995 SC 151). I now invoke my right under the condictio indebiti to repetition of those sums. Please refund £[TOTAL] within 28 days, with interest at the judicial rate of 8% from the date of each payment. Failing payment I will raise an action in the Sheriff Court under Simple Procedure and rely on Sch 1 para 1(b) of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 (5-year prescription for unjustified enrichment claims, running from each payment). Yours faithfully, [NAME]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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Scan my ticketSources
- Morgan Guaranty Trust v Lothian Regional Council 1995 SC 151
- Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 Sch 1 para 1(b)