Scottish Consumer Law — CRA 2015 Enforced via Scottish Courts

While the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies across the UK including Scotland, enforcement and interpretation in Scottish courts follows Scots law principles and the Scottish civil justice system. Unfair contract terms in private parking contracts (excessive charges, one-sided terms) can be challenged under CRA 2015 s.62-64 in Scottish courts. Scottish sheriffs have shown willingness to scrutinise disproportionate parking charges as penalties under both CRA 2015 and the common law rule against penalties.

Legal basis

Consumer Rights Act 2015 ss.62-64; Scots common law on penalty clauses (Gordon v Indiegogo / Cavendish Square principles applied in Scotland)

How to identify this in your case

Private parking charge in Scotland that appears disproportionate to any genuine loss (e.g. £100 charge for parking in an empty car park). The charge is not a genuine pre-estimate of loss but a deterrent penalty.

Sample appeal wording

I am writing to dispute parking charge notice [reference] for £[amount] on the grounds that it constitutes an unfair contract term and/or an unlawful penalty clause. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.62, a term in a consumer contract is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations to the detriment of the consumer. The charge of £[amount] is wholly disproportionate to any loss or genuine commercial justification. Furthermore, under Scots common law (as confirmed by the UK Supreme Court in Cavendish Square v Makdessi), a contractual sum payable on breach is unenforceable as a penalty if it does not reflect a legitimate interest proportionate to the breach. The charge of £[amount] for [description of parking] is manifestly excessive and cannot be a genuine pre-estimate of loss. I therefore decline to pay it and consider this matter closed.

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

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Sources

Consumer Rights Act 2015
Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67