How to appeal against unfair parking charges and get fines struck off

UP to 50,000 drivers are slapped with parking fines every day in the UK, raking in more than £2.6billion a year for car park operators and councils.

As fears mount that motorists are being unfairly targeted, the Government has admitted a crackdown is overdue.

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Sarah Davidson looks at what it means and how to avoid paying unfair penalties now . . . 

RISING FINES

THERE is little more annoying to drivers than getting a parking ticket or fine for forgetting to pay congestion charges, low emission zone levies or the toll on a bridge or crossing.

But it’s becoming increasingly common.

Private parking companies fined around six million drivers £100 a go between April 2017 and March 2018.

In the 12 months to the end of March 2023, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) information requests show the number had surged to more than 11million.

And councils handed out almost 20,000 penalty charge notices per day in 2022, fining drivers between £25 and £180 each, according to Churchill Motor Insurance.

The sharply rising number of fines can in part be explained by expanding clean air zones around the UK.

But RAC Foundation boss Steve Gooding said the “ballooning rate is a clear sign that something is seriously awry”.

Yet millions of drivers don’t bother to complain.

ALWAYS APPEAL

THE issue has been worrying the Government since 2019, when a law was passed to tackle unreasonable fees and overzealous parking enforcement in the private sector.

A consultation on a new code of practice for private parking has recently closed which may bring an end to confusing signage, opaque appeals services and unreasonable fees.

But any rule change could take years to come into effect.

For now, drivers have to deal with any unfair fines alone.

Consumer rights campaigner Scott Dixon says you should always appeal if you get a ticket from either a private parking operator or the council.

Two in five penalty notices are scrapped after being appealed, figures show.

But before you can appeal, you need to work out what type of charge you have received.

Parking charge notices are issued by private parking operators such as National Car Parks, Euro Car Parks, Apcoa Parking and Parkingeye.

Penalty charge notices and excess charge notices are issued by the council. Fixed penalty notices come from the police.

PRIVATE COMPANY PENALTIES

BEFORE challenging privately issued penalties, check if the firm is a member of the British Parking Association (BPA) or International Parking Community (IPC).

If they’re not, Citizens Advice recommends that you don’t contact them unless they write to you first.

Often these firms don’t have access to your records from the DVLA and won’t be able to find you.

But if they do write to you, you should reply.

Companies must send notices within 14 days of when you were parked on the private land, if a notice wasn’t left on your windscreen.

First, complain through the company that issued the ticket — many have a formal process.

You can get contact details for members of the BPA at britishparking.co.uk and the IPC at theipc.info.

Gather evidence to show why you think the ticket was unfair such as photographs of unclear signs and road markings or a bank statement to show a charge has been paid.

If the complaint is rejected, your next step is to appeal.

Appeals should be made to Parking On Private Land Appeals if the operator is a BPA member.

You have 28 days after the rejection of the initial complaint to appeal to Popla.

If they are an IPC member, appeal to the Independent Appeals Service — you have 21 days to do so.

And if your appeal is rejected, Scott suggests appealing again.

“You’re virtually always rejected at the first stage on private parking tickets. But on the second stage, Popla finds two in five tickets unfair and cancels them.”

COUNCIL AND POLICE PENALTIES

APPEALING a penalty charge notice issued by the local council for parking without a permit is relatively straightforward.

Again, include evidence to back up your case and submit it to the relevant council through its complaint process.

If you are unsuccessful, you can challenge the decision at a free independent tribunal.

You can appeal online at the trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk. Or if you’re in London, go through londontribunals.gov.uk.

If you want to object to a police notice, you will need to send your letter to the Central Ticket Office nearest to where the charge was issued.

‘Hit with charge even though I had a pass to donate blood’

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CLARE SKINNER was shocked when given a £140 parking fine after donating blood at her local centre.

The digital marketing manager is a regular donor and had never been fined until this occasion in 2021.

Clare, 52, says: “The blood donation website says donors don’t have to pay for parking.

“I was stunned. That’s a big fine to pay for donating blood.”

Clare appealed via the parking company’s website and included confirmation emails of her blood donation and a screenshot stating donors didn’t have to pay for parking.

But almost a month later, the company rejected the appeal.
Clare, from Chelmsford, Essex, then contacted Popla, the independent appeals service for parking charge notices issued on private land.

A month later she was given a decision by email. She says: “I was told by Popla the parking fine company had not submitted a response to my appeal and, as a result, Popla found in my favour.

“It took me three months but I got a result. I encourage people to do what I did.”

She later emailed the donation website and asked them to change the information.