Your rights if you get ‘unfair’ parking ticket as | Tech News

Every yr, tens of millions of drivers are left footing the invoice after receiving a penalty for parking in personal car parks. In the 12-month period main up to September 2025, knowledge reveals that a staggering 15.9 million parking tickets have been issued by personal firms – a 17% increase on the 13.6 million distributed the earlier yr.

On Friday, one of the most important personal car park operators was given a £473,000 high-quality after falling foul of regulators. Euro Car Parks, which itself gave out 1.9 million penalty tickets to motorists in a single yr, had the high-quality levied by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), citing the company’s failure to offer requested info as the rationale for the penalty.

The firm reportedly ignored seven requests for info over a three-month period, together with these despatched by registered post, e-mail, and hand-delivered letter. The CMA said that quite a few drivers had accused the company of unjustly demanding money for alleged breaches of car park guidelines, however when requested for info, Euro Car Parks remained silent till the CMA notified it of a proposed high-quality.

But what are your rights when parking in a personal car park – and when can you contest an unfairly issued ticket? In June 2024, a new Single Code of Practice was collectively launched by the British Parking Association (BPA) and International Parking Community (IPC), the UK’s two Accredited Trade Associations for parking, stories the Mirror.

Under the code there are particular laws registered personal car parks should adhere to. Regrettably not all firms are members of the 2 organisations however while this implies they do not need to adjust to their Code of Practice it additionally means they’ve no authority to acquire your tackle particulars from the DVLA.

However most of the bigger companies can be members of one of the 2. Euro Car Parks Ltd for instance is registered with the BPA.

The new code has a number of features. It:

• introduces an Appeals Charter, creating clear parameters for motorists to appeal in opposition to a parking charge
• mandates a 10-minute grace period for motorists
• gives constant guidelines for personal parking operators
• requires clear signage to help motorists navigate parking on personal land
• ensures the safety of essentially the most susceptible in society, with no lower to the deterrent for abuse of Blue Badge bays or those that select to park selfishly, placing their own comfort above the wants or rights of others.
• maintains a cap on the parking charge at £100 decreased to £60 if paid within 14 days.

Private Parking Operators needed to implement the new single Code by October 1, 2024 with all present websites needing to be up to date by December 2026. The new sector Code might be downloaded right here.

What is a personal parking ticket?

There are numerous sorts of parking ticket however not all are “fines”. If the ticket is issued by a public physique such as the native authority or police it’s a Penalty Charge Notice, Excess Charge Notice or Fixed Penalty Notice and that’s a high-quality.

A ticket issued for parking on personal land could be a Parking Charge Notice which isn’t a high-quality. According to client skilled Martin Lewis it’s merely “an invoice”.

Check if the parking company is a member of an ATA

However what if you obtain a ticket in a personal car park and you consider it’s unjustified? According to Citizens Advice there are particular steps you can take.

Its first warning is that if the parking firm that issued a ticket in your vehicle is not an ATA member, “don’t contact them unless they write to you first. They probably won’t be able to find your details – only ATA members can get your name and address from the DVLA”.

Verify whether or not a parking company is an ATA member by checking the British Parking Association (BPA) or International Parking Community (IPC) web sites. You may also ring the BPA on 01444 447 300 to substantiate if a company is a member. Calls sometimes value up to 55p a minute from mobiles and up to 13p a minute from landlines. It ought to be free if your contract consists of calls to landlines – confirm together with your supplier if you’re unsure.

If you obtain a ticket within the post from a non-ATA member

If you obtain a ticket within the post from a non-ATA member, they’ve obtained your tackle and you ought to reply. They might have acquired your particulars unlawfully.

You can lodge a criticism with the DVLA in regards to the potential unlawful sharing of your knowledge by writing to Data Sharing Strategy and Compliance Team, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1DY.

Write to the parking company

If the firm is registered with an ATA then Citizens Advice stated you can find a parking company’s contact particulars on the BPA or IPC web sites or on the Parking Charge Notice. It added: “Check on the notice if you must use the parking company’s website or if you can write to them with your reasons for objecting. You must write to them before you make a formal appeal to an independent appeals service.”

You can use the Citizen’s Advice template letter to jot down to the parking company. Include any proof you have, for instance:

For a hospital parking ticket, you ought to submit proof to the parking company if your appointment was operating late. Ask the hospital receptionist to print a notice on headed paper, confirming there have been delays.

Appeal to an unbiased appeals service

If the parking company is not an ATA member, there’s no formal appeals course of however there are various choices you can pursue.

If the parking company is an ATA member, you can appeal to an unbiased appeals service. Citizens Advice stated: “It’s free to do, so it’s worth trying if you still think your ticket was unfair.

“They would possibly see issues otherwise to the parking company and agree that your ticket ought to be cancelled. They will not cancel a ticket as a result of of an sudden occasion, for instance if you have been delayed as a result of you have been feeling unwell.”

The method of appeal will depend on whether the parking company that issued your ticket is a member of the BPA or IPC approved operators scheme. Submit a formal appeal to Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) if they’re a BPA parking company.

If they’re an IPC member, submit a formal appeal to the Independent Appeals Service.

For a ticket from a BPA member, you have 28 days from when your informal appeal was rejected to lodge a formal appeal. For a ticket from an IPC member, you can submit a formal appeal free of charge within 21 days.

After 21 days, you can still appeal within 1 year of your formal appeal being rejected if you pay a £15 fee. Ensure you include any evidence that will support your case.

If your formal appeal is rejected or you can’t appeal.

There are still options available but you’ll risk having to pay more money in the end. You might be better off simply paying your parking ticket.

Alternatively you can let the parking company take you to court. You can choose not to pay your parking ticket and the parking company will decide if it’s worth taking you to court.

If you are taken to court and you lose:

Reporting the parking company

If you believe your ticket was unjust, you can report the parking company to Trading Standards. To lodge a complaint with Trading Standards, get in touch with the Citizens Advice client service.