Take the following steps to appeal a Parking Charge Notice:
Check if the parking company is a member of an accredited trade association (ATA)
If the parking company put the ticket on your car and it isn’t 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.
Check the British Parking Association (BPA) or International Parking Community (IPC) websites to see if a parking company is a member of an ATA.
You can also call the BPA on 01444 447 300 to check if a company is a member.
Calls usually cost up to 55p a minute from mobiles and up to 13p a minute from landlines. It should be free if you have a contract that includes calls to landlines - check with your supplier if you're not sure.
If you get a ticket in the post from a non-ATA member
If you get a ticket in the post from a non-ATA member, they have got your address and you should reply.
They might have got your details illegally. You can complain to the DVLA about them possibly sharing your data illegally by writing to Data Sharing Strategy and Compliance Team, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1DY. If you’re not happy with their response, you can report the breach to the Information Commissioner.
Write to the parking company
You can find a parking company’s contact details on the BPA or IPC websites or on the Parking Charge Notice. 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 our template letter to write to the parking company.
Include any evidence you have, for example:
a valid pay and display ticket
photos of signs that are hard to see or understand, or where the information is misleading
a letter from someone who was with you saying what happened – write ‘Witness statement’ at the top of this
a repair note, if your car broke down
permission from the landowner
For a hospital parking ticket, you should send evidence to the parking company if your appointment was running late. Ask the hospital receptionist to print a note on headed paper, saying there were delays.
Appeal to an independent appeals service
If the parking company isn’t an ATA member, there’s no formal appeals process but there are other things you can do.
If the parking company is an ATA member, you can appeal to an independent appeals service. It’s free to do, so it’s worth trying if you still think your ticket was unfair. They might see things differently to the parking company and agree that your ticket should be cancelled. They won’t cancel a ticket because of an unexpected event, for example if you were delayed because you were feeling unwell.
The way to appeal will depend on if the parking company that gave you the ticket is a member of the BPA or IPC approved operators scheme. Make a formal appeal to Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) if they’re a BPA parking company. If they’re an IPC member, make 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 make a formal appeal.
For a ticket from an IPC member, you can make a formal appeal for free 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.
Make sure you include any evidence that will support your case.
If your formal appeal is rejected or you can't appeal
There are still things you can do but you’ll risk having to pay more money in the end. You might be better off just paying your parking ticket.
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 the parking company takes you to court and you lose:
you’ll have to pay the fine, which could go up by then
you might have to pay court costs - these could be expensive
If you win:
you won’t have to pay the fine
the parking company might have to pay court costs
Pay and make a small claim to get the money back
If you don’t want the parking company to take you to court, you should pay your parking ticket - this will stop the fine going up.
When you pay, you should say you’re ‘paying under protest’. It’s a good idea to put it in writing so you can keep a copy.
Then you can go to court and make a ‘small claim’ to try to get your money back - find out how to make a small claim.
You’ll have to pay a fee to make a small claim - you can find out how much the fee will be on GOV.UK. You might also have to pay court costs if you lose your case.
If you’re claiming because your parking ticket was unfair, you might have to make 2 separate claims. You’ll also have to pay 2 fees.
The first claim is to agree that your parking ticket is unfair. If the court agrees that it is, the parking company has to cancel the fine.
The second claim is to decide how much the fine should have been if it was fair. The court might decide that you still have to pay a fine, but it should be smaller.
You can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline if you want to report the parking company to Trading Standards because your ticket was unfair.
