Legalities

What to do when you receive a parking charge

If you have received a parking charge we would advise you to pay within 14 days, to benefit from the reduced charge.

If you believe the parking charge was issued in error, you can appeal through this website by clicking here. The PCN will remain on hold for the duration of the appeals process from the date of your appeal submission.

Once a final decision has been made you will receive a letter from us notifying you of the decision. If your appeal was unsuccessful, we will give you another 14 days to pay the charge at the lower rate.

Refusal to pay

If we don’t receive payment from you we will pass your details on to a registered debt recovery agency, and you may also become liable for the costs they incur as a result.

If you still refuse to pay we may commence court proceedings against you.

Do we really take people to court and win?

Some online sources often advise people to ignore parking charges, claiming that they’re not enforceable by law.   This is incorrect.

In fact Parking Companies take people to court where required to recover the outstanding balance for Parking Charges. Judges regularly rule in favour of parking operators on the basis that:

• the parking charge was issued correctly
• our signage was clear and properly displayed
• and the charge made was fair.

If court proceedings are taken and a Judge rules in favour of the parking operator, you would be issued with a county court judgement (CCJ) detailing the amount you need to pay. Taking into account the original charge plus interest, legal expenses and costs, this can often result in an amount much greater than the initial, discounted Parking Charge value being due.

A CCJ could have a negative effect on your credit rating. Unless you pay it within one month, or pay an additional fee for the details to be removed from your records, the CCJ will remain on your credit file for six years.

Common defences and why they don't work

The charge is unfair

A defence that is commonly used by motorists in court is that they decided not to pay the parking charge as they felt it was unfair. This does not constitute a legal argument that a Judge will rule on when considering Parking Charges. By parking on a site managed by UKPC motorists indicate that they agree to our terms, including the charges we’re entitled to make if the terms of parking are breached.

In the recent landmark case of Parking Eye Ltd v Barry Beavis [2015] EWCA Civ 402, the Court of Appeal unambiguously and unanimously approved the issuance of private parking charges by private operators. The Court made reference to private parking charges being justified commercially, socially and benefiting the community as a whole. Creating a new judicial test, the Court assessed the validity of the issued charge by deciding whether it was ‘extravagant and unconscionable’, which sets a high bar for parking charges to be deemed unenforceable. In the case, an £85.00 charge issued by a private parking company was considered fully enforceable.

I wasn't driving the car

If a Parking Charge is issued and you were not the driver at the time of the contravention, we would advise that you appeal stating this is the case. Those who appeal a PCN when they were not the driver should provide the vehicle driver’s full name and address within their appeal submission, or they could still find themselves liable, as the registered keeper of the vehicle under PoFA 2012.