Getting a parking fine can be confusing in and of itself. You may not even be aware that you did anything wrong when you parked your vehicle! You might be wondering what to do next, and what rights you have when it comes to this parking ticket. You might even be asking yourself how you can check your vehicle fines online.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Did you know that hundreds of thousands of people every day receive a parking ticket? Today, w’re going to cover:
- How to check your vehicle fines online
- The difference between a penalty charge notice and a parking charge notice
- Whether or not you need to pay them
- How to appeal a parking ticket
- Other useful information that could help you navigate what to do next
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What’s the difference between a parking charge notice and a penalty charge notice?
There are two types of parking ticket that you might receive, and it’s important to know the difference between the two, because your next steps might differ, and one of them is legally enforceable.
Parking charge notice
A parking charge notice is a parking ticket that’s issued by a private parking operator. Private parking operators are hired by private landowners to manage their car park on their behalf. They will set out rules and regulations and if you break those while using their car park, they will issue you with a parking ticket. A private parking ticket is not legally enforceable.
This means that if you’ve received a parking charge notice, you might not be liable to pay – yet.
However, just because it’s not currently enforceable, it doesn’t mean it won’t be. If you choose not to pay or appeal your parking charge notice, the private parking operator might pursue you further. And, if they don’t get anywhere with that, they might choose to take you to small claims to get a court order, which then forces you to pay.
If you still don’t pay, they can then ask the court for permission to use further enforcement, and you might end up with bailiffs turning up at your home to recover possessions to pay the fee. Not only will it be the parking ticket you’re paying for, you’ll also be paying for court costs and any fees the bailiffs have added for their services.
So, you’re better off either paying for your parking ticket, or starting an appeals process, which we’ll go through later in detail.
Penalty charge notice
A penalty charge notice is a parking ticket that’s been issued to you from the local council that you parked in. Councils own many car parks in each locality, and they will also set rules and regulations for using the car park. If you break these rules, you’ll receive a penalty charge notice. A penalty charge notice is legally enforceable.
This means that if you’ve received a penalty charge notice, you do have to pay (or appeal). If you don’t pay within the 28 days stated on the PCN, you’ll then receive what’s known as a charge certificate, which extends your deadline by 14 days, but adds 50% on top of your original fine! That means that if your fine was originally £70, you’ve missed the chance to pay half of that, and you now have to pay a whopping £105 within 14 days!
If you still choose not to pay the fine, you’ll be issued a court order that forces you to pay the fine. This is what’s known as an order of recovery, and it gives you a further 21 days to pay the fine or challenge the court order. If you still choose to do nothing, prepare yourself for bailiffs to visit your home to repossess belongings to repay your debt.
As you can see, ignoring a penalty charge notice is never a good idea. Instead, pay up or prepare an appeal if you think it was issued unfairly!
How can I check my vehicle fines online?
Using your PCN number.
Both penalty charge notices and parking charge notices will have a number on the PCN itself. This number is used to identify your particular alleged infringement, and can be used online to check how much you owe in fines.
The PCN itself will also include the information pertaining to where you need to pay your fine. This is the same place you can check how much you owe. This will usually be the issuing authority’s website. Make sure you have these details to hand:
- The PCN number
- The date of the alleged contravention
- Your personal details (name, address)
- Your vehicle registration details
With that information, you can log into the issuing authority’s payment portal and check your vehicle fines (parking ticket). If you’re planning on appealing your ticket, it’s very likely that there will be an option to do that there too.
Do I have to pay my parking ticket legally?
If you’ve been issued a penalty charge notice, then yes.
For parking charge notices, the fine isn’t initially legally enforceable. It’s more of an “invoice” for the alleged parking contravention. However, the private parking operator might choose to pursue you for payment of this invoice, and they can do so by taking you to court to ask a judge for a court order. If this happens, you’re now legally obliged to pay for the parking ticket.
And, private parking operators are known to be ruthless when it comes to chasing payment for a parking charge notice. But, there’sa chance they might also do nothing at all. However, there have been some particularly famous cases that have made the news, so don’t be fooled into thinking they won’t chase you. You’re better off paying or appealing your parking ticket.
Source: Money Saving Expert
As you can see, this motorist was taken to court by a private parking operator and lost their case. Quite often, if proceedings have gone that far and you haven’t tried to appeal, there’s a good chance that the judge will side against you.
How much are parking fines?
It depends on what kind of parking ticket you’ve received.
If you’ve been issued a penalty charge notice, the typical charge is anywhere between £60 and £80, with it being higher if you’re in a congested area, like London. However, you are given 14 days to pay a 50% reduced fine, which could make life a lot easier financially. If you don’t want to appeal or were in the wrong, you’re better off trying to make the payment within 14 days.
If you’ve had a parking charge notice, the amount may vary with different private parking operators. However, the maximum you could be charged is capped at £100. There have been talks to reduce this amount to £50, but as of the date of writing this (2024), this has not come into effect. Much like a penalty charge notice, you’ll be given the chance to pay a reduced rate of 40% of the original ticket if you pay within 14 days.
What will happen if I don’t pay my parking ticket?
This will entirely depend on what kind of ticket you’ve received.
If you’ve been issued with a penalty charge notice and don’t pay your parking ticket, the issuing council could end up taking you to court, where they will ask a judge to give you a court order. This forces you to pay.
However, before this happens, you’ll receive what’s known as an order of recovery. This gives you a further 14 days to pay the full fine, and you’ll no longer have the chance to pay the discounted price. If you continue to ignore this, then they could take you to court.
If you’ve been issued with a parking charge notice, the issuing authority can’t do anything legally, yet. You might find that they continue to chase you for payment, which could result in continuous phone calls and letters, which could be distressing.
They might also choose to pass these details onto a debt collection agency, which means you’ll be hounded by them, too. However in a lot of cases, they will threaten you with legal action. This often scares motorists into paying!
While they might not actually go through with legal proceedings, it’s not unheard of! They can also ask a judge to issue a court order and force you to pay the fine.
With both a penalty charge notice and a parking charge notice, the next steps are pretty similar. If you still don’t pay, the court can grant permission for them to take further actions against you. This will usually result in bailiffs turning up to recover possessions to sell for the cost of the ticket. Not only that, you’ll also have to pay for court fees and the fees bailiffs will add on the top.
The best thing to do when it comes to any kind of parking ticket is take some sort of action. Ignoring it won’t make it go away, so instead, pay the discounted price where possible, or start an appeal.
Can I ignore my parking ticket?
You could, but it’s not advisable.
As mentioned above, with either kind of ticket, you could end up in court or with bailiffs at your door. While a private parking ticket isn’t enforceable to begin with, it can quickly become enforceable. Not to mention the fines you’ll also have to find the money for!
Pay up, or start an appeal. We have a free and easy to use parking ticket appeal letter template that will help you create a solid appeal and give you a good chance of winning! There are so many valid reasons to appeal a ticket!
Can I appeal my parking ticket?
Yes!
The process is slightly different for each kind of ticket though, so we’ll detail each process below.
Appealing a penalty charge notice
If you don’t think your parking ticket has been fairly issued, you have the right to appeal. You’ll need to appeal within 28 days of the PCN being issued, and you’ll need to appeal to the issuing council. This means that if you received your penalty charge notice outside of your locality, say, the next one over, you’ll need to appeal to the council where the alleged incident happened.
There are a few other things to keep in mind too!
If the PCN was left on your car, your first step is to make an informal appeal to the local council. This needs to be done within 14 days of the date the PCN was placed on your vehicle. You can make an informal appeal by writing them a letter or finding their contact details on their website. If your informal appeal isn’t accepted, you still have the right to make a formal appeal.
However, if the PCN came through the post, you won’t have the option to make an informal appeal. Instead, you’ll need to make a formal appeal to the council that issued the PCN. Formal PCN appeals must be completed within 28 days of the date on the PCN.
When making a formal appeal, you’ll need to write a letter explaining why you’re appealing the PCN. Ensure you have a sufficient reason or evidence to support your challenge.
Some people find the idea of appealing against the council daunting, but it’s not as complicated or scary as it might seem. You have 28 days to make a formal appeal after receiving your PCN. You’ll need to write a representation letter detailing why you’re appealing the PCN.
Your representation letter should include all the evidence you’ve collected to support your appeal, such as pictures of misleading signage or unclear road markings. Also, include your address, registration number, and the PCN number.
There are many good reasons to appeal a PCN, so make sure you know your rights before paying any fines!
If you feel confident writing your own appeal letter, great! If not, we’ve created a PCN appeal letter template that’s easy to use and ensures you don’t miss any valuable information.
Regarding PCN appeal response times, you might wait a while for their decision. The council has 56 days to review, consider, and decide on your formal appeal.
However, if the council hasn’t responded to your PCN appeal after 56 days, you’ve won by default and are no longer liable to pay the fine.
Appealing a parking charge notice
If you think your parking charge notice (PCN) was unfairly issued, you can appeal to the private parking company that issued the ticket. If your appeal is successful, the fine will be completely wiped, and you won’t have to worry about further contact from the company. To appeal, you need to open the dispute within 28 days of the ticket being issued.
In extreme circumstances, such as being in the hospital, you may get extra time to make an appeal.
Unlike a penalty charge notice, a parking charge notice has a slightly different appeals process. First, contact the parking operator, which might be the landowner or the parking management company. Give your reasons for appealing the ticket and ask them to withdraw the fine. This is known as an informal appeal.
Ensure you provide the landowner or parking company with as much evidence as possible. This could be a picture of unclear signage or documents proving you sold your vehicle before the date on the ticket.
We have a handy parking ticket appeal template to help you make sure you don’t miss any important information!
Once you’ve submitted your parking charge notice appeal, the private parking company or landowner has 56 days to review, consider, and decide on your case. They will then inform you if they accept or reject your appeal. If successful, your parking charge notice will be canceled, and you don’t need to take any further action.
If they do not respond within 56 days, you automatically win your case! From there, you can either pay the fine or take your appeal further.
Is the registered keeper the one that has to pay parking tickets?
It depends what kind of ticket you’ve received.
If you’ve received a penalty charge notice, the registered keeper is the person that’s expected to pay for the parking ticket. However, you could speak to the person that was driving your vehicle when the contravention happened and ask them to reimburse the funds to you.
If you had a parking charge notice and can prove you weren’t the driver at the time of the incident, they can sometimes redirect the charge to the driver at the time. You will need to supply evidence that you weren’t driving”
Things to remember about private parking fines
Another thing to keep in mind when using private parking is that you shouldn’t use parking companies that aren’t members of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA). Parking companies that aren’t members of an ATA cannot legally request your address from the DVLA, so if you have had a PCN left on your windshield, they cannot contact you at your home address, which means you’ll never hear from them again.
You can easily check if a parking company is a member of an ATA by calling the International Parking Community (IPC) or the British Parking Association (BPA).
Essentially, if the company isn’t a member of an ATA, don’t make contact with them.
