If you’ve had a parking ticket issued to you recently, then there’s a good chance that you’ve wondered how you might be able to get out of paying for it. It’s not very commonly known, but there are actually a lot of great excuses or reasons that you can use to successfully appeal your parking ticket.
So, if the above applies to you, then you’ve come to the right place! Today we’re going to tell you about some great excuses for parking ticket appeals so that you don’t have to pay! But first, you’ll need to know:
- The kind of fine you’re dealing with
- How to appeal the ticket
- Great excuses for appealing a parking ticket
- What your next steps are if your appeal is rejected
What are the types of parking tickets?
There are two types of parking tickets to look out for, and it’s important to know which kind of parking ticket you’ve been issued, especially if you’re planning to appeal against the ticket.
The two types of parking tickets are called a penalty charge notice (PCN) and a parking charge notice(PCN).
As you can see, both types of parking tickets use the same acronym of ‘PCN’, which can make it confusing to motorists. That’s why we’ve broken down the difference between the two below, including the appeals process for each. They are significantly different, and could be the difference between paying, appealing, or simply ignoring the ticket altogether.
What’s a Penalty Charge Notice?
The first kind of ticket is issued by the council, and is known as a penalty charge notice. These parking tickets are issued when you’ve broken the terms and conditions of the car park or parking space you chose to park in. This might mean that you overstayed after paying for a ticket, or even exceeded the length of time allowed to stay in a particular parking spot.
A penalty charge notice is legally enforceable, but if you don’t think you broke any rules, you have the right to appeal. However, if the PCN has been rightfully issued to you, you will be required to pay the fine. You’ll be given 28 days to make the payment, and if you pay the fine within 14 days of the date the PCN was issued, you’ll receive a 40% discount.
Note: the discount may be different in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
If you choose not to pay or appeal your PCN, you might end up having to pay the full amount plus 50% of the fine on top of that too! You’re better off paying as soon as possible or starting the appeals process to not pay at all.
Can you appeal a Penalty Charge Notice?
Yes!
If you believe your penalty charge notice has been wrongly issued, then you have the right to appeal. If you’re successful, your fine will be completely removed, but you do need to make your appeal within 28 days of the date on the PCN.
There are a few other things to keep in mind too!
If the PCN was left on your car, your first step will be to make an informal appeal to the local council. This will need to be done within 14 days of the date that the PCN was placed on your vehicle. You can make an informal appeal by writing them a letter or finding out other 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 don’t have the option to make an informal appeal. From here, 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.
We have a full guide on how to appeal your penalty charge notice, and we’ve even written a downloadable parking ticket appeal letter template for you to use to help you with your case!
What’s a Parking Charge Notice?
A parking charge notice (PCN) is a fine issued to motorists that have parked and broken the terms and conditions of a privately owned car park. Quite often, landowners will employ parking management companies to manage their space and issue tickets to those that break any of the rules.
However, a parking charge notice isn’t legally enforceable at this stage. The “ticket” that you’ve received, whether handed to you, left on your vehicle or received through the post, is essentially an invoice from the private parking management company. Because a parking charge notice isn’t a criminal matter, it’s essentially a notice to you that the owner or private parking management company are invoicing you for breaching those rules.
You have 28 days to pay your parking charge notice and if you pay within 14 days, you’ll receive a discount on the price of your ticket. The price of a parking charge notice may vary depending on where you parked, but it’s currently capped at £100.
We have written a full guide with everything you need to know about private parking fines and what comes with them, so make sure you’re clued up before making any decisions or taking any action.
Can you appeal a Parking Charge Notice?
Yes!
You have the right to appeal your parking charge notice if you believe that it’s been unfairly issued.
Appealing a parking charge notice is a different process. To begin with, you should contact the private parking management company or landowner and ask them to withdraw the fine. You’ll still need to give a valid reason and provide evidence, but sometimes this is enough to have the fine taken away. This is known as an informal appeal.
They will then have 56 days to take your appeal into consideration and give you a decision. Again, if they don’t respond after 56 days, you’ll have automatically won your case.
However, if they reject your appeal, the process is a little bit different from there on out, as private parking operators don’t accept formal appeals. Read on to find out more!
How can you write a letter to challenge a parking ticket?
When it comes to writing a letter to challenge a parking ticket, you don’t have to do anything too technical or fancy. In fact, all you need to do is make sure that you give a clear explanation for appealing your parking ticket, and make sure that you have a valid reason for appealing. You should also include any evidence you may have collected, such as photos of unclear signage or a note from your mechanic stating why you couldn’t move your vehicle at that time.
You should also remember not to let your emotions take over when you’re writing your appeal. It’s totally understandable that you might be feeling angry or upset about your fine, but it won’t help you win your appeal. Stick to stating the facts; that’s what’s going to help you win your appeal.
In any case, we’ve written a free and downloadable parking ticket appeal letter template. It’s easy to use, and might be what helps you win that parking ticket appeal.
What happens if my parking ticket appeal (PCN appeal) is rejected?
If your parking ticket appeal is rejected, it’s not necessarily the end of the journey for you. However, the type of ticket you’ve received will dictate your next steps!
Can you challenge a parking charge notice appeal rejection?
Yes!
If your formal appeal is rejected by the issuing authority, you can take it further. You’ll receive what’s known as a rejection letter, which will include the details of why your appeal was rejected as well as information on how to take your appeal further.
If you do decide to take your appeal further, you’ll need to appeal to the General Regulatory Chamber.
Can you formally challenge private parking tickets if your appeal is rejected?
Yes! However, the process for private parking tickets is different to council issued parking tickets. If your appeal is rejected, don’t worry! If you want to appeal your case further, this is where a formal appeal comes into play. You’ll need to ask an independent tribunal to look at your case. There are two independent groups you can use:
- Independent Appeals Service (IAS)
- Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA)
The independent group you end up using will depend which ATA the private parking company is a member of:
- You’ll use the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) if the company is a member of the International Parking Community.
- You’ll use Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) if the company is a member of the British Parking Association.
What are some great excuses for parking ticket appeals?
There are lots of great excuses you can use when it comes to avoiding paying for a parking ticket. We’ve written an in-depth guide on the best loopholes out there, but here are some of the best reasons for parking ticket appeals:
- You’re a blue badge holder.
- You weren’t given a grace period.
- Whether the ticket was issued to you within 28 days of the alleged contravention.
- No keeper liability.
- You parked correctly.
- You paid for the parking.
- There was unclear signage.
- You’re a loyal customer.
- Unclear or non visible road markings.
- Parking machine was out of order.
- Other extreme circumstances
Of course, there are caveats with some of these excuses, so we recommend reading our in-depth guide to find these out.
Can I appeal if my vehicle had broken down?
Yes, you can appeal your parking ticket if your vehicle had broken down. However, you will need to get a valid note from your mechanic or even the towing company that removed your vehicle from the parking space. If your vehicle had genuinely broken down, this shouldn’t be an issue to obtain.
What happens if I don’t have any evidence for my appeal?
Having evidence to support your appeal is always a good idea, but if you don’t have any, it doesn’t mean you can’t still appeal and win your case. For example, if you claimed that the parking ticket machine was broken, the council or private parking management company may have means of checking whether it was broken or not. However, that doesn’t mean they might not still be sneaky about it!
Essentially, any evidence you can gather will help your appeal. So, if there is a broken ticket machine, take a photo and make sure you’re able to time and date stamp it. Or if there’s unclear signage and you’re worried about being issued a ticket, take a photo of the signage to prove that it was hard to understand or misleading.
Can I lie on my parking ticket appeal?
It’s not a good idea to lie on your parking ticket appeal. The reason that providing evidence is helpful is to show that you were telling the truth. If you do decide to lie, you might not get away with it and end up having to pay the full amount.
You might be better off paying for the ticket within the first 14 days of receiving it so that you can take advantage of getting 50% off your fine.
How long can I be chased for a parking ticket?
Six years.
It sounds like a long time, but you can be chased for your parking ticket for up to six years before it can’t be legally enforced. This is because after six years the statute of limitations will have expired, which then means that it’s no longer legally enforceable.
