Appealing a parking ticket - Citizens Advice

Appealing a parking ticket · a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) or an Excess Charge Notice (ECN) – usually issued by the council on public land, such as a high street ... Skiptonavigation Skiptocontent Skiptofooter Weusecookiestoimproveyourexperienceofourwebsite. Youcanfindoutmoreoropt-outfromsomecookies. 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Morefromus LearnmoreaboutCitizensAdvice Aboutus Ourwork Workwithus Supportus Contactus Adviserresources Toplinks FindyourlocalCitizensAdvice Volunteerwithus Jobsinournetwork Pressreleases Ourblogs Readwhatwe'resayingaboutarangeofissues More England ThisadviceappliestoEngland: Englandhome Advicecanvarydependingonwhereyoulive. AdviceforotherpartsoftheUK: NorthernIrelandhome Scotlandhome Waleshome Lawandcourts Parkingtickets Appealingaparkingticket Appealingaparkingticket Thisadviceappliesto England Print Howtoappealdependsonthetypeofparkingticketyouhave-checkwhattheticketsaysbeforeyoustart.Mostparkingticketswillbeoneof: aPenaltyChargeNotice(PCN)oranExcessChargeNotice(ECN) –usuallyissuedbythecouncilonpublicland,suchasahighstreetorcouncilcarpark aParkingChargeNotice –issuedby alandownerorparkingcompanyonprivateland,suchasasupermarketcarpark aFixedPenaltyNotice– issuedbythepoliceonredroutes,whitezigzagsorwherethepolicemanageparking Don’tpayaparkingticketthatyou’reappealing.Usually,payingisseenasadmittingtheticketwasright–soyouwon’tbeabletoappealitonceyou'vepaid.  Ifyou'reworriedaboutnotpaying,callwhoevergaveyoutheticketandaskthemtoconfirmthatyoushouldn'tpayifyou'reappealing.  AppealingaPenaltyChargeNotice(PCN) YouneedtotakethefollowingstepstoappealaPCN. Writetothecouncil Writetothecouncilclearlyexplainingwhyyouobject–thisiscalledmakinganinformalappeal.You’llhave14daystomakeaninformalappealfromwhenyouweregiventhenotice,or21daysifitwassenttoyoubypost. Includeanyevidenceyouhave,becausethiswillgiveyouagreaterchanceofsuccess.Thiscouldbe: avalidpayanddisplayticket photostoshowtherewerenoroadmarkingstorestrictparking photosofsignsthatarehardtoseeorunderstand aletterfromsomeonewhowaswithyousayingwhathappened–write‘Witnessstatement’atthetopofthis arepairnote,ifyourcarbrokedown Makesureyouinclude: thedatetheticketwasissued youraddress yourvehicleregistrationnumber thepenaltynoticenumber It’sbesttosendcopiesratherthanoriginalsincasethey’relostinthepost.Sendthedocumentsbyrecordeddelivery,soyou’llbeabletoprovetheyarrived. Ifyourappealissuccessful,yourPCNorECNwillbecancelledandyouwon’thavetopay. Makeaformalappeal You’llbesentaletterandaformcalleda‘noticetoowner’.Don'tbeputoffifthelettersoundsfinal–youstillhave28daystomakeaformalappeal,called‘makingformalrepresentations’.It’sfreetoappealandthenoticetoownerwilltellyouhow. Youcanusuallygeta50%discountifyoupaysoonafteryourinformalappealisrejected.It'sagoodideatopayatthispointifthecouncilhaveastrongreasonforobjectingyourappeal.Ifyoudon’tappealanddon’tpaywithin28days,thepenaltywillgoupbyanother50%. Appealtoatribunal Ifyourformalappeal'srejected,you’llbesentalettercalleda‘noticeofrejection’.Youcanchallengethecouncil’sdecisionatanindependenttribunal.It’sfreetodoandyoudon’thavetogotothetribunal–youcansubmityourreasonsandevidenceinwriting. AppealonlineonthewebsiteoftheTrafficPenaltyTribunal(outsideLondon)orLondonTribunals(inLondon). YoushouldpayyourPCNiftheindependenttribunaldisagreeswithyourappeal.Ifyou don’tpaywithin28days,thepenaltywillgoupbyanother50%.Thecouncilcanthentakeyoutocourt–yourcreditratingmightbeaffectedandyoumightalsohavetopaycourtcosts. ContactyournearestCitizensAdviceforhelpifyoucan'taffordtopayyourPCN.  AppealinganExcessChargeNotice(ECN) YouneedtotakethefollowingstepstoappealanECN. Makeanappeal Youhaveatleast7daystomakeanappeal.It’sfreetoappealandtheECNwilltellyouhow. Youcanusuallygeta50%discountifyoupaysoonafteryourinformalappealisrejected.It'sagoodideatopayatthispointifthecouncilhaveastrongreasonforobjectingyourappeal. Ifyourappeal’srejected Ifyourappeal’srejectedandyoudon’tpay,thecouncilcantakeyoutotheMagistrates’Court.Youcantellthecourtwhyyoudon’tthinkyouhavetopay. Ifthecourtdecidesagainstyou,yourcreditratingmightbeaffectedandyoumightalsohavetopaycourtcosts. ContactyournearestCitizensAdviceforhelpifyoucan'taffordtopayyourECN. AppealingaParkingChargeNotice TakethefollowingstepstoappealaParkingChargeNotice: Checkiftheparkingcompanyisamemberofanaccreditedtradeassociation(ATA) Iftheparkingcompanyputtheticketonyourcaranditisn’tanATAmember,don’tcontactthemunlesstheywritetoyoufirst.Theyprobablywon’tbeabletofindyourdetails-onlyATAmemberscangetyournameandaddressfromtheDVLA. ChecktheBritishParkingAssociation(BPA)orInternationalParkingCommunity(IPC)websitestoseeifaparkingcompanyisamemberofanATA. YoucanalsocalltheBPAon01444447300tocheckifacompanyisamember. Callsusuallycostupto55paminutefrommobilesandupto13paminutefromlandlines.Itshouldbefreeifyouhaveacontractthatincludescallstolandlines-checkwithyoursupplierifyou'renotsure. Ifyougetaticketinthepostfromanon-ATAmember Ifyougetaticketinthepostfromanon-ATAmember,theyhavegotyouraddressandyoushouldreply. Theymighthavegotyourdetailsillegally.YoucancomplaintotheDVLAaboutthempossiblysharingyourdataillegallybywritingtoDataSharingStrategyandComplianceTeam,DVLA,Swansea,SA991DY.Ifyou’renothappywiththeirresponse,youcanreportthebreachtotheInformationCommissioner. Writetotheparkingcompany Youcanfindaparkingcompany’scontactdetailsontheBPAorIPCwebsitesorontheParkingChargeNotice.Checkonthenoticeifyoumustusetheparkingcompany’swebsiteorifyoucanwritetothemwithyourreasonsforobjecting.Youmustwritetothembeforeyoumakeaformalappealtoanindependentappealsservice. Youcanuseourtemplatelettertowritetotheparkingcompany. Includeanyevidenceyouhave,forexample: avalidpayanddisplayticket photosofsignsthatarehardtoseeorunderstand,orwheretheinformationismisleading aletterfromsomeonewhowaswithyousayingwhathappened–write‘Witnessstatement’atthetopofthis arepairnote,ifyourcarbrokedown permissionfromthelandowner Forahospitalparkingticket,youshouldsendevidencetotheparkingcompanyifyourappointmentwasrunninglate.Askthehospitalreceptionisttoprintanoteonheadedpaper,sayingthereweredelays. Appealtoanindependentappealsservice Iftheparkingcompanyisn’tanATAmember,there’snoformalappealsprocessbutthereareotherthingsyoucando. IftheparkingcompanyisanATAmember,youcanappealtoanindependentappealsservice.It’sfreetodo,soit’sworthtryingifyoustillthinkyourticketwasunfair.Theymightseethingsdifferentlytotheparkingcompanyandagreethatyourticketshouldbecancelled.Theywon’tcancelaticketbecauseofanunexpectedevent,forexampleifyouweredelayedbecauseyouwerefeelingunwell. ThewaytoappealwilldependoniftheparkingcompanythatgaveyoutheticketisamemberoftheBPAorIPCapprovedoperatorsscheme.MakeaformalappealtoParkingonPrivateLandAppeals(POPLA)ifthey’reaBPAparkingcompany.Ifthey’reanIPCmember,makeaformalappealtotheIndependentAppealsService. ForaticketfromaBPAmember,youhave28daysfromwhenyourinformalappealwasrejectedtomakeaformalappeal. ForaticketfromanIPCmember,youcanmakeaformalappealforfreewithin21days. After21days,youcanstillappealwithin1yearofyourformalappealbeingrejectedifyoupaya£15fee. Makesureyouincludeanyevidencethatwillsupportyourcase. Ifyourformalappealisrejectedoryoucan'tappeal Therearestillthingsyoucandobutyou’llriskhavingtopaymoremoneyintheend.Youmightbebetteroffjustpayingyourparkingticket. Lettheparkingcompanytakeyoutocourt Youcanchoosenottopayyourparkingticketandtheparkingcompanywilldecideifit’sworthtakingyoutocourt. Iftheparkingcompanytakesyoutocourtandyoulose: you’llhavetopaythefine,whichcouldgoupbythen youmighthavetopaycourtcosts-thesecouldbeexpensive Ifyouwin: youwon’thavetopaythefine theparkingcompanymighthavetopaycourtcosts Payandmakeasmallclaimtogetthemoneyback Ifyoudon’twanttheparkingcompanytotakeyoutocourt,youshouldpayyourparkingticket-thiswillstopthefinegoingup. Whenyoupay,youshouldsayyou’re‘payingunderprotest’.It’sagoodideatoputitinwritingsoyoucankeepacopy. Thenyoucangotocourtandmakea‘smallclaim’totrytogetyourmoneyback-findouthowtomakeasmallclaim. You’llhavetopayafeetomakeasmallclaim-youcanfindouthowmuchthefeewillbeonGOV.UK.Youmightalsohavetopaycourtcostsifyouloseyourcase. Ifyou’reclaimingbecauseyourparkingticketwasunfair,youmighthavetomake2separateclaims.You’llalsohavetopay2fees. Thefirstclaimistoagreethatyourparkingticketisunfair.Ifthecourtagreesthatitis,theparkingcompanyhastocancelthefine. Thesecondclaimistodecidehowmuchthefineshouldhavebeenifitwasfair.Thecourtmightdecidethatyoustillhavetopayafine,butitshouldbesmaller. YoucancontacttheCitizensAdviceconsumerhelplineif youwanttoreporttheparkingcompanytoTradingStandardsbecauseyourticketwasunfair. AppealingaFixedPenaltyNotice ChecktheFixedPenaltyNoticetoseeifitwasissuedbythecouncilorthepolice.Writetothem,clearlyexplainingwhyyouobject–thisiscalledmakinganinformalappeal. Includeanyevidenceyouhave,becausethiswillgiveyouagreaterchanceofsuccess.Thiscouldbe: aphototoshowroadmarkingsorsignswereconfusing aletterfromsomeonewhowaswithyousayingwhathappened–write‘Witnessstatement’atthetopofthis arepairnote,ifyourcarbrokedown Makesureyouinclude: thedatetheticketwasissued youraddress yourvehicleregistrationnumber thepenaltynoticenumber Towritetothepolice,sendyourlettertotheCentralTicketOfficeclosesttowherethenoticewasissued.Notallareasallowyoutoraiseinformalappeals.Calltheissuingpoliceforce–oranynumberlistedonthenotice–tocheck. Towritetothecouncil,usetheaddressonthenoticeorletter. Ifyourinformalappealisrejected You’llbesentalettersayingyournoticewon'tbecancelled. It’sagoodideatopaytheFixedPenaltyNoticeifyourinformalappealisrejected.Theonlyotheroptionistoaskforahearinginamagistrates’court. Thiscanbeexpensiveasyourfinewillincreaseby50%ifyoulose,andyou’llhavetopaycourtcosts.Itcanalsobequitestressful–you’llneedtogotothehearingtopleadnotguilty. You'llreceivearefundfortheFixedPenaltyNoticeifyourappealissuccessful. Youshouldgetlegaladviceifyoudecidetoappealthroughamagistrates’court.Alegaladvisercanhelpyouprepareforcourtandmaybeabletogotothehearingwithyou. ContactyournearestCitizensAdvice togethelphiringalegaladviser. Ifyou’vebeenclampedonprivateland Checkthenoticeleftwiththeclamptoseeifit’sfromthepolice,thecouncil,theDVLA,oraprivatecompanyactingontheirbehalf.They’retheonlyonesallowedtoclampyourcaronprivateland. Youshouldcallthepoliceon101ifyou’vebeenclampedbyaprivatelandownerorcompanyworkingforthem.Thepolicewillremovetheclamp.Don’tremovethewheelclampyourself–youcouldbetakentocourtforcriminaldamage.Youcouldalsobetakentocourtfortheftifyoukeeptheclamp. Didthisadvicehelp? Yes No Whywasn'tthisadvicehelpful? Itisn'trelevanttomysituation Itdoesn'thaveenoughdetail Ican'tworkoutwhatIshoulddonext Idon'tunderstand Pleasetellusmoreaboutwhyouradvicedidn'thelp. Wecan'treply,soifyouneedhelpwithaproblemfindouthowyoucangetadvicefromus. You'vereachedthe3000characterlimit. Submit Didthisadvicehelp? Thankyou,yourfeedbackhasbeensubmitted. Inthissection Appealingparkingtickets Appealingagainstaparkingticketwhensomeoneelsewasdriving AppealingaparkingticketifyouhaveaBlueBadge Whentoappealaparkingticket Appealingaparkingticket Stopbeingchasedforaparkingticket ShareonTwitter ShareonFacebook Printthispage Close Feedback Isthereanythingwrongwiththispage? Letusknow