Parking Debt Recovery
We provide advice on how to respond to threatening debt recovery letters from debt recovery companies for an unpaid parking charge notice. Please read our guide to know exactly how to respond to your letter.
Table of Contents
The Debt Recovery Process
Receiving a letter from the debt recovery company can be very stressful. Most letters demand increased payments of up to £170 for the parking charge notice and threaten to take legal action. However, we will show you how to complain and set things right if you have not been treated fairly.
- Parking companies must send you a parking ticket
- Parking companies have to respond to your appeals
- The amount should not increase while you complain or appeal
- You should complain if you believe you have not been treated fairly
Option 1 – How To Complain to the BPA & IPC
If you have not been treated fairly, the first step is to complain to the BPA or IPC. The BPA and IPC set the rules on how private parking companies should operate. If you have evidence that you have not been treated fairly, you should open a case to log your complaint. The instructions on how to log a complaint are provided below.
British Parking Association
The British Parking Association manage and set the rules for their members. If a BPA member has not treated you fairly, you can submit a complaint to the BPA.
- Click here to Log a BPA Complaint
- Complete the form with details of your complaint
- Attach any supporting evidence you have about your case
- Submit your complaint and you will receive updates by email
International Parking Community (IPC)
The IPC manage private parking operators and set the rules for them. If an IPC member has not treated you fairly, here is how you can submit a complint to the IPC.
- Click here to Log an IPC Complaint
- Register for an account using your email
- Attach any supporting evidence you have about your case
- Submit your complaint and you will receive updates by email
Option 2 – Complain to the store/landowner
Depending on where the parking ticket was issued, you may be able to complain to the landowner and get your parking ticket cancelled.
Remember that landowners have the power to cancel any parking ticket issued to their employees or customers. This is the easiest way to get a parking ticket cancelled.
- Phone
- Website
How to get a parking ticket cancelled as a customer
If you were a customer at your favourite restaurant, hotel, or supermarket, you should contact them and ask if they will cancel the parking ticket. As the landowner, they have the power to cancel any parking ticket.
You can contact the landowner via Twitter, Facebook, their website or leave a review on Trustpilot.
Make sure you provide them with all the proof and evidence that you were a customer and a copy of the parking ticket.
Please note that some retailers will refuse to cancel parking tickets even if you were a customer. In this case, we strongly recommend that you file a complaint with the relevant association in option 1.
Option 3 – Ignore and wait for a court claim
You should only consider this option if you are certain that you will win a court case or if the parking company have not treated you fairly. If you have never been to court, we strongly recommend getting legal advice at this stage.
If you wait for a court claim, you must make sure to do the following:
- Keep the parking company updated when you move address
- Check your credit report often to make sure there are no sudden CCJ’s
- Be prepared to file a defence, witness statement and to attend court