Deal With A Parking Charge Notice (PCN)

What a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) is

A parking charge notice is an invoice for breach of contract because the parking company believes the driver did not park correctly according to the terms of parking in a car park on private land.

By effectively challenging the notice and pointing out any errors made by the company, you can easily have it cancelled.

That is why we recommend that you challenge it correctly, identify any mistakes made by the parking company rather than focusing on explaining the situation

If a Parking charge notice (PCN) is not issued according to the law, it is not valid and must be cancelled. By challenging a parking charge correctly, you can save yourself time, stress, and up to £100.

How To Respond To A Parking Charge

You can either pay or appeal a parking charge notice that has just been issued.

If your parking charge was issued within 28 days, you can appeal your parking charge and try to get it cancelled. If the appeal is not successful, you can then pay the outstanding parking charge.

Our online appeal system will help you check your parking charge for common loopholes and prepare an appeal letter you can send to the parking company.

Alternatively, you can also simply just pay the parking charge notice and the matter will be closed.

Please note that you cannot pay and appeal a parking charge notice.

Why A Parking Charge Notice is Issued

A parking charge notice is typically issued if:

The driver did not pay for parking in a private car park

The driver overstayed a free stay car park
The vehicle was parked where parking was not allowed
The vehicle was parked in breach of some other condition

There are many ways to get out of a parking charge notice, so focus on checking if the parking company issued it correctly rather than focusing on your mistake. If the parking company doesn’t follow the strict process of issuing your parking charge, it will have to be cancelled.

Our appeal system makes it easy to get your PCN cancelled and will guide you through the appeal process from start to finish.

Are Parking Charge Notices Enforceable?

Parking charge notices are issued due to breaches of contract, and therefore, they are considered civil debts which can be pursued through the county court. It is no longer possible to ignore a parking charge because the registered keeper can be made liable for a parking charge notice.

If a parking charge notice is not paid or cancelled, the parking company can keep pursuing the registered keeper and take the case to court.

However, you can contest a parking charge at the appeal stage or in court, which means that you have just as good a chance to get it cancelled.

Who Issued The Parking Charge Notice

Private parking companies have to be members of the BPA and IPC before they can start operating on private land, if a company is not a member, then these companies often have agreements with landowners, such as supermarkets, hospitals or shopping centres, to manage their car parks.

With the increase in private parking companies and limited parking spaces, the chances of receiving a PCN have also increased. In this article, we will discuss what a PCN is, how to determine if it was issued correctly, and the steps you can take to appeal a PCN.

Parking Mate UK will guide you in the appeal process including advising you not to provide the driver information to the parking company.