Parking Charge Notice Appeal

How To Appeal A Parking Charge Notice

This article has been written to help UK drivers understand how to challenge a parking charge notice, the PCN appeal process and how to handle the process from start to finish.

There are four simple steps to appeal a parking charge notice, if you use our appeal system, we will guide you from preparing a detailed appeal letter to submitting your appeal to POPLA or The IAS.

Prepare a parking charge appeal letter here
Submit your appeal to the parking company
If appeal is rejected, send it to the Tribunal (IAS | POPLA)
If appeal is rejected at Tribunal, you can pay or challenge in court

Our recommendation: If you prepare a detailed appeal letter with our online form, we will give you instructions on how to submit your appeal correctly to the parking company and tribunal.

Why Appeal A Parking Charge

If you appeal a parking charge, you can get it cancelled and you will not have to pay any money.

While the parking company may be keen to ask you to pay, appealing a parking charge can benefit you in the following ways:

You get the parking charge notice cancelled
The parking charge will be put on hold
If an appeal is rejected, a discount amount may be offered
If the parking company don’t reply, your appeal will be successful at tribunal
Your parking charge may be invalid due to some other legal loopholes

If the parking company lose an appeal, they will likely accept future appeals from you as they will see that you understand the appeal process.

What Happens After Parking Charge Appeal?

After you send an appeal, the parking company will have 35 days to respond to the appeal and they will also freeze the amount of the parking charge until a response to the appeal is provided.

If you appeal within 14 days of receiving the parking charge, the amount will be frozen and the discount will be offered again after the appeal is rejected.

If you appeal after 14 days, the discount amount will expire but may be offered after the appeal is rejected.

So, by making an appeal, you have a chance to get a parking charge cancelled or get the amount frozen or reduced.

Who Should Appeal A Parking Charge?

If you are the registered keeper of the vehicle, you should appeal the parking charge notice.

The reason for this is simple, in private parking appeals, if a parking charge is not issued correctly according to the law, then the keeper can’t be held liable for the parking charge.

However, parking companies will encourage you to be honest and to use your own words so they can easily determine if you were the driver or not.

If you appeal using Parking Mate UK, it will guide you on how to appeal your parking charge and suggest if you should appeal as the keeper or driver.

What Is The Appeal Time Limit?

You usually have to appeal a parking charge notice within 28 days of receiving it.

If you have received a notice to driver, you can appeal the parking charge within 28 days or simply wait for a Notice to Keeper to be issued.

If you have received a Notice to Keeper, the one sent by post, you have to appeal within 28 days.

If you fail to respond within 28 days, the parking company may refuse further appeals and look to use the law to make the keeper liable.

How Long Do Parking Charge Appeals Take?

A parking charge appeal may take up to 8 weeks from start to finish.

In our experience, here is how long the process typically takes.

The parking company according to BPA & IPC Code of Practice has 35 days to respond
They will then give you 28 days to submit your appeal to IAS or POPLA
At the tribunal, appeals can take up to 6 weeks to be decided.

So the process in total can be up to 8 weeks for your appeal to be decided, although if the parking company condede at any time, it can be shorter.

Remember, the parking company will have to do a lot of work to respond to your appeal and register their case on the tribunal.