FAQs

General driver advice on how to avoid being issued with Parking Tickets

Motorists can easily avoid issues often highlighted in the media, by adhering to the following simple tips:

Most car parks now have some form of parking management system in place – look out for, and read the signs which are displayed. Operators have to adhere to strict criteria set out in the Parking Code of Practice and if the signs are misleading or incorrect, you can raise this with the Operator or the relevant Parking Association.
Read the signs carefully. Under the Code of Practice, you are given sufficient time to do so and decide whether you want to park under the terms set out.
Check the payment terms and what you must do – most ANPR camera-monitored sites require you to key in the full, correct vehicle registration when making payment or registering for a permit, and for manual patrol (warden) sites, you will usually have to display your ticket or permit on the windscreen unless the signs say otherwise.
If you are required to pay, whether using a machine or on using a remote/phone app, check the terms. Most car parks offer two methods of payment and if you can’t make payment, you will be expected to leave.
Do not park in private or no parking zones, areas reserved for authorised or permit holder vehicles only, or bays that you are not entitled to park in, such as blue badge holders only, EV charging, or motorbikes only.
Make sure your registered keeper details are kept up to date with the DVLA – not just your driving licence. This is your legal responsibility and if you don’t, a new owner could be incurring parking charges or other fines when the vehicle is still registered in your name, or a PCN may be sent to your old address, which may possibly lead to charges escalating.
If you do receive a PCN and you think it has been issued in error, do not ignore it. The quicker you engage with the operator, the quicker any issues will be resolved. Contact details and how to appeal will be set out clearly on the PCN and any reminder letters.

How long do I have to make a payment for my Parking Charge Notice?

What happens if I do not pay or appeal my Parking Charge Notice?

If a Parking Charge Notice is not paid or appealed within the relevant time period, it may be passed to a debt recovery specialist with additional costs being added. If payment remains outstanding, legal proceedings will likely be issued in the small claims court which may increase your liability for costs and legal fees.

How long do I have to appeal my Parking Charge?

Appeals must be made within 28 days of your Parking Charge Notice being issued. You can make an appeal online at https://appeals.ce-service.co.uk/.

Our appeals team aim to respond to your appeal within 14 days of receiving it. If we are unable to make a decision within the 14-day period, we will acknowledge your appeal and send a full response within 35 days.

What happens if I can’t afford to pay the Parking Charge Notice?

If you are in financial difficulty or need advice about debt, or how you might pay the debt, please contact us to discuss options or you can contact an independent debt advisor. The following organisations offer free, impartial and non-judgemental advice and debt counselling:

How did you obtain my details?

How can I appeal my ticket?

Can I appeal online?

Can I appeal over the phone?

Can I pay and then appeal?

Have you received my appeal?

Why are my details not being recognised on the appeals form?

How quickly are appeals responded to?

Does the amount owed for a Parking Charge Notice increase whilst an appeal is being reviewed?

Who decides the outcome of my appeal?

My appeal was unsuccessful. What are my options?

I’ve had no previous communications from you but now I have a final warning letter, a ‘letter before claim/action’, a county court claim or a CCJ?

We write to the Registered Keeper of the vehicle as at the date of the parking contravention at the address provided to us by the DVLA. Please note that you may have moved house and changed your address on your driving licence but that is connected to you, the person.

Your V5 “logbook” – your registered keeper details – is the document that needs to be separately updated with the DVLA when you move address so that the registered address for the vehicle is correct and up to date. This must be done immediately whenever your keeper details change (e.g. when you move address) and it is actually an offence under Vehicle Licensing regulations to not do this ‘forthwith’ – that is immediately.

We obtain Registered Keeper details from the DVLA and will send correspondence to the Registered Keeper at the address provided by the DVLA. Where that address is the last known address of the Registered Keeper, a claim and CCJ can be issued against the registered keeper or driver using those details.

In circumstances where we have not received any response from you to our PCN or debt recovery correspondence and in line with the latest BPA Code of Practice, we will undertake a soft trace to confirm that you are still at the address provided to us by the DVLA before we issue a county court claim against you. This became a requirement in January 2020 so if your PCN and subsequent claim was issued before then, we would have used your last known address, that is the address provided to us by the DVLA, as the address for service of documents and the formal claim.

How much time do I have to submit my appeal to POPLA?

Will the charge be put on hold while it is with POPLA?

Should you decide to appeal to POPLA, the option to pay a discounted amount will no longer be available and the full amount of the PCN will become due if you are unsuccessful.

The amount will not increase whilst your appeal to POPLA is considered (and debt recovery action will not be commenced or recommenced during the POPLA process).

What happens after POPLA has reached a decision?

If your appeal to POPLA is successful, we will cancel the Parking Charge Notice and send you a written confirmation that the PCN has been cancelled.

If your appeal to POPLA is unsuccessful, the full Parking Charge Notice will apply.

I had a blue disabled badge on display?

Why is the charge so high?

I sold this vehicle; I am no longer the keeper

Why have I received a letter from a debt collector, solicitor, or your legal team?

Why don’t you have to issue the ticket on my windscreen?

Written communication including electronic communication

English is our official business language. Written and oral/telephone communications and correspondence with drivers/registered keepers and/or their agents and representatives, and any other external third parties, will be in English only. This includes PCNs, reminders, other notices, and responses to appeals and complaints, whether in email, SMS, or paper format.

Our normal practice will be to ensure that all our written correspondence is provided in appropriate and easily understandable plain English.