A motoring offences legal expert has spoken about a suite of new rights to help drivers challenge unfair parking charges. She said it's important to keep hold of your bank statements as you may be able to get your ticket reduced or even cancelled.
A new Government code of practice has come in the hope of preventing "rip-off parking charges" imposed by private car park operators. Shazia Ali, head of Scarsdale Solicitors, has said the new rules could do a lot of good.
She said: "The code should improve consistency in parking charges, but it is not about abolishing them altogether. The people who will really benefit are motorists making genuine mistakes who then find themselves subjected to unreasonable fines."
Minimum standards
The code sets out that its guidance is the "minimum standards that parking operators and debt recovery agents must follow in order to issue or enforce notices of parking charges and request Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data". The mandatory code sets out several cases where a parking charge that is appealed should be reduced to £20, or other cases where it should be cancelled altogether.
There is also a cap on parking charges of £100, reduced to £60 if you pay up within 14 days. If you get a parking charge in the post and you want to challenge it, Ms Ali explained how to get your paperwork in order.
Keep a record
She said to follow this step-by-step process:
- First, identify the issuer, trade association, alleged breach, location, dates and appeal deadline
- Photograph the entrance, relevant signs, payment machine, vehicle position and any obscured or contradictory wording
- Make sure you keep a record of all correspondence - the notice, envelope, receipts, application records, emails, witness evidence and any evidence of breakdown, disability or delay
- Structure the appeal chronologically: explain what happened, identify the contractual or code ground, attach numbered evidence and state the remedy sought - usually cancellation
Ms Ali further shared some more practical guidance here: "Another thing I would advise is to avoid unnecessary admissions about who was driving. Submit all appeals through the specified portal, and retain screenshots and confirmation. Make sure you meet any deadline, as responding late can void an appeal."
Check your bank statements
If you are looking over your bank statements as you get ready to do battle with the operator, there are several details you should get in order. Ms Ali explained:
- Download your statements directly from your online banking or banking app, or keep the original hard copy if you still get paper statements. Make sure you can provide the page showing the account holder's name, transaction date, merchant or parking-application description, amount and transaction reference
- Highlight the relevant payment and then explain any difference between the transaction date and the parking date - for example, a pending card payment posted later
- Be sure to redact unrelated transactions, balances, full account numbers and other sensitive information, leaving only the final four digits where identification is necessary
- If the merchant description is unclear, also provide the payment-app receipt or ask the bank to confirm the merchant, authorisation time and reference in writing
To provide some leeway for drivers, the new code also grants a minimum five-minute consideration period, so you can drive into a car park and then decide to park elsewhere, without being slapped with a penalty for this. There is also a new 10-minute grace period beyond the time you have arranged for your parking, to allow for if you are late getting back to your car.
When can you get a reduced parking charge on appeal?
The code sets out that a reduced charge of £20 should apply following a first-stage appeal in these situations:
- Where a parking permit has not been displayed but the driver subsequently supplies a copy of the permit they hold that would have been valid at the time identified in the parking charge notice
- Where the driver has paid the tariff but entered the wrong car registration, i.e. the registration of a partner or a previous car registration
- Where the vehicle would have been permitted to park, but the driver failed to enter their registration into a terminal/device before leaving the site
The guidance also mandates that the reduced charge of £20 should apply "where a Blue Badge has not been displayed but the holder supplies a copy of the Blue Badge they hold that would have been valid at the time and in the circumstances identified in the parking charge notice i.e. that the holder was in the vehicle whether or not as the driver".
When can you get a parking charge cancelled altogether?
The code also instructs private parking companies that they should cancel a parking charge on appeal if:
- Where the driver has paid the tariff but made a minor keying error, i.e. 0 instead of o; I instead of L; 1 instead of I, and this has not been picked up by the operator at the time of issuing a parking charge
- A vehicle paused on a private road network because the driver needs to check directions – for example, on an industrial estate where the driver has a legitimate need to access premises within that estate
- A vehicle has been driven onto relevant land due to an instruction to the driver by a member of the emergency services, or an invitation or instruction from the landholder(s) or parking operator
- A vehicle has been driven onto relevant land due to an emergency which could not be avoided due to the exceptional nature of an incident outside of the control of the driver – for example, serious illness
- Where the driver or a passenger in the vehicle suffers the onset of illness
- Where the driver or a passenger is delayed by overrunning medical appointment
- Where the driver suffers delays due to childcare arrangements
- Where the vehicle has broken down
- Where one or more payment machines were out of operation, and no reasonable alternative payment options were available as set out in Clause 6.1 (for example, by phone or a reasonably near and visible payment machine is in working order). It must be clear whether inability to pay means the driver is not permitted to park and is required to leave within the appropriate consideration period
- Where the parking operator has breached an obligation in the code of practice relating to the issuing of a parking charge
- Where the parking operator has breached an obligation in the code of practice resulting in the driver being unable to adhere to the relevant obligations of the car park
You can read through the new rules in the Private Parking Code of Practice on the Government website.
