How long can you be chased for a parking ticket? 

Are you puzzled about a parking ticket you’ve received? Are you asking, ‘How long can I be chased for this ticket?’ Well, you’ve come to the right place. Each month, over 130,000 people visit our website seeking advice on fines and parking tickets.

In this article, we will share easy-to-understand information on:

•  If you must pay a parking ticket.
•  The time limit to receive a parking ticket.
•  The difference between a parking charge notice and a penalty charge notice.
•  How to challenge a parking ticket.
•  Upcoming changes in parking ticket laws.

The DVLA report that over 11 million parking tickets were issued last year, which is up by 29% year on year!¹ We know that getting a parking fine can be very frustrating. But don’t worry! We are here to help you find the answers you need.

Is there a time limit to receive a parking ticket?

A private parking ticket must be served within six months of being issued, while a ticket issued by a local authority is usually served within 28 days of when the violation was seen. That said, you could receive the parking fine on the spot. A follow-up notice is issued 28 days later. Private parking operators can issue private parking fines by post within 14 days without giving you an on-the-spot penalty!

When you get a parking ticket through the post, please don’t ignore it. Even when you think it may be from a private company. In my experience, it is worth finding out if the ticket is yours and whether you should challenge it!

What is the difference between a parking charge notice and a penalty charge notice?

Private companies issue parking charge notices (PCNs). When you park on private land, say a supermarket car park, you effectively enter into a contract with the owner, and so there should be signs clearly stating the ‘rules‘ and that the land is private.

Private parking operators typically hand out PCNs on behalf of landowners. Guidelines provided to accredited parking operators allow for a 10-minute grace period. If you are not given this ‘grace period’ and receive a parking charge notice, I suggest you challenge it.

Parking on private land and receiving a parking charge notice is not a criminal offence!

A penalty charge notice is given to motorists who have committed a traffic violation or a car park violation, and it is issued by local authorities. Most councils enforce PCNs under the Traffic Management Act 2004. Civil enforcement officers (traffic wardens) give PCNs to people who commit parking offences according to UK parking legislation.

Receiving a PCN, however, is not considered a criminal offence. You cannot go to prison for obtaining one.

Is a parking fine a fixed penalty notice?

A fixed penalty notice (FPN) can be issued by the police, a local council, or the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). The major difference between the A PCN and an FPN is that a PCN is issued for civil offences while an FPN covers criminal offences. FPNs are missed as an alternative to prosecution in court.

FPNs can be issued on-the-spot or through the post. If you get an FPN, don’t ignore it!

How can a parking charge notice be enforced?

Parking charge notices are not necessarily enforceable. An example is you can appeal if you were not the vehicle owner at the time the PCN was issued.

Depending on the circumstances, you must decide whether you want to go through the appeal process or pay the PCN. If you choose to appeal, you must have solid grounds for doing so.

When you don’t pay in full and you don’t appeal against the notice, an operator could:

• Chase you for the payment
• Send your details to a debt collection agency
• Add costs for recovering the debt (must be reasonable)
• Take you to County Court (civil action) where you could receive a County Court Judgement (CCJ)

You only have a limited time to respond when you receive a claims form. Therefore, I suggest you seek advice as soon as possible if things have gone this far.

You must either appeal or pay the amount because a Warrant of Execution could be issued when the case goes to court.

I recommend you do one of the following:

• Agree you owe the money and make a monthly repayment offer using the court forms
• Disagree and use the court forms to put in your defence. However, if you lose, be prepared to have extra costs added to the amount you owe!

If you lose your case, the CCJ is recorded on your credit file and stays there for six years! Also, your assets and income could be at risk.

Can bailiffs contact me for an unpaid parking ticket?

Before a bailiff can contact you over a parking debt, the court must send you the ‘order of recovery‘, and the 21-day time limit must have run out.

Plus, bailiffs are obliged to give you seven clear days’ notice before they visit you, called an ‘enforcement notice’. Even at this stage, you can appeal. In addition, you can file a ‘late witness statement’.

This suspends the enforcement action while the authority deals with your application.

You could also ask for ‘breathing space’ to seek debt solution advice and decide if you should pay the parking charge notice. It could also prevent further interest and other charges for 60 days!

Can you challenge a court order?

You can’t challenge a court order because you think it is ‘wrong’. You must have legal grounds for appeal to do so.

That said, if you can show any of the following, you may be able to have a court order cancelled or changed:

• You never received the PCN or the “notice to owner” because it went to the wrong address
• You lodged your appeal in time but never received a ‘notice of rejection’
• You filed an appeal but never got an answer
• You already paid the ticket

You need to fill out a form TE9 when you want to have a court order cancelled. Remember to keep a copy for your records so the information is on file! As I see it, you should challenge a ticket if you think it is wrong or unfair, but never ignore it!

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How to challenge a parking fine

If you think you have grounds to challenge a parking ticket, you can make an appeal so long as you do so before the appeal deadline. Remember, you can only make an appeal against unpaid parking tickets.

How to appeal a Penalty Charge Notice

You can make an informal PCN appeal within the first 14 days after receiving the ticket. Formal appeals, also called representations, can be made between 29 and 56 days after you are issued the PCN. A representation can only be made after the registered keeper of the vehicle receives a ‘Notice to Owner’ letter.

When making an appeal, you need to give the reason why you think the ticket was wrongfully issued, and strong evidence to back your parking ticket appeal.

You should get a response within 56 days. If the council doesn’t respond in time, you will automatically win the case and you won’t have to pay! So, make sure you have evidence of sending the appeal. Most local authorities permit the registered keeper to make their case using an online portal or in writing. Here’s a free PCN appeal letter template I’ve written to help you make your case.

How to appeal a privately-issued ticket

The process for appealing private parking fines differ depending on the issuer. In general, you will need to write a letter stating the reason why you think the Parking Charge Notice should be cancelled, and you should have supporting evidence. The letter and your evidence for appeal should be submitted via post or uploaded to the online portal on the issuer’s website.

You usually have 28 days within receiving the ticket to make an appeal. To understand the appeal process better, please take a look at the following table.

Process:	Steps you should take:
When you receive the ticket…	You should gather as much evidence as you can to support your appeal claim and prove that the ticket was unfairly issued.
If you were given the ticket in person/attached to your car…	You must make an informal appeal (sent to the local authority/council that issued the PCN) within 14 days. This should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given.
If it was posted to you…	You will be given 21 days to submit an informal appeal (from the day you received the letter). Your informal appeal should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given.
If the informal appeal is rejected…	You will receive a Notice to Owner and will have 28 days to respond to this with a formal appeal. You can conduct the formal appeal online or via paper form. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal can send you one of these forms.
If the formal appeal is rejected…	You will receive a Notice of Rejection. From here, you are free to challenge the council’s verdict at an independent tribunal.
If the independent tribunal disagrees with your appeal…	You should pay the ticket within 28 days of the tribunal rejecting your appeal. If you don’t, the fine will be increased by 50%. If you don’t have the money to pay the fine, you should contact Citizens Advice or another debt charity.

If your appeal is rejected, you should either pay the fine or you can then escalate the matter to an independent group. As you can see, this MoneySavingExpert forum user escalated their appeal to the IAS (Independent Appeals Service) and got their ticket dropped.

Upcoming Legislative Changes

At the moment, privately-issued PCNs can be £100 or over. Under new government parking rules, private car park companies will only be able to issue parking tickets that are £50 or less. Although the move is not yet in place, the PCN price limit will basically cut the price of PCNs in half in the future.

References

1. RAC Foundation – Parking Tickets Statistics