IAS Appeal – Who Are They & How Can They Help?

Got a private parking fine and feeling unsure what to do? This is quite common. Each month, over 130,000 people visit our website seeking advice on fines and parking tickets.

Which? found that unclear rules and various payment methods in private car parks are partly to blame for an increased number of fines.¹  But don’t worry; by reading this guide, you’ll understand the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) and how it can help you with your appeal.

In this article, we’ll help you:

• Learn who the IAS is and what they do.
• Find out if you really have to pay that fine.
• Understand what an IAS appeal is.
• Learn if the IAS is a legit service.
• Know who can make an IAS appeal.

We know how annoying a private parking fine can be. But we’re here to help you make the best choice for your situation.

What is the Independent Appeal Service (IAS)?

The Independent Appeals Service (IAS) is a certified dispute entity that motorists can use to escalate private parking ticket appeals. If you’ve received a private parking ticket, known as a Parking Charge Notice, you might qualify to escalate your appeal to this independent and impartial service for free. 

If the car park operator is a member of the International Parking Community (IPC), there is a good chance that you will be allowed to escalate your PCN appeal to IAS. 

What is an IAS appeal?

An IAS appeal is made by motorists when they contest the appeal decision made by the car park operator. 

The driver lodges the complaint and evidence, and then the car park operator makes a response. The driver and company have the option to make further responses to one another until all evidence has been submitted.

Once all details are presented, the IAS appeal will be handled by a group of adjudicators who make a binding decision. The decision might only be binding for the car park operator. 

Appeal Process Steps

Understanding the appeal process is crucial to tackle any obstacles efficiently. That’s why I’ve put together this table that explains each step you should take.

If you want to learn more about your PCN or the appeal process, be sure to check out our specialized guides.

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.

Who can make an appeal?

You can make an IAS appeal if the car park company subscribes to the IAS Scheme. It’s possible that the operator only allows escalated appeals to a different independent appeals group called the Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) service. If that’s the case you should appeal to POPLA rather than IAS.

Moreover, you must have already appealed directly to the car park operator and used their internal appeal process.

Once your appeal has been rejected, you can use IAS if you escalate to an IAS appeal within one year of getting your appeal rejected by the car park operator.  

A complete flow chart to help you understand if you can make an IAS appeal is available here. 

Standard Vs Non-standard IAS appeals

IAS appeals can be standard or non-standard. A standard appeal can be made for free when you lodge the IAS appeal within 21 days of your appeal to the parking operator being rejected. 

If more than 21 days have passed since your initial formal appeal to the parking company was rejected, you must lodge a non-standard appeal. There are two main differences between standard and non-standard appeals:

1. Non-standard appeals cost £15
2. The result of a non-standard appeal is binding for you and the car park company, whereas a standard appeal decision is only binding for the car park company.

IAS appeal accepted example

IAS appeal can be accepted when you’re not to blame and shouldn’t have received a ticket in the first place. Here is one driver’s experience:

Source: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5052878/ias-appeal-successful 

When an IAS appeal is accepted, the car park company must cancel the parking ticket and you won’t have to pay. You also won’t be asked to pay any other fees or charges that were applied to the parking fine since it was created. 

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Get legal support from JustAnswer

IAS appeal dismissed?

It’s also possible that the adjudication panel at IAS sides with the car parking company. In such an event, they will not ask the car park operator to cancel the ticket. If you made a standard IAS appeal, the decision isn’t binding for you, so you’re not forced to pay, although it can be difficult to get out of paying if the company takes further action. 

However, if you made a non-standard appeal, the decision is also binding for you and you’ll have to accept legal responsibility to pay. 

References

1. Which? – The rise of private parking fines