Total Parking Solutions – Should I Pay or Appeal?

Have you received a private parking fine from Total Parking Solutions and are not sure if you should pay or appeal?

You’re in the right place. Every month, more than 130,000 people visit our website for advice on fines and parking tickets.

In this article, you’ll find simple and clear information on:

•  If and when you should pay Total Parking Solutions fines.
•  The process of appealing a Total Parking Solutions fine.
•  Useful tips on dealing with a parking fine.

We understand how frustrating a private parking fine can be. But you’re not alone. In fact, over 19,000 parking fines are issued each day in the UK¹.

Don’t worry; we’re here to help you figure out your next steps.

Do you have to pay a Parking Charge Notice from Total Parking Solutions?

You might end up having to pay a PCN from Total Parking Solutions, but the money only has to be paid when a court order has been issued.

It’s completely legal for Total Parking Solutions to send people a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) for a parking contravention.

But it’s just as important to know what a PCN really is.

They’re more like invoices than fines. The invoice can be enforced if Total Parking Solutions takes you to court and wins.

The parking charge notice process

If you use a car park managed by Total Parking Solutions and:

1. Don’t register the vehicle when supposed to
2. Don’t pay when supposed to
3. Stay longer than 10 minutes after your ticket expires
4. Drive around the car park for longer than 10 minutes then leave without paying
5. Don’t park in a designated parking bay

You could be sent a Total Parking Solutions fine, better known as a private parking ticket or Parking Charge Notice. 

These are some of the common reasons for Total Parking Solutions fines being issued.

A private parking fine will be left on your vehicle or sent in the post. If you pay within 14 days you’ll get at least a 40% discount. 

At the time of writing, they cost up to £100.

But from 2023 the law will prevent firms like Total Parking Solutions from charging more than £50 in a lot of cases. 

Appeal Process Steps

If you believe the ticket was unfairly issued, you have the option to appeal.

Janine, our financial expert, advises to formally appeal a parking ticket within 28 days of receipt, providing evidence such as a photo of your car’s registration number if the PCN is incorrect.

Here’s a table that explains the main steps involved in the appeal process. For more information, be sure to check out our detailed guide.

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.

As members of the BPA, you can escalate the appeal for free to POPLA if desired. The decision to pay or appeal should be made on a case-by-case basis.

Consider your reasons and evidence before appealing. You may prefer to pay the reduced Total Parking Solutions fine within 14 days.

What happens if you don’t pay?

The consequences of ignoring a PCN could lead to more stress and anxiety.

Total Parking Solutions is likely to send a Letter Before Action if you don’t pay a PCN within 28 days. These are letters to make you aware that not paying will result in legal proceedings.

You’ll be summoned to court and have to contest the parking ticket in front of a judge. 

Sometimes the Letter Before Action will be sent by a Debt Collection Agency on behalf of Total Parking Solutions.

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Get legal support from JustAnswer

Will Total Parking Solutions take you to court?

The jury is still out on whether Total Parking Solutions will really take you to court.

So, the likelihood of court action over parking fines shouldn’t be ignored.

Many parking companies do take legal action and eventually get their money. But some also make empty legal threats as a scare tactic.

They may hope you’ll get worried about court proceedings and give in and pay the money.

Check out what happened to one motorist who got a Total Parking Solution ticket.

Source: Moneysavingexpert

There’s absolutely no way of knowing for sure, so you’ll need to pay the PCN if you want to 100% avoid legal action. 

If they don’t take you to court and you keep ignoring their letters, there’s also a chance you will never have to pay the PCN.

But in my experience, this is considered a high-risk strategy.

If you go to court there may be more fees to pay. And if you end up facing bailiffs, you’ll have a lot more to pay. 

Tips for appealing a parking fine

I suggest you gather as much evidence to support an appeal as you can.

Although you don’t need to provide evidence, the more you can provide, the stronger your case could be.

The sort of evidence you could provide with your appeal is:

• Witness statements

• Photos of unclear signage and road markings

• Photos of where your vehicle was parked

• Photos of the ticket you purchased to use the car park

• Receipts from a garage if your vehicle had broken down

• Proof an emergency prevented you from getting back to your vehicle on time

• Proof the parking charge was issued before the 10-minute grace had expired

Also, don’t overlook the importance of timeliness in parking fine appeals because if you miss them, your lose the right to challenge a Parking Charge Notice.

Total Parking Solutions contact details

I’ve include the contact details for Total Parking Solutions in the table below.

Address:	Total Parking Solutions Ltd  Unit 3 Kings Court Kettering Venture Park  Kettering NN15 6WJ
Email:	[email protected]
Tel number:	01536 680107
Total Parking Solutions online appeal:	www.parkingappeal.co.uk
Online payment:	https://www.totalparking.co.uk/online-payments
Website:	https://www.totalparking.co.uk/about-us

References

1. Sky News — Parking Tickets Statistics