UKCPS Parking Charge Notice - Do I Pay or Appeal?

Have you got a UKCPS parking charge notice and are not sure if you should pay or appeal? You’re not alone. Each month, over 130,000 people visit our website looking for guidance on fines and parking tickets.

This easy-to-read guide will provide:

Clear details about UKCPS.
Information on UKCPS parking charge notices.
Help to decide if you should pay the fine.
Guidance on making a UKCPS or IAS appeal.
Useful tips to avoid getting a parking charge notice in the future.

Which? found that, despite 78% of members deeming private parking fines unfair, many don’t contest due to low confidence in appeal success.¹

But don’t worry; we have lots of helpful advice and examples to guide you through the process. Let’s dive in!

Most Ticket Appeals Succeed

In some circumstances, you might have a legitimate reason not to pay your parking fine.

It’s a bit sneaky, but the last time I needed legal advice, I paid £5 for a trial to chat with an online solicitor called JustAnswer.

Not only did I save £50 on solicitor feeds, I also won my case and didn’t have to pay my £271 fine.

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*According to Martin Lewis, 56% of people who try to appeal their ticket are successful and get the charge overturned, so it’s well worth a try.

Do You Have To Pay a Parking Charge Notice From UKCPS?

Remember, this is just an invoice. Plus, you have the right to make a UKCPS fine dispute if you feel it’s unfair.

You are not legally obliged to pay a parking charge notice. However, UKCPS might decide to take you to court to get you to pay up. You could just ignore the parking charge notice, and hope that UKCPS will eventually stop hounding you for payment.

But keep in mind that Janine Marsh, our financial expert, says not to ignore private parking tickets as it leads to escalating issues like constant letters and debt collectors’ visits. If you dispute the ticket, appeal directly to the parking company.

Making an appeal is your legal right. If you don’t think you should ignore the parking charge, we suggest you appeal it instead.

You have nothing to lose and it costs nothing to appeal a PCN. Plus, until a decision is made, the operator puts everything on hold.

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Appeal Process Steps

Here’s a quick table that will help you better understand the appeal process. If you want to learn more about the steps you should take, please read 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.

Keep in mind that reasons such as the PCN being issued long after the date of the offence might not see the appeal being upheld. When you make the appeal, don’t forget to include any evidence you have. For example, if you were not the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time the parking charge was levied, send proof of this.

You might like to try using our standard appeal letter template to start your appeal.

Successful Appeal Case Study

Situation

Initial Fine	£100
Additional Fees	£171
Total Fine	£271

The Appeal Process

Scott used JustAnswer, online legal service to enhance his appeal. The trial of this cost him just £5.

Total Fine	£271
Cost of legal advice	£5

JustAnswer helped Scott craft the best appeal possible and he was able to win his case.

Scott’s fine was cancelled and he only paid £5 for the legal help.

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How To Make a Payment to UKCPS

If you want to pay a parking charge notice, we’ve included how to pay UKCPS PCN online.

You will need three things to pay online.

The PCN number.
Your vehicle registration number.
A valid payment card.

You cannot pay UKCPS by phone or by post. The company only seems to offer an online payment portal to settle private parking fines.

How long does IAS appeal take?

The IAS is a free, independent appeal service you can use to challenge a car park operator’s decision.

They need to have both parties’ evidence before they can come to a decision. The timeframe for IAS appeal takes around three weeks for the IAS to respond to an appeal against an operator’s decision.

How many appeals are upheld?

According to a POPLA report published annually, over 60% of all parking charge notices are overturned during the appeal process. As such, we suggest you try to appeal the charge before you pay it provided you have sufficient evidence to support your appeal.

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What Happens if You Don’t Pay a UKCPS PCN?

If you do not pay the UKCPS parking charge notice, you can expect strong-arm tactics and threats, to try and scare you into paying up.

However, due to the low amount of the parking charge, and the cost of taking matters further, this may be as far as things will go.

It is, however, possible that UKCPS could seek a court order against you to force you to force payment.

If you still don’t pay, UKCPS would be within its rights to use debt collectors to pursue settlement.

In a worst-case scenario, the operator could ask the court to record a CCJ on your credit file. A CCJ from UKCPS fines stay on your credit history for 6 years making it hard for you to get any sort of finance during that time.