I Forgot to Pay for NCP Parking Fine – What Happens Now?
By
Janine
Janine Marsh
Financial Expert
My name’s Janine, and I’m a mum of two who’s always been passionate about trying to cut down spending costs. I am now sharing as much financial knowledge as I possibly can to help your money go that little bit further.
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Did you forget to pay for a National Car Parks (NCP) parking fine? No need to worry. Every month, over 32,000 people come to us for advice on parking tickets and fines. We understand that you might be worried about what happens now or if legal action could be taken.
In this guide, we’ll explain:
Who NCP is and why they might give a parking fine.
How NCP car parks work and how to avoid getting a ticket.
What happens if a fine arrives after 14 days or if it was on private property.
Your options for arguing the fine or filing a complaint against NCP.
How to get in touch with NCP if you need to.
We’ve offered guidance to many people in similar situations as yours, so we know it can feel scary when you get a parking fine. But we’re here to help you make sense of it all. Let’s get started to find out what you can do in this situation.
Do You Have to Pay?
In some circumstances, you might have a legitimate reason not to pay your 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.
Chat below to get started with JustAnswer
In partnership with Just Answer.
How do NCP car parks work?
An NCP parking ticket could be left on your car’s windscreen, or it could arrive through the post. If it’s the latter, chances are it ruins your day and you put the letter on a side table and then forgot about it!
A lot of NCP car parks operate as ticketless sites and use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) rather than ticket machines. The system captures your number plate each time you drive in and out of the site.
If you want to avoid paying a NCP parking ticket then you’ll need an airtight appeal.
The best way to perfect your appeal is getting a little advice from a Solicitor. I’d 100% recommend spending a fiver to get a trial of JustAnswer.
You can explain your situation in their chat and they’ll connect you with a Solicitor who can advise you and give you the best chance to win your appeal.
Is the parking fine on private property enforceable?
Yes, but only when the car park operator wins a case in court against you. A judge must rule in their favour and order you to pay.
You can’t be forced to pay a parking ticket on private land unless a court order exists!
But if you didn’t appeal the fine and didn’t pay it either, the operator could win a case against you.
How long does NCP have to issue a parking fine?
You must be sent the parking ticket within 14 days from when you parked at an NCP site. However, if the parking ticket was issued when you parked and you responded to it, NCP doesn’t have to send you a second notice.
If a parking ticket arrives any later than the stipulated 14 days, you may not have to pay.
However, if the operator has already got a judgement against you, you’ll have no choice but to pay the fine. That said whether NCP takes you to court or not depends on whether they think it’s worth it.
For example, if the fine is a lesser amount, the operator may decide not to proceed with court action.
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.
What happens when an NCP fine arrives after 14 days?
As mentioned, if you didn’t find the parking ticket on your car, NCP must send you the fine within 14 days of the date you parked.
If you don’t respond, the operator must send out another notice within 56 days of the date you parked. If you didn’t get the second notice in time or not at all, you may not have to pay!
Also worth noting is that there’s no time limit when a parking ticket doesn’t include the words ‘Protection of Freedoms Act’!
Could you still pay a discounted fine?
It depends. For example, if you’re still within the timeframe to benefit from the discounted fine, you could pay the lesser amount.
This could be as much as 40% less than the original amount!
However, just like filing an appeal against the fine, you’ve likely passed the deadline.
In short, you’d only get to pay the lesser fine when you pay it within 14 days of receiving it. But it’s still worth checking when NCP issued the ticket just in case, you could be within the time limit!
Is it too late to file an appeal?
You may have run out of time to file an appeal against an NCP parking fine if you forgot to pay it!
When you get an NCP parking ticket and feel it’s wrongly issued, you should have appealed against it as soon as possible. The time limit for an appeal against an NCP parking fine received in the post stands at 28 days!
If you remembered you hadn’t paid or acknowledged receipt of the fine after 28 days, chances are you lost the option to file an appeal.
You may have no choice but to pay the fine to prevent things from escalating and getting more stressful and expensive!
What happens when you don’t pay?
If you don’t pay an NCP parking fine on time, you’d have to pay the full amount. However, the operator could have passed your details to Debt Recovery if payment was long past due.
In which case, you’d have to deal with the debt collection company rather than with the operator. It would likely be Trace Debt Recovery that contacts you.
Trace is a recovery company the operator uses to recover outstanding parking fines.
Take a look at what happened to one motorist who lost an appeal against an NCP parking ticket:
What could NCP do when you don’t pay?
When you forget to pay an NCP parking fine, the operator could
Send you payment reminders
Add more fees to the original parking charge notice
Send a letter threatening legal action
Pass your details to a debt collection agency like Trace Debt Recovery
If the case has already gone to court, the judge would likely have ruled in the operator’s favour.
You may also find you’ve got a County Court Judgement (CCJ) on your credit report thanks to the order to pay!
Join thousands of others who got legal help for a £5 trial
Getting the support of a Solicitor can take a huge weight off your mind.
You’ll need to provide the following information with your complaint:
Your car registration number (VRN)
The parking charge notice reference number
Are there any valid reasons not to pay an NCP parking fine?
Yes. There are some valid reasons for not paying an NCP parking fine and having it cancelled.
For example, you could argue the following:
You had a medical emergency
You were broken down and waiting for a recovery truck to arrive
The fine is incorrect because you didn’t commit any sort of parking infringement
The parking ticket arrived in the post more than 14 days after the parking infringement occurred
There are mistakes on the parking fine and the details are wrong
The fine was issued 5 to 10 minutes after the ticket expired
You must provide proof whatever reason causes you to argue that an NCP parking fine should be cancelled.
Without enough proof, chances are the operator won’t cancel the parking charge notice!
Can you still argue the fine if you weren’t the driver?
You may be able to argue the fine if you can prove you weren’t the driver when it was issued.
Even when you forgot to pay it in time, you should still contact NCP and let them know who was driving because they would be liable, not you. This applies even when you were sent the parking charge notice through the mail.
The only reason NCP sent the parking ticket to you is that you’re the registered keeper. As an accredited car park management company, NCP retrieves your details from the DVLA.
Make sure you make a note of who you speak to at NCP and write down the date and time you called them. These details will come in handy if you’re allowed to appeal the fine.
Also, if you write to the operator, make sure you send all your letters via registered post. Like that you have a record of the letters and that NCP received them.
If NCP agrees that you weren’t the driver, they should cancel the parking charge notice and send a new one to the person who was actually driving. It’s called a ‘transfer of liability’.
How do you contact NCP?
I’ve listed how to contact NCP in the table below:
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My name’s Janine, and I’m a mum of two who’s always been passionate about trying to cut down spending costs. I am now sharing as much financial knowledge as I possibly can to help your money go that little bit further.
