Should I Pay or Appeal my UK Parking Patrol Office PCN?

Have you received a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) from the UK Parking Patrol Office? Every month, over 32,000 people come here for help with tickets and fines. Receiving a PCN can feel daunting, but you’re not alone.

In this easy-to-understand guide, we will:

• Explain the difference between a Parking Charge Notice and a Penalty Charge Notice.
• Show you how to appeal a PCN and what happens if you win.
• Discuss why you may receive a UK Parking Patrol Office PCN.
• Look into how much the UK Parking Patrol Office can charge.
• Discuss what happens when an appeal is rejected.

We know how confusing it can be to decide whether to pay or appeal your PCN. So, take a moment to relax and read on to learn how you can handle your PCN from the UK Parking Patrol Office.

Why would you get a UK Parking Patrol Office PCN?

When you enter a car park managed by the UK Parking Patrol Office UK, you effectively enter into a contract with the operator.

There should be signs at the car park entrance indicating the Terms & Conditions for using the site.

You are supposed to read the T&Cs before you park.

If you don’t abide by the T&Cs and the offence is either caught on camera or by an attendant, and you will receive a Parking Charge Notice.

The sort of parking infringement that would earn you a parking ticket could include any of the following:

• You failed to pay to park
• You left your vehicle parked over two bays
• You used a bay reserved for families with children or Blue Badge holders
• You overstayed an allotted time to park

UK Parking Patrol Office do I have to pay?

No. I suggest you first do the following without delay:

• Check all the details on the parking ticket are correct
• Make sure you received the parking ticket within 14 days of the alleged offence if it arrived in the post

Only after you are satisfied that the Parking Charge Notice was correctly issued in accordance with the Code of Practice should you think about paying it.

Remember that if you settle the ticket within 14 days, you get to pay a much lesser amount.

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How much can the UK Parking Patrol Office charge?

Car park operators like the UK Parking Patrol Office can only charge up to a maximum of £100 to motorists who don’t follow their T&Cs.

That said, there’s an incentive to pay the parking ticket within 14 days because you get to pay at least 40% less.

If the ticket was £100 and you settle it early, you get to pay a reduced amount of £60.

Can I appeal a UK Parking Patrol Office PCN?

Yes. All motorists have the right to appeal a Parking Charge Notice when they feel they have grounds to do so.

You could appeal the ticket, but you must do so in writing within 28 days. I suggest you gather as much evidence to support your appeal beforehand.

You could have grounds to challenge the parking ticket if the operator didn’t allow you a mandatory 10-minute grace period. Or they served the ticket incorrectly.

If you have grounds to appeal the parking ticket, I suggest you write an appeal letter providing the relevant information to back your claim up.

If the operator accepts your appeal, they will cancel the ticket. But if they don’t, you’ll receive a letter of rejection.

Private operators have a set number of days to respond to an appeal against a Parking Charge Notice.

You automatically win your appeal if they don’t respond within the deadline.

What happens when an appeal is rejected?

The operator sends you a letter of rejection, which should contain information on how to escalate the matter to an independent adjudicator.

In this instance, it could be to either of the following:

• Parking on Private Land Appeals service (POPLA)
• The Independent Appeals Service (IAS)

It’s a free service that prevents the operator from taking further action until the independent adjudicator decides whether to uphold or reject your appeal.

Your appeal will either be accepted or rejected. If it’s accepted, the operator must cancel the parking ticket.

However, if the appeals service sides with the operator, you must pay the parking ticket within a deadline.

If you don’t, the UK Parking Patrol Office could start legal proceedings to recover the amount you owe them.

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Will the UK Parking Patrol Office take me to court?

There’s always a risk that a private operator might take you to court over an unpaid Parking Charge Notice.

That said, the operator will likely pass your details on to a debt collection agency before it happens.

If you are the registered keeper, you will have received numerous letters demanding payment for the unpaid parking ticket.

Next, you could get a letter or two from a debt collector or from a company called Gladstones Solicitors.

They might contact you by email, text or by phone.

If the debt collector fails, the operator could start legal proceedings to recover your debts.

Check out what one motorist was asking on a popular online forum.

Source: Moneysavingexpert

It’s best not to let things get this far because dealing with debt collectors is never a pleasant experience.

It’s also worth noting that the issuer must send you a Letter Before Action (LBA) before legal action can commence.

Don’t ignore an LBA because it may not be an empty threat to get you to pay.

The operator may seriously be thinking about taking you to court.

What is the BPA grace period?

The BPA’s guidelines to its members stipulate that motorists must be allowed a 10-minute grace period when returning to their vehicles.

In short, a Parking Charge Notice should not be served until the 10-minute grace has expired.

If an operator issues a ticket before the grace period ends, you could have grounds to cancel the ticket.

How do I contact UK Parking Patrol Office Ltd?

I’ve listed ways you can contact the UK Parking Patrol Office Ltd. in the table below.