Every Tuesday, we get an expert to answer your financial problems or consumer disputes – you can WhatsApp us here or email moneyblog@sky.uk. Today’s is…
I share a car with my mum and parked in a car park that I always use, but the parking machine wasn’t working and we couldn’t do it on the phone. Several people parked there and took photos of the car parking machine and RingGo not working, as did I for evidence. Last week I was sent a parking ticket but unfortunately out of fear my mum paid it. I can’t appeal the charge on PCP and there isn’t a telephone line to do this on. Please could I have advice on how to appeal against this as the charge isn’t fair?
Abi
Thanks for your email, Abi.
Almost anyone with a driving licence has found themselves in this position.
It is estimated that around 80% of private parking charges are paid without question, even if unfairly issued.
Unfortunately, you cannot appeal after you have paid your charge as it’s considered an admission of liability and your case is closed.
That would make for a pretty unhelpful Money Problem response, so we asked Scott Dixon, aka The Complaints Resolver, to go through what you should do next time the machine/app is malfunctioning.
Initial appeals may fail, but if you have genuinely been wronged, your chances of succeeding, with a little work, are strong.
Progress isn’t always progress
Parking machines have broken since the beginning of time, but the rollout of app payments has presented brand-new problems.
Accessing an app with a reliable mobile phone signal is not guaranteed, especially in underground car parks.
Dixon says that when a payment fault occurs, the app provider should automatically notify the parking operator that the system is unavailable, and payment machines should flag when they are offline.
If every payment option is down and there’s no number to call, enforcement should be suspended until at least one payment method is restored.
“In reality, this rarely happens,” says Dixon. “Many operators don’t monitor or log system downtime accurately.”
Council-run car parks
Most of this article deals with private parking companies, but if you are fined in a council-run car park, you are dealing with statutory regulations, not private contract law.
“Always take photos of machines that are out-of-order, screenshots of payment attempts and try any alternative payment methods shown,” says Dixon.
“Submit a formal appeal to the council if you receive a penalty charge notice. Councils may cancel tickets where motorists made genuine attempts to pay but were prevented from doing so.
“If they refuse to cancel it, follow the formal complaints procedure instead.”
The rest of this article deals with car parks run by private firms that issue parking charge notices, which Dixon says are not fines but invoices…
The bad news for drivers
The system, Dixon says, often favours private parking firms.
In theory, the parking firm will say that as you had no way of paying, you had no right to park on the land and you should have left and parked elsewhere.
This can be a compelling argument, but it is not a guaranteed outcome.
Be persistent
“Always appeal in these circumstances, even if you think it won’t succeed,” says Dixon. “You are creating a formal record and paper trail as evidence that you tried to pay but couldn’t.
“This protects you later if the operator or their debt collector pursues the claim to court.
“Courts have ruled in motorists’ favour where the contract was ‘frustrated by impossibility’, meaning payment wasn’t possible through no fault of the motorist. The appeal may not succeed initially, but it reinforces your case.”
Because app and machine meltdowns aren’t usually logged, motorists’ photos and screenshots are often the only record of a genuine system failure, so make sure you collect as much evident as possible.
“Try and get witness statements as well to verify your account of events and note any mitigating factors like you have described,” says Dixon.
Go to the landowner
Dixon says the easiest way to get these invoices cancelled is to contact the landowner.
“In supermarket car parks, speak politely to customer services with your receipt first. Explain you are a loyal customer and ask if they will cancel it. Always get proof or promises in writing,” he says.
If that doesn’t work, how should you frame an appeal?
Disputes are governed by contract law and you could argue that the contract was frustrated by impossibility because you had no way of paying and have the evidence to prove it.
“The parking operator would likely say they cannot be held responsible for a malfunctioning app, but they have engaged the app provider to supply the service. Your contract is with the parking operator, not the app provider they have chosen to use,” Dixon says.
To escalate an appeal, the parking charge notice should state the trade body of which the parking firm is a member.
There are two trade bodies, the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC). Each has a dispute resolution scheme where you can escalate an appeal.
Debt collectors and court
You can safely ignore letters and demands from debt collectors. They have no enforcement powers and are “strangers to the alleged debt”, Dixon says.
A letter before claim/letter of claim needs a response, however, as it’s a precursor to court action.
“Parking firms make it deliberately difficult to contact them and create as much friction as possible to coerce you into paying their invoice to ‘make it go away’,” Dixon says.
“If your appeals fail, don’t be afraid to contest it in court. Parking firms rely on fear and intimidation to coerce you into paying up, but many motorists have successfully defended and won cases in court where they showed genuine evidence of unfair treatment.
“Perseverance breaks resistance every time.”
What else must car park providers do?
The Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice makes clear that operators must allow a “consideration period” of at least five to 10 minutes on arrival (when you enter) and a “grace period” of at least 10 minutes (when you leave) before issuing a parking charge notice.
Signs must be clearly displayed at the entrance and throughout the car park. If the signs are unclear, obscured or misleading, the contract may be unenforceable.
It’s also worth reiterating that while councils can fine you, private operators cannot – the parking charge notices they issue are effectively invoices.
“Invoices must be served within 14 calendar days of the parking event, plus two extra working days for postage, to hold the registered keeper liable under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 in England and Wales,” says Dixon.
“If they are issued later than that, they are considered out of time. This means that there is no keeper liability and you are merely invited to disclose who the driver was to transfer liability on an appeal.”
If you do not disclose the driver’s identity, there is nothing the car park firm can do.
It’s also important to note that…
“There is no keeper liability in Scotland and Northern Ireland,” says Dixon. “This means that the registered keeper cannot be held liable if they refuse to disclose who was driving the vehicle.”
He adds that the Simple Procedure in Scotland actively discourages trivial claims under £300, so single invoices are rarely pursued in court.
This is likely to change when the UK Government Private Parking Code of Practice is introduced.
This feature is not intended as financial advice – the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about. Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute by emailing moneyblog@sky.uk with the subject line “Money Problem”.