Good Excuses For Parking Ticket Appeals

What are good excuses for parking ticket appeals? These excuses are ideal when appealing a Parking Charge Notice issued by a Private Parking Company (PPC), or a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) issued by either the council, the police or Transport for London. 

Difference Between A Parking Charge Notice And A Penalty Charge Notice

We first need to ascertain the difference between a Parking Charge Notice issued by a PPC, and a PCN issued by a council.

A Parking Charge Notice issued from a PPC is essentially just an invoice, if you decide not to pay it, the only way they can force you pay is if they take you to a claims court. However, depending on the claim amount and the court costs that would be incurred, they may decide against this route as it wouldn’t be cost efficient.

A PCN issued by Transport for London, the police or a Council, is covered by The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions law. This means the registered keeper is liable to pay the charge. If this charge is fully ignored it is possible it could get to the stage where an enforcement agent may visit your property to collect any outstanding debt.

You Were Parked Correctly

If you feel you were parked correctly, and were given a Parking Charge Notice due to an error by the parking officer, such as a miscalculated time limit on your ticket, you should appeal it. If you received a PCN from the council, and you can prove you didn’t break any parking rules, by law, it must be cancelled.

The same applies to parking on private land and a PPC issues a Parking Charge Notice. If you can prove that you were parking within the rules stipulated by their signage, the Parking Charge Notice must be cancelled.

There Was No Method To Pay For Parking

It can be quite common to come across parking machines that are out of order when you come to park. This can be a good excuse to appeal the Parking Charge Notice, but only if there was no other method to pay. Be aware of any other parking machines that were in the vicinity. Or if there could have been another way to pay, such as by phone or app.

If you find yourself in a situation where the parking machines aren’t working, take note of the signage in the car park. This is because some of the terms and conditions set out by the PPC will tell you not to park if the parking machines aren’t working and there is no other way to pay. This is a ploy to stop people from parking for free or being able to successfully appeal fines. 

Parking Enforcement Signs Were Not Clear Or Visible

Sometimes the parking enforcement signs become illegible due to criminal damage, weathering or by foliage. If this prevented you from clearly seeing the parking rules, you can use these unclear parking enforcement signs as a reason to appeal. 

Your Vehicle Broke Down

While this may seem like an excuse to use for an easy win, councils and PPCs can be quite ruthless when it comes to broken down vehicles. Firstly, they could argue that it is your responsibility to make sure your vehicle is roadworthy before travel. Also any foreseeable problems such as running out of fuel or other liquids like oil, water or brake fluid are not valid excuses. If your vehicle was already experiencing intermittent or recurring problems that caused you to breakdown, you could still be liable for the Parking Charge Notice.

Secondly, more serious emergency problems that are out of your control are still at the councils or PPCs discretion. These problems could include collisions, the engine falling out or flat tyres. If your vehicle was subject to an emergency problem and you received a Parking Charge Notice, proof from the breakdown company used or garage invoice would be required as evidence during the appeals process.

After all this, they could still argue that as your vehicle wasn’t drivable, so you should have bought another parking ticket while waiting for recovery. Unless you are a qualified mechanic, if you fixed the vehicle yourself, you won’t be able to use this as an excuse to appeal the Parking Charge Notice either. 

You Were Within The Grace Period

Councils and PPCs, that are part of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA), must give motorists a ten minute grace period. This rule was released in 2015 by the government and relates to controlled land where public parking is invited in England, Wales and Scotland. The ten minute grace period applies in the following situations: 

• At the start of controlled hours when the bays change from being uncontrolled to controlled;
• Upon expiry of a paid for session during controlled hours;
• Upon expiry of an allowed free parking period during controlled hours.

So if you have received a Parking Charge Notice in one of the above instances, you have a good reason to appeal it.

You Couldn’t Get Back To Your Vehicle

If you couldn’t return to your vehicle in time and receive a Parking Charge Notice because:

• You have a very young baby;
• You’re pregnant;
• You find it difficult to walk because you’re disabled.

You could appeal the Parking Charge Notice under the Equality Act 2010 because you can’t be discriminated against and must be treated with understanding under certain situations.

You could also find yourself in an emergency situation. These can happen at any time, to anyone. An example of this would be where you find yourself needing emergency medical attention at a hospital or doctors and couldn’t return to your vehicle in time. In this situation, you will need to use your medical records or possibly any police records that show you weren’t able to return to your vehicle in time.

You Weren’t Driving The Vehicle At The Time

If you received a Parking Charge Notice and you weren’t the driver, you can provide the driver details to the PPC, so they will now be liable for the charge.

However, if it is a PCN issued by a Council, the Police or Transport for London, the registered keeper is liable to pay the charge. This is due to the law governing civil traffic enforcement called The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions.

My Vehicle Was Stolen

If you received a Parking Charge Notice and your vehicle was stolen at the time, the Parking Charge Notice would usually be cancelled. However, a valid crime reference number should be provided at the appeal stage so it can be verified.

You Were Charged Too Much

Depending on the type of offence you commit, the amount on the Parking Charge Notice will either fall into a higher or lower band. You can find out how much a local council charges for higher and lower bands on their website.

If you’ve been given a Parking Charge Notice by a PPC, the British Parking Association (BPA) and International Parking Community (IPC) have Codes of Practice states they can’t charge you more than £100. This rule can be found in the Codes of Practice in section 19.5 for BPA and 15.1 for IPC. If you have a Parking Charge Notice with a charge more than £100, it should be appealed. 

How To Appeal A PCN

We did an extensive guide on how to appeal a Parking Charge Notice issued on private land.

TLDR: Good Excuses For Parking Ticket Appeals

• A Parking Charge Notice is an invoice issued by a Private Parking Company (PPC);
• A Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) is issued by Transport for London, the police or a Council and is covered by The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions law;
• A PCN and a Parking Charge Notice must be cancelled by law if you can prove you didn’t break any parking rules;
• If the parking machines aren’t working, take note of the terms and conditions on the signage as sometimes it will tell you not to park if the parking machines aren’t working;
• A broken down vehicle isn’t a good enough excuse and only specific emergency problems that can be proved will get a Parking Charge Notice cancelled;
• Make sure you weren’t given a Parking Charge Notice during a grace period;
• If you couldn’t get back to you vehicle for personal reasons, the Equality Act 2010 may help you in an appeal regarding being treated fairly for personal reasons;
• If you weren’t the driver and received a Parking Charge Notice, you can notify the PPC of the drivers details. However, the registered keeper is liable to pay a PCN;
• If your car was stolen, a valid crime reference number should be provided at the appeal stage;
• Codes of Practice state you can’t be charged you more than £100 for a Parking Charge Notice.

Sources used to write this article:

• Private Parking Code of Practice
• Equality Act 2010
• The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions
• British Parking Association Code of Practice
• International Parking Community Code of Practice