Private parking tickets on private land

Private companies issue a PARKING charge notice, but they are unable to levy a FINE against you.

In supermarket and private car park scenarios, the tickets may resemble parking fines. However, they are not a local authority Regulation 10 Penalty Charge Notice (PCN); instead, they are referred to as a Parking Charge Notice.

Private car parks typically use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to record vehicle registrations upon entry or exit. Upon entering, individuals input their registration details into a machine to purchase a ticket. Failure to purchase a ticket, entering an incorrect registration, or overstaying results in the registered keeper receiving a demand via post.

The parking company obtains the name and address of the registered keeper from the DVLA and subsequently issues a "parking charge notice."

The Law:

Regulation 27(1) and (2) of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 states:

Disclosure of registration and licensing particulars (1) The Secretary of State may make any particulars contained in the register available for use—

(a)by a local authority for any purpose connected with the investigation of an offence or of a decriminalised parking contravention;

(b)by a chief officer of police;

(c)by a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland;

(d)by an officer of Customs and Excise in Northern Ireland; or

(e)by any person who can show to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State that he has reasonable cause for wanting the particulars to be made available to him.

(2) Particulars may be provided to such a person as is mentioned in paragraph (1)(e) on payment of such fee, if any, of such amount as appears to the Secretary of State reasonable in the circumstances of the case.

The legislation concerning the recovery of parking charges on private property is outlined in paragraphs 4 to 12 of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

The law only requires the parking company to give notice to the keeper to tell the driver and give the notice to him.

The Law:

Paragraph 9(2) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 states:

(2)The notice must—

(a)specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates;

(b)inform the keeper that the driver is required to pay parking charges in respect of the specified period of parking and that the parking charges have not been paid in full;

(c)describe the parking charges due from the driver as at the end of that period, the circumstances in which the requirement to pay them arose (including the means by which the requirement was brought to the attention of drivers) and the other facts that made them payable;

(d)specify the total amount of those parking charges that are unpaid, as at a time which is—

(i)specified in the notice; and

(ii)no later than the end of the day before the day on which the notice is either sent by post or, as the case may be, handed to or left at a current address for service for the keeper (see sub-paragraph (4));

(e)state that the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and invite the keeper—

(i)to pay the unpaid parking charges; or

(ii)if the keeper was not the driver of the vehicle, to notify the creditor of the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and to pass the notice on to the driver;

(f)warn the keeper that if, after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given—

(i)the amount of the unpaid parking charges specified under paragraph (d) has not been paid in full, and

(ii)the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver, the creditor will (if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met) have the right to recover from the keeper so much of that amount as remains unpaid;

the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver,

the creditor will (if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met) have the right to recover from the keeper so much of that amount as remains unpaid;

(g)inform the keeper of any discount offered for prompt payment and the arrangements for the resolution of disputes or complaints that are available;

(h)identify the creditor and specify how and to whom payment or notification to the creditor may be made;

(i)specify the date on which the notice is sent (where it is sent by post) or given (in any other case).

Just like with a local authority PCN, a parking company cannot compel the registered keeper to settle the charge if the driver's information is unknown.

Should the driver choose not to pay, the registered keeper will receive a sequence of letters, each progressively more assertive than the last. These communications may lead to no further action, or they may escalate to court proceedings, resulting in the receipt of a Defendant's Response Pack.

Always defend it:

Example defence statement:

The individual named as the Defendant is the registered keeper of the vehicle, not the driver who incurred the charge. The Defendant fulfilled their responsibility as outlined in Paragraph 9(2)(b) and 9(e)(ii) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 by informing the driver of their obligation to settle the parking charge, thereby releasing the Defendant from liability for this claim.

The parking company remains responsible for their solicitors' fees regardless of the outcome of the claim.

Engaging in a contested claim is not financially viable for a parking company

Parking companies depend on your failure to contest the claim, leading to a default judgment. Should this occur, the process of applying to overturn the judgment is challenging. The verdict in the case of ParkingEye Limited v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 ruled a parking fine is neither extravagant nor unconscionable.

The Department for Transport released official guidance on official guidance on private parking tickets on 01 October 2012.