Fighting Car Parking Fines

It has been found that more than half of motorists’ appeals against fines are found in their favour but few motorists do in fact appeal.

Barrie Segal, owner of the campaigning website AppealNow, has reviewed roughly 60,000 parking tickets on behalf of motorists and has found a number of ‘scams’. One in particular is the ‘ghost ticket’ trick where a driver is sent details of a fine in the post without being handed a ticket by a parking warden.

Penalty charge notices are fines issued by local councils or the police with a discount offered to those who pay early. However, if a motorist is convinced the fine is unfair the advice is not to pay and to appeal to the council that issued the penalty quickly. Providing supporting evidence, such as photographs, could improve chances of the appeal’s success.

Private property charges, such as those issued in shopping centre car parks, represent a breach of contract between the motorist and the land owner allowing the land owner to legally issue a ticket. However, if the contract terms are deemed unfair, such as if there is no way to pay, the motorist can choose to appeal or not do anything. Segal recommends that motorists refuse to pay those tickets that have been unfairly issued and ignore threats of court action since few cases end up in court.

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