8 Good Excuses for Parking Ticket Appeals

Did you just find a parking ticket on your car? Not to worry, each month, over 32,000 people come to this site looking for advice on parking tickets and fines. It’s okay to feel a bit scared and confused. This guide is here to help you understand your options and what you can do next.

In this article, we’ll talk about:

• The difference between a Penalty Charge Notice and a Parking Charge Notice.
• How to appeal a parking ticket and increase your chances of winning.
• The top 8 reasons people appeal parking tickets and how to use them.
• What to do if your car broke down and you got a ticket.
• How long the issuer can chase you for parking tickets and what happens if you ignore them.

Our team has offered guidance to many people in your situation, so we know how it feels to get a parking ticket, and we want to help you. Let’s dive in and get started on understanding your parking ticket and how to best handle it.

Can you appeal a parking ticket?

Yes, you can. You have the right to appeal, whether it’s a parking charge notice or a penalty charge notice.

In fact, you should challenge a fine when you feel it’s unjust or incorrect!

That said, you must appeal a parking ticket within a specified time. So, for instance, if you get a parking ticket on private land, always check the deadline with the operator. 

If you got a penalty charge notice, check how the fine was issued and make sure you don’t miss a deadline. It could be 14 days, 21 days, or 28 days. So, it’s better to challenge the PCN early, say within 14 days, just to be sure.

Plus, there’s an added bonus when you challenge a penalty charge notice within two weeks. If the authority rejects your appeal, you may get to pay a reduced amount. You could, therefore, save time and money!

What are the top 8 reasons for appealing a parking ticket?

Below I’ve listed 8 top reasons to appeal a parking ticket:

1. You didn’t commit a parking offence/violation
2. The payment machines were out of order, and there was no other way to pay
3. The parking ticket contained clerical errors
4. You got the parking ticket more than two weeks after the alleged parking violation
5. Signage and road markings were unclear or missing altogether
6. You made a mistake when entering a registration number in a payment machine
7. An emergency prevented you from getting back to your car in time
8. The parking ticket was issued before a 10-minute grace period was up

Providing you have enough evidence to support your appeal, the issue must consider the challenge.

Can you challenge a parking ticket if your car broke down?

Yes. You could contest a parking ticket if your car broke down and you were waiting for assistance. This applies to penalty charge notices and parking charge notices. But you must provide evidence to support the challenge.

In short, you’ll need to provide an invoice from the breakdown service that rescued you.

So, what evidence would you need to support a parking ticket appeal?

As mentioned, the more evidence you can provide to support an appeal, your challenge will be stronger. That said, you could still have a parking ticket cancelled without evidence to support an appeal. 

For instance, if there was no way of paying a fee to park, the issuer could check whether a payment machine was out of order or not!

Should you be honest when you appeal a parking ticket?

Yes. Don’t lie because you’ll likely not get out paying the parking ticket if you do. Plus, it could land you in further trouble! If you’re sure you have your facts right and the parking ticket should be cancelled, then file your appeal within 14 days.

If the issuer rejects your challenge, you still get to pay a discounted amount. This could be up to 40% for a parking charge notice and 50% less for a penalty charge notice!

How long can the issuer chase you for parking tickets?

An operator could chase you for up to six years if you got a parking charge notice for an infringement on private land. You can’t be taken to court for an unpaid parking charge notice when the six years are up!

Not the same with a penalty charge notice which is enforceable straight away!

What happens if you ignore parking tickets?

Things get expensive when you ignore a parking ticket, whether it’s a penalty charge notice or a parking charge notice. You could end up in court and have a debt registered on your credit history.