Parking tickets that 'can go straight in the bin' and don't need paying

It can be frustrating coming back to your car and finding a parking fine slapped on the windscreen - especially when you’re not even sure what you did wrong or whether you actually have to pay it. Experts and consumer groups say that while some charges are legitimate and enforceable, others may be disputed, and in limited cases may not need to be acted on at all, depending on who issued them and whether the company follows the correct procedures. The consumer group Which?, one of the UK’s leading consumer rights organisations, says the number of privately issued parking charges continues to rise. It reports that car park management companies made more than five million requests for vehicle keeper details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in the first half of 2023, rising by a further 600,000 in the second half of the year.

More recent data suggests this trend has continued, with RAC analysis indicating that around 7.2 million requests were made in just the six months up to September 2024. On that basis, private parking firms are now estimated to be on track to issue in the region of 14 million parking charges a year across the UK. Which? has previously shared some of the reasons that allow drivers to appeal certain parking tickets, along with advice on the process. In a social media video, Which? said: “Some parking tickets can go straight in the bin.

Really. And the rest can be disputed. So let’s break it down. “You can appeal if the signs aren’t clear, if you’re charged more than £100, or if you have a mitigating reason like ill health or your vehicle broke down. “So the big question is: is the parking company a member of an accredited trade association — either the British Parking Association (BPA) or the International Parking Community (IPC)? “If it’s not, ignore it because it won’t be able to get your details from the DVLA to make you pay. If the parking company is accredited, write an appeal letter to it, including evidence of mitigating circumstances and photos of poor signage. “For members of the BPA, you have 28 days after rejection to appeal to Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA).

For the IPC, you have 21 days after rejection to take it to the Independent Appeals Service. “Then, if the independent adjudicator disagrees with you, your final option is to take the parking company to court. But do this and lose and you’ll have to cover its legal costs too. For more information, head to which.co.uk.” Which? has free sample letters for anyone who wants to appeal a parking ticket on its website. In April 2025, the RAC reported private parking firms are on track to hand out an unprecedented 14.5 million tickets to drivers across Britain within a year, according to new analysis.

The RAC, which conducted the research, said just five companies were responsible for issuing almost half of all tickets. The study found that in the six months leading up to September 2024, there were 7.2 million requests made by parking management companies to the DVLA.