Parking stories in the News/media

Umkomaas

👆👆

When I scooped up the post from the doormat last month, I had a sixth sense of what one of the ­envelopes contained.

My inkling was based on past experience – and, sure enough, another private parking firm had issued an ­official-looking letter stating we had breached parking conditions and owed £70.

This one was from Parking Eye, the biggest of the bunch, claiming the car my wife ­Danielle and I drive – a Skoda Karoq – had parked at an Aldi store without the registration plate being entered on its machines.

These machines are located near the exit of the shop. After you’ve done your shopping you need to tap in the registration plate details, hit confirm and walk off, no payment required.

We use this store in Wickford, Essex, on average once a month and know to input the details. Unlike most other big ­supermarket stores that offer two or three hours of free parking without needing to input registration details, this one makes you go through the ­rigmarole every time – even though the car park is monitored by ANPR cameras that log your car’s plate.

Even the letter we received ­confirms the fact we’d parked for 38 minutes – well within the allotted 90 minutes.

On the date in question, we are almost certain we inputted our details on the Aldi machine. But the machine doesn’t spit out a receipt, and we never thought about taking ­photographic evidence having used it plenty of times before without a problem.

This is the sixth parking charge we have received in the past seven years for a variety of parking breaches we’ve been accused of, and I never go down ­without a fight.

+2

Lee Boyce with a parking notice. Lee has quashed all six of the parking charges that he has been issued with in recent years

I immediately went on to the appeal ­section of the Parking Eye website and didn’t reveal who was driving that day (I’ll explain why shortly).

I wrote a simple message along the lines of: we input the details, prove that we didn’t, please find attached our bank statement showing the Aldi shopping transaction.

Lo and behold, the charge was quashed shortly ­after. That means out of six parking charges that have landed on my doormat in recent years, all six have now been ­cancelled.

What worries me is people receive these official-looking ­documents, see a 14-day deadline to pay it if they want to receive a ‘half-price’ discount and then panic into paying without appeal.

Our recent Parking Eye one, for example, says you can pay £40 and the problem will suddenly go away. Fail to pay promptly and you will owe the full £70.

A record number of parking charges have been issued to ­drivers by parking companies in the past year. Note I say charges, not fines – only the police and ­councils can dish out fines enforced by law as they are authorities with legal powers.

However, you cannot simply ignore a private parking charge. Doing so can lead to civil court action. Most recent figures show a huge 15.9 million charges were handed out by private firms in the year to the end of September 2025, according to government data – up 17 per cent on the previous year.

In 2015 it was 3.6million, ­meaning a 342 per cent rise in this modern day blight.

Simon Williams, head of policy at RAC, says the increase shows ‘something must be going badly awry’ with the parking ­system, as motorists ‘try very hard’ to avoid falling foul of parking ­conditions.

Unfortunately, both the last ­government and the current one have kicked the can down the road when it comes to cracking down on the menace of private parking firms. Changes have been mooted since 2019, thanks in part to a ­campaign by Wealth & Personal Finance’s ­sister publication This Is ­Money, which received the backing of Rishi Sunak, before his ascent to Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, the DVLA ­continues to sell our details for £2.50 a pop to private ­parking firms who ask for the ­registered keeper of the ­vehicle who they claim has breached the terms of contract at the car park they operate. You cannot opt out of your details being sold on. All of this means that you must fight back yourself.

Previous charges I’ve successfully cancelled include one from a BP garage, where my then ­pregnant wife had stopped due to ­morning sickness; and another at a car park in Clacton-on-Sea, where a private firm accused us of failing to pay. Luckily, we’d paid with cash and I’d kept the paper ticket.

Both of those involved a battle and having our initial appeal rejected. From there, I took the case to the next appeals process called POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals), which is independent, and ultimately won.

You have to appeal with the ­private parking firm before you use this service, where you input details of your case along with any evidence you have. Data suggests roughly two in five charges are cancelled by POPLA.

Even the ones where you have breached the conditions are worth fighting. My wife overstayed at a ­Waitrose car park in Billericay by 15 ­minutes (a long story involving our second child at newborn age being unwell). That one she was willing to suck up and pay the reduced fee of £40. But, I decided to plead her case through the appeals system and the person who picked it up showed ­sympathy and decided to let my wife off.

It turns out some staff at private parking firms do have a heart.

Below are my tips for appealing a charge – always appeal it, even if it seems like a lost cause.

Appeal straight away

+2

'Always appeal it, even if it seems like a lost cause,' writes Lee

Read More

 Landlords face £40,000 fines if they break confusing rules next year. This is what you MUST know 

You have to appeal within 14 days of the date on the letter – that way, if it’s unsuccessful, you’ll still be offered the discounted rate.

Also, check the date the letter was sent. If a private parking firm has sent it 14 days after the breach is said to have happened, you can appeal, stating that it’s invalid as it’s not been sent within 14 days ­citing the Protection of Freedoms Act.

I’ve managed to appeal once ­successfully using this method, although that was a few years ago and many of the private ­parking firms are now well-oiled ­money-making machines, ­pumping out thousands of these letters daily – and often within days of a ‘breach’ occurring.

Keep the evidence

If I pay for parking with cash, I now keep hold of the paper ­parking ticket in the glovebox for a few weeks. That way, if the ANPR ­cameras have made a mistake, you have the proof to back it up.

Keep receipts for retailers and check your banking app to show spending. For our recent Aldi parking charge, we supplied a screenshot of the £50 shop from our banking app.

Take it to POPLA

If the initial challenge fails, use the independent POPLA service. I’ve used it twice and found it easy to navigate. Similar rules apply – supply as much evidence as ­possible. Ten minutes of work might save you £50 or £100.

Don’t reveal the driver

The appeals process will ask you if the registered keeper was ­driving, or someone else. Reveal nothing. Private parking firms must follow strict rules to hold the keeper liable – if they fail, it’s harder for them to pursue you. I have never revealed who was behind the wheel for any of the ‘breaches’ for this reason.

Get the store involved

If the car park is for a retailer, restaurant or pub, and you have failed with your challenge, try contacting the branch manager and head office.

State your case, how you’re a regular and that a charge is unfair. This method worked for us once – Danielle received a charge after parking in a cafe car park in Brentwood. She called the cafe manager, who sorted the ­cancellation. It’s worth trying.

Vote with your wheels

If all of the above doesn’t work, *your best bet is to swallow the parking charge at a reduced rate* and vow never to return. It might sound petty, but there are plenty of other businesses vying for our hard-earned cash. But above all, never ignore that envelope that lands on the mat – even when your sixth sense kicks in.

Not sure about that bit * * in this final paragraph!

Half_way

this may do it:

https://archive.ph/20260104080132/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/mailplus/article-15431475/appeal-parking-charges-quash-tips-LEE-BOYCE.html

patient_dream

Thaks Half_way :

kryten3000

Coupon-mad said:

On Sky News

https://news.sky.com/story/money-problem-i-overstayed-in-car-park-by-one-minute-and-theyre-demanding-170-13477977 

I missed this when  @prowla first posted it a month ago but I was just reading this article. Pleasantly surprised.

Apart from using words like 'fine', showing the wrong PCN image and completely missing the fact that the added £70 is a double recovery scam dressed up as 'debt resolution', the advice was pretty good and matches the MSE Guide.

"You can safely ignore debt collector letters and demands for £170," Scott Dixon says. "They have no enforcement powers and are 'strangers to the alleged debt'."

However, a letter before claim/letter of claim needs a response as it's a precursor to court action.

"I suggest you try and get this invoice cancelled by contacting the landowner before it goes to court," says Dixon.

"In supermarket car parks, speak politely to customer services with your receipt first. Explain you are a loyal customer and ask if they will cancel it."

And if it goes to court in this case?

Dixon has this advice: "It's easy for me to say, but don't worry about this going to court as a judge will likely invoke the legal principle of De minimis non curat lex ('the law does not concern itself with trifles'). A trivial (de minimis) breach is not significant enough to justify the charge, and your case ought to be dismissed."

Scott is doing a great job getting these stories into the news.  He's been working with some parking experts to provide the correct information

Coupon-mad

Glad to hear it.

Parking experts - for consumers - have influenced journalists brilliantly on this subject recently!

Coupon-mad

Nasty Napier reckon that they can demand £100 from an elderly driver who arrived in the dark and driving rain. He then struggled in vain to follow complicated instructions with poor visibility.

He couldn't use the payment system so rejected the contract and drove out after just 8 minutes. He had no idea but after 5 minutes had passed, if he was unable to make the payment methods work he was entrapped and he would get a PCN either way. It was too late:

https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/haverhill/news/we-are-being-treated-as-cash-cows-driver-condemns-parking-9447728/

5 minutes is not an adequate or fair consideration period for pay & display or app sites at the best of times, but particularly when the area is in darkness and/or visibility or terms & screens is affected by poor weather.

This is an 80 year old victim.

"James de Savary, managing director of Napier Parking Ltd, said ... {the usual predictable spiel trying to suggest the futile farce of 'appeal' is worth trying}.

Why is JDS not ashamed and apologising?

The IPC must be so proud.

Coupon-mad

Next up:

Oxford John Radcliffe hospital parking dubbed 'confusing' with £100 fines

https://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/25740477.new-oxford-john-radcliffe-parking-dubbed-confusing/

Can anyone paste the article here? I can't read it but found on FB that staff members are falling victim.

One has £800 of PCNs already but of course Will Hurley would call him a repeat offender:

Sounds like they have introduced a PPC with ANPR but the hospital website says:

"The car parks are run by the Trust and not as a commercial operation. All money raised goes directly back to patient and visitor services."

emcwill

Coupon-mad said:

Next up:

Oxford John Radcliffe hospital parking dubbed 'confusing' with £100 fines

https://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/25740477.new-oxford-john-radcliffe-parking-dubbed-confusing/

Can anyone paste the article here? I can't read it but found on FB that staff members are falling victim.

(I use https://www.textise.net/)

A disabled hospital user says he was made to walk a long distance to verify his parking under new rules at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Under the new rules, Blue Badge users must now scan a bar code at a parking kiosk machine and enter a vehicle registration at the Headington site.

While parking is still free for disabled people, the rules have been branded "confusing" by Oxford hospital patients and visitors.

Antoni Bajowski said there is an "element of discrimination", claiming disabled drivers are being "targeted by this unscrupulous regime" with its "fractured and confusing rules".

New parking sign (Image: Submitted)

John Radcliffe Hospital parking - submitted picture (Image: Submit)

The Oxford man said he has been given a £100 fine for not noticing the new parking rules and having been caught out.

He said after the fine came through the post, he revisited the hospital to see the rules.

"The new rules Blue Badge holders are confusing," the 67-year-old said.

"During a visit you must now take the permit to a payment kiosk and scan the barcode to get free parking.

"But as far as I know or could see there is no payment kiosk. I'd expect it to be manned but there was nobody.

READ MORE: What next after royal Crown Estate buys farmland for £17m?

"I spoke to another driver who was parked in front of the new notice and he was as confused as I am.

"There are no signs saying 'beware of the new rules implemented'. The reference to the kiosk is puzzling."

Mr Bajowski then went inside the hospital and was told to walk a "very long distance" towards a desk away from the main entrance.

"I was forced to walk a very long distance to another desk with people behind it and explained the confusion," he added.

John Radcliffe Hospital (Image: Oxford Mail)

Antoni Bajowski with partner Linda Phipps (Image: Submit)

"Eventually I gave the registration number and said 'what do I do at the weekend?' She said 'you have to email details over'.

"Fortunately, I have a PC so I am able to do that but I know some elderly people who do not have access."

Mr Bajowski was at the hospital for an appointment for his partner Linda Phipps, 67, who cannot walk due to her cardiac condition.

"You can't expect disabled people to walk that far to the desk to sort out their parking," he added, referring to the long walk to the desk from the car park.

Paul Shead, deputy chief estates and facilities officer at OUH, said: “We’re sorry to hear of this visitor’s experience.

"We are planning to update the signs on our parking payment machine kiosks to make it clearer where people need to scan their blue badges.

“Anyone with a blue badge needs to scan their badge bar code at one of our parking payment machine kiosks and enter their vehicle registration number. They can then drive in and out for up to six months after the initial scan.

“If someone has received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) that they think is incorrect or inappropriate, they can appeal it – details of how to do so are set out in the PCN letter they receive.”

ANPR has been operating at the John Radcliffe, Churchill, and NOC visitor car parks for over two years. All spaces are now covered by ANPR, hence the change around scanning blue badges

If a Blue Badge holder needs assistance, they can telephone the Travel and Transport team via the switchboard, 0300 304 7777

In addition, some departments and areas can input this blue badge data as well, and other departments can email on behalf of our patients – OUH has ask that people speak to the team they’re visiting to ask for help

patient_dream

"The car parks are run by the Trust and not as a commercial operation. All money raised goes directly back to patient and visitor services."

Wonder how the trust will deal with non payers ?  Will they stoop so low as to using junky debt collectors and legals or will they ban people from using a free service ?

Coupon-mad

emcwill said:

Coupon-mad said:

Next up:

Oxford John Radcliffe hospital parking dubbed 'confusing' with £100 fines

https://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/25740477.new-oxford-john-radcliffe-parking-dubbed-confusing/

Can anyone paste the article here? I can't read it but found on FB that staff members are falling victim.

(I use https://www.textise.net/)

A disabled hospital user says he was made to walk a long distance to verify his parking under new rules at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Under the new rules, Blue Badge users must now scan a bar code at a parking kiosk machine and enter a vehicle registration at the Headington site.

While parking is still free for disabled people, the rules have been branded "confusing" by Oxford hospital patients and visitors.

Antoni Bajowski said there is an "element of discrimination", claiming disabled drivers are being "targeted by this unscrupulous regime" with its "fractured and confusing rules".

New parking sign (Image: Submitted)

John Radcliffe Hospital parking - submitted picture (Image: Submit)

The Oxford man said he has been given a £100 fine for not noticing the new parking rules and having been caught out.

He said after the fine came through the post, he revisited the hospital to see the rules.

"The new rules Blue Badge holders are confusing," the 67-year-old said.

"During a visit you must now take the permit to a payment kiosk and scan the barcode to get free parking.

"But as far as I know or could see there is no payment kiosk. I'd expect it to be manned but there was nobody.

READ MORE: What next after royal Crown Estate buys farmland for £17m?

"I spoke to another driver who was parked in front of the new notice and he was as confused as I am.

"There are no signs saying 'beware of the new rules implemented'. The reference to the kiosk is puzzling."

Mr Bajowski then went inside the hospital and was told to walk a "very long distance" towards a desk away from the main entrance.

"I was forced to walk a very long distance to another desk with people behind it and explained the confusion," he added.

John Radcliffe Hospital (Image: Oxford Mail)

Antoni Bajowski with partner Linda Phipps (Image: Submit)

"Eventually I gave the registration number and said 'what do I do at the weekend?' She said 'you have to email details over'.

"Fortunately, I have a PC so I am able to do that but I know some elderly people who do not have access."

Mr Bajowski was at the hospital for an appointment for his partner Linda Phipps, 67, who cannot walk due to her cardiac condition.

"You can't expect disabled people to walk that far to the desk to sort out their parking," he added, referring to the long walk to the desk from the car park.

Paul Shead, deputy chief estates and facilities officer at OUH, said: “We’re sorry to hear of this visitor’s experience.

"We are planning to update the signs on our parking payment machine kiosks to make it clearer where people need to scan their blue badges.

“Anyone with a blue badge needs to scan their badge bar code at one of our parking payment machine kiosks and enter their vehicle registration number. They can then drive in and out for up to six months after the initial scan.

“If someone has received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) that they think is incorrect or inappropriate, they can appeal it – details of how to do so are set out in the PCN letter they receive.”

ANPR has been operating at the John Radcliffe, Churchill, and NOC visitor car parks for over two years. All spaces are now covered by ANPR, hence the change around scanning blue badges

If a Blue Badge holder needs assistance, they can telephone the Travel and Transport team via the switchboard, 0300 304 7777

In addition, some departments and areas can input this blue badge data as well, and other departments can email on behalf of our patients – OUH has ask that people speak to the team they’re visiting to ask for help

Thanks!

Can we see an image of the signs please?

Is it ParkingEye?

Yet again this shows the brand new bright idea of what ANPR firms call 'bay monitoring' which forces disabled people to take extra steps and makes it more likely that disabled people will get postal PCNs (which means the PPC has processed 'special category data' for unjustified reasons without the required double justification for this category of data).

This is in clear breach of the DPA 2018, the ICO Code of Practice for Surveillance cameras and the Equality Act 2010.

It's also a misleading omission and/or misleading conduct under the DMCC Act 2024 because there is no 'kiosk' adjacent to the accessible bays and no (reportedly) no signs warning of the change & extra requirement.

We saw this first last year:

APCOA
Breach of Equality Act: unexpected burden on disabled people to take extra steps than just display a Badge. Victim says: "any user needing disabled parking must register on a web portal. No signage at the station re this change"
#1
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6610282/apcoa-southeastern-penalty-notices-and-blue-badges/p1

#2
Same Equality Act breach & DPA breach. Monitoring disabled bays remotely (because it's cheaper & generates more PCNs) instead of on foot, fails the 'special category data' robust data justification:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6612576/apcoa-pn-issued-at-southeastern-rail-car-park-blue-badge-not-registered-at-blue-badge-portal/p1

The remedy (to make this fair/legal) is this:

a). If ANPR firms want to carry out what they call 'bay monitoring' they must provide working 'blue badge scanners' placed directly at all accessible bays (ideally on a bollard at every bay) with massive signs, alerting drivers that they must do more than merely display the badge.

b)  Signs must also tell disabled persons how to claim their free parking rights if they do not have a Blue Badge but are transporting a person who has a mobility, sight, stamina or other medical condition or mental impairment (those persons are just as entitled to a 'reasonable adjustment' - i.e. to use an accessible bay in private land, especially at a hospital). Maybe by scanning a letter or asking staff at a desk inside the premises.

c)  And there must be a clear GDPR message (separate sign)) about data processing at those bays, including how they use, process & store Blue Badge data, as well as the justification for obtaining special category data rather than monitoring accessible bays more fairly, on foot.

I find it shocking that they are 'scanning' Blue Badges at all. Who says they can?

This is new and unchecked conduct; it has slid in completely unannounced. What database are they getting access to, bearing in mind the Blue Badge Scheme is ring-fenced data for Councils only? Where is the justification for no longer monitoring accessible bays fairly with 'eyes on' and an overarching requirement to deter misuse and positively enable access for people who need the bays, not make it so hard to comply that they penalise those persons? 

I believe accessible bays are so sensitive that the MHCLG should in fact state that bay monitoring can only be on foot with a person (who is not required to issue x number of PCNs per day) fairly overseeing the accessible needs of persons at hospitals and retail parks.

This would avoid excessive PCNs, harassment of disabled people and unnecessary processing of 'Special category' data which is protected for good reason.

A Blue Badge is data relating to the health of the named person.

UK GDPR carries a requirement for both a lawful basis under Article 6 and a specific condition for processing under Article 9 (i.e. double justification) and this is reflected in the new Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. This stems from the DPA schedule 1:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/schedule/1

All of the above is currently being ignored in the race to automate all monitoring to camera surveillance and to get DVLA data unfairly. We will see more articles like this and we all know that many old people will just pay.