How do I appeal a parking ticket?

GROUNDS for appealing a parking ticket are fairly limited, but the successful appeals are usually in cases when signage or road markings are shown to be unclear, there’s been a problem with a ticketing machine, or a traffic warden has been overzealous.

Be sure to gather any evidence to support your case, taking photos of anything relevant, such as the road markings, signs or a broken ticket machine. Also keep receipts which prove where you have been, that you have attempted to pay for parking, or that you were a customer of the business.

If you think you have a case, don’t pay the fine and do check the paperwork you will have been issued for details of how to appeal. There are different types of parking ticket, and how you appeal depends on who issued the fine.

A Fixed Penalty Notice is issued by the police for offences involving red route and zig-zag lines by pedestrian crossings. A Penalty Charge Notice is issued by a council for parking on public land, such as a street or council-run car park, while a Parking Charge Notice is issued by a private landowner or their agent for parking on private land. This includes spaces open to the public such as supermarket car parks.

Challenging Penalty Charge Notices is relatively easy thanks to a website run by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT), and it’s worth doing if you think you’ve got a good case.

The TPT deals with parking ticket claims for most councils in England, apart from London. The website eliminates the slow process of submitting paper evidence via post. Currently just 0.5 per cent of drivers who get a fine appeal to TPT, yet half of those who do so are successful.

If the Parking Charge Notice has been issued by a private landowner that isn’t a member of the British Parking Association or International Parking Community, then they probably won’t be able to get your name and address from the DVLA, and you can get away without contacting them or paying the fine.

If the company is accredited, you will have to write to them stating the reasons for the appeal and include evidence. If your appeal is not successful, you can then take it to the relevant trade association and ask them to adjudicate.

“If you’re ticketed by a warden, check street signs and road markings. If they don’t meet regulatory requirements, you have grounds to appeal”

CHRIS ROSAMOND Current affairs editor