Frequently Asked Questions

Private parking charge notices are not fines. They are invoices for an alleged breach of contract between you and the parking operator. Unlike council-issued penalty charge notices, private PCNs carry no legal obligation to pay unless a court orders you to. However, you should not simply ignore them, as the parking company may pursue a County Court claim.

A parking charge notice (PCN) is issued by a private parking company and is essentially a contractual claim (an invoice). A penalty charge notice is issued by a local council or authority and carries statutory enforcement powers. Council penalties can result in increased fines and enforcement action. Private charges must go through the civil court system to be enforced.

Yes. Private parking companies can file a County Court claim against you. However, many charges are dropped when a defence is filed because the cost of pursuing a hearing often exceeds the value of the claim, and parking companies know that many of their cases have legal weaknesses.

A parking charge itself will not affect your credit score. Only a County Court Judgment (CCJ) can appear on your credit file, and only if you fail to respond to a court claim or lose the case and fail to pay within 30 days. Filing a defence prevents a default judgment and protects your credit record.

If you ignore a private parking charge, the company may send reminder letters, pass the matter to a debt collector, send a Letter Before Action, and ultimately file a County Court claim. If you ignore the court claim, a CCJ may be entered against you by default. We strongly recommend responding to court claims with a defence rather than ignoring them.

The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA) Schedule 4 sets out the rules for keeper liability in private parking. For a parking company to hold the registered keeper liable (rather than the driver), they must serve a compliant Notice to Keeper within 14 days of the alleged contravention. Failure to comply with POFA means keeper liability does not arise.

ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 is a Supreme Court case that upheld a parking charge of £85 at a free retail car park. However, the decision was specific to those facts. It does not mean all parking charges are valid. Cases involving members, residents, employees, or situations where the motorist had a right to park are distinguishable from Beavis.

You can appeal to the parking company and then to POPLA (BPA members) or the IAS (IPC members). However, be careful what you say in an appeal as it could be used against you in court. Do not admit liability. If you are already at the court claim stage, your priority should be filing a defence.

No. FightMyPCN provides document templates and information for educational purposes only. We are not a law firm. The documents we generate are based on established legal arguments but should be reviewed by you and adapted to your circumstances. For complex cases, we recommend consulting a solicitor.

Your defence document is generated immediately after completing the questionnaire. You can preview the full defence for free. After payment, you can download all four documents (defence, witness statement template, evidence checklist, and settlement response template) instantly.

We cannot guarantee any specific outcome. Every case is different. However, filing a well-structured defence based on established legal arguments significantly increases the chances of the parking company discontinuing their claim. Many companies choose to drop cases rather than bear the cost of a hearing.

FightMyPCN covers private parking charge notices from companies such as ParkingEye, Euro Car Parks, UKPC, CP Plus, Smart Parking, and others. We do not cover council-issued penalty charge notices, which have a different legal process.

Yes. If you have received a County Court claim form, generating your defence should be a priority. You typically have 14 days to respond (or 28 days if you file an acknowledgment of service). Our questionnaire and AI are designed to produce a defence suitable for County Court filing.

Because the defence document is generated and delivered digitally, we cannot offer refunds after download. However, you can preview the complete defence document for free before paying, so you know exactly what you are getting.