What Happens If You Don't Pay a Private Parking Ticket?

Private Parking Tickets Are NOT Fines

The most important thing to understand is that a private parking charge notice is not a fine. It is not issued by the council or the police. It is an invoice from a private company -- a request for payment, not a legal penalty. This distinction matters enormously because it determines what powers the company has and how the dispute is resolved.

Council-issued Penalty Charge Notices (also called PCNs, which causes frequent confusion) are genuine regulatory penalties issued under statutory authority. They carry specific enforcement powers, including the ability to increase the charge if unpaid and ultimately to instruct bailiffs without going through a full court hearing. Private parking companies have none of these powers.

Private parking charges arise from contract law. The theory is that by entering a private car park, you agree to the terms and conditions displayed on signage, and that breaching those terms entitles the landowner (or their appointed parking management company) to charge you a specified sum. Whether that contractual claim is valid depends on several factors, including the adequacy of the signage, compliance with industry codes of practice, and whether the charge represents a genuine pre-estimate of loss or is a penalty.

The landmark Supreme Court case of ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 established that private parking charges can be enforceable as contractual terms, provided they serve a legitimate interest and are not disproportionate. However, the court was clear that each case must be assessed on its own facts. Simply because one parking charge was upheld does not mean that all parking charges are valid.

What Parking Companies Can Legally Do

Understanding what a private parking company is actually permitted to do helps you assess the real risk. Here is what they can do if you do not pay:

Send You Letters and Reminders

The company can send you letters requesting payment, including the initial PCN, reminder notices, and escalation letters. These letters often use increasingly urgent language designed to intimidate you into paying. They may reference legal action, court costs, and bailiffs. While the letters are legitimate correspondence, the threatening tone is a deliberate tactic.

Obtain Your Details from the DVLA

If the PCN was placed on your vehicle and you did not receive it (or the company needs to send the charge to the registered keeper), parking companies that are members of an Accredited Trade Association -- either the International Parking Community (IPC) or the British Parking Association (BPA) -- can request the registered keeper's details from the DVLA. This is how they obtain your name and address to send the Notice to Keeper under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA).

Instruct Debt Collection Agents

After a period of non-payment, the parking company may pass your case to a debt collection agency. Common debt collectors used by parking companies include DCB Legal, Debt Recovery Plus, and Gladstones Solicitors. Their role and actual powers are explained in detail below.

Issue a County Court Claim

The most significant step a parking company can take is to issue a claim against you through the County Court. This is a formal legal process where the company asks a court to order you to pay the parking charge plus court costs and interest. If they do this, you will receive official court documents and will have a deadline to respond. This is the stage where the consequences become real, and it is explained in full detail later in this guide.

What Parking Companies CANNOT Do

Equally important is understanding the limits on a private parking company's powers. Many of the threats implied in their letters are not things they can actually do:

They Cannot Clamp or Tow Your Vehicle

Under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, it is a criminal offence to clamp or tow a vehicle on private land without lawful authority in England and Wales. Private parking companies do not have this authority. If a company threatens to clamp or tow your car, they are either bluffing or acting outside the law. The only exception is on certain types of land with specific legal provisions, such as airports with byelaws.

They Cannot Directly Affect Your Credit Score

A private parking company cannot report an unpaid parking charge to credit reference agencies such as Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. The parking charge is a disputed contractual claim, not a regulated credit agreement. Your credit score will not be affected by an unpaid PCN alone. However, if the company takes you to court and obtains a County Court Judgment (CCJ) that you fail to satisfy within 30 days, the CCJ itself can appear on your credit file.

They Cannot Send Bailiffs

Bailiffs (officially called enforcement agents) can only be instructed after a court has issued a judgment and the debtor has failed to pay. A private parking company cannot send bailiffs to your home without first winning a court case against you. Any letter that implies bailiffs are imminent without a court judgment is misleading. Even after a CCJ, the company must apply for a separate warrant of control before enforcement agents can attend your property.

They Cannot Issue a Criminal Penalty

Private parking charges are a civil matter. You will not receive a criminal record, points on your licence, or a criminal prosecution for failing to pay a private parking ticket. The matter exists entirely within the civil courts system.

The Timeline: What Happens Step by Step

If you do not pay a private parking charge notice, here is the typical sequence of events. Not every case follows this exact path, and many cases stall at earlier stages, but this represents the full escalation process.

The Debt Collector Stage

Receiving a letter from a debt collector can be alarming, but it is important to understand who these companies are and what powers they actually have. Debt collection agencies used by parking companies -- such as DCB Legal, Debt Recovery Plus, and ZZPS -- are not bailiffs, not officers of the court, and not government agencies.

A debt collection agency is simply a company that has been instructed to collect money on behalf of the parking company. Their letters may look official and use legal-sounding language, but they have no special legal powers. They cannot enter your home, seize your property, or take any enforcement action. All they can do is send you letters and make phone calls asking you to pay.

Debt collectors are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and must follow the FCA's Consumer Credit sourcebook. They must not use aggressive practices, make misleading statements about their powers, or contact you at unreasonable times. If a debt collector's behaviour is oppressive or misleading, you can complain to the FCA or the Financial Ombudsman Service.

If you receive a debt collector letter, do not panic. You are not obliged to engage with the debt collector directly. If you dispute the parking charge, you can write to the debt collector stating that the debt is disputed and setting out your reasons. Under FCA guidelines, a debt collector should not continue collection activity on a genuinely disputed debt without first seeking to resolve the dispute or referring it back to the creditor.

The Court Stage

The County Court claim is the only stage in this process where there are real, enforceable consequences for not responding. If a parking company files a court claim and you ignore it, the court can enter a default judgment against you. This means the court assumes the company's claim is valid because you did not contest it, and you will be ordered to pay the full amount claimed plus court costs and interest.

A County Court Judgment (CCJ) is a serious matter. If you do not pay the CCJ within 30 days, it will be registered on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines and will appear on your credit file for six years. This can affect your ability to obtain mortgages, credit cards, loans, and even some employment positions. The company can also apply for enforcement action, including attachment of earnings, charging orders on your property, or warrants of control (which is when bailiffs become involved).

However, if you file a defence, the dynamics change entirely. The court will consider your defence arguments, and the claim will proceed to a hearing where both sides present their case. Many parking companies settle or discontinue claims when they receive a well-prepared defence, because the cost of attending a hearing (including solicitor fees and the risk of losing) often exceeds the value of the parking charge. For detailed guidance on preparing a defence, see our County Court Defence Guide.

It is worth noting that not all parking companies actually follow through on their threat of court action. Issuing a court claim costs the company money (the court fee depends on the amount claimed but typically starts at 35 pounds for claims up to 300 pounds), and if they lose, they cannot recover that cost. Some companies issue large volumes of claims, while others rarely litigate. Our guides on individual companies -- such as ParkingEye and Euro Car Parks -- include information on each company's litigation history.

Risks of Ignoring a Parking Charge Completely

While many people have ignored private parking tickets without consequence, this approach carries genuine risks that you should understand before deciding on your strategy.

The primary risk is that the parking company may eventually issue a court claim, and if you fail to notice the court papers (or continue to ignore them), a default CCJ will be entered against you. Court papers are sent by post and can be missed, especially if you have moved address since the parking event. A CCJ entered without your knowledge can cause significant problems when it surfaces during a credit check.

Under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, the registered keeper of the vehicle can be held liable for the parking charge if the driver cannot be identified, provided the parking company has followed the correct POFA procedures. This means you cannot simply claim that someone else was driving to avoid liability -- the keeper liability provisions exist specifically to address this argument. However, if the company has not complied with the strict POFA requirements (including serving the Notice to Keeper within the required timeframe and in the prescribed format), keeper liability does not transfer, and the company can only pursue the actual driver.

The accumulation of costs is another risk. If a court claim is issued, the amount you owe increases to include court fees, solicitor costs, and interest. What started as a 60 or 100 pound parking charge can become a claim for 250 to 350 pounds or more once these additional costs are added. If a CCJ is entered and enforcement action follows, further costs are added.

Risks of Just Paying

Many motorists pay private parking tickets simply to make the problem go away. While this is understandable, it is not always the best approach, and there are reasons to think carefully before paying.

By paying, you are accepting the parking company's claim that you breached their terms and that their charge is valid. If the PCN was issued incorrectly -- for example, because the signage was inadequate, the POFA notice was not served properly, or the charge amount is excessive -- paying means you are handing over money you do not legally owe.

From a broader perspective, paying questionable parking charges encourages the continuation of predatory parking practices. Private parking companies operate on a business model where a significant portion of their revenue comes from charges. When motorists pay without challenging, it reinforces practices that consumer groups and motoring organisations have consistently criticised. The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 was introduced precisely because of widespread concerns about unfair practices in the private parking industry.

If you have already paid a parking charge that you believe was unfair, your options for recovering the money are limited. Small claims court is theoretically available, but the practical burden of bringing a claim makes it rarely worthwhile for the amounts involved.

Your Best Strategy

The most effective approach to a private parking charge is neither to ignore it nor to pay it reflexively. It is to assess whether the charge is enforceable and, if it is not, to defend it properly with well-structured legal arguments.

Start by checking whether the parking company has complied with the requirements of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The POFA imposes strict conditions on the transfer of liability from driver to keeper, including detailed requirements about the content and timing of the Notice to Keeper. Failure to comply with any of these requirements means the company cannot hold the registered keeper liable. Our POFA 2012 Guide explains these requirements in detail.

Next, consider whether the signage at the car park was adequate. For a contractual parking charge to be enforceable, the terms must have been brought to the motorist's attention before or at the time of parking. Signs must be prominent, legible, and clearly state the terms including the charge amount. If you have photographs of the signage (or lack thereof), this can be powerful evidence.

Consider whether the charge amount is proportionate. While ParkingEye v Beavis established that parking charges of 85 pounds could be legitimate, each case is assessed on its own facts. Charges that are significantly higher than the industry norm, or that bear no relation to any loss suffered by the landowner, may still be challenged as penalties. The BPA and IPC codes of practice set caps on the amounts that member companies can charge.

If you decide to defend, the process involves several stages: appeal through the parking company's internal process, then to the independent appeals service (POPLA for BPA members, or the IAS for IPC members), and if the company still pursues the matter and issues a court claim, file a formal defence with the County Court.

A well-prepared defence that identifies genuine legal weaknesses in the parking company's case is remarkably effective. Many claims are discontinued or settled on favourable terms once the company realises the motorist has a substantive defence. FightMyPCN can help you generate a professional defence document tailored to the specific facts of your case.

Frequently Asked Questions