Shopping Centre Parking Charges: Challenge Unfair Charges

• Overstaying the maximum time limit while shopping or dining
• ANPR failing to record your exit, creating a phantom all-day overstay
• Visiting multiple shops or restaurants and exceeding the combined time
• Parking in the wrong zone (e.g., staff-only or reserved area)
• Returning to the centre multiple times in one day, triggering a re-entry charge
• Not seeing time limit signs when entering through a less prominent entrance

• Euro Car Parks
• ParkingEye
• Smart Parking
• Horizon Parking
• APCOA

See our parking company guides for detailed information on appealing to specific operators.

• You were a genuine customer using the car park for its intended purpose
• The time limit was not clearly displayed at all entrances
• ANPR data is unreliable -- the camera may have missed your exit
• The charge is disproportionate to any loss suffered by the shopping centre
• The shopping centre (landowner) does not support charges against customers
• The grace period was not applied after your parking session
• Multiple visits in one day were counted as a single long stay

Shopping centre car parks exist to serve customers. If you were a genuine shopper, the landowner had no loss from your parking. If signage was unclear, the ANPR data unreliable, or the time limit unreasonable for the services offered, you have strong grounds to challenge the charge.

1. 1.Keep all shopping receipts with timestamps from the day in question
2. 2.Note which entrance you used and whether signs were visible there
3. 3.Request the ANPR entry and exit images from the operator
4. 4.Contact the shopping centre management to ask if they support the charge
5. 5.Photograph signage at all entrances and throughout the car park
6. 6.If the ANPR times seem wrong, provide your own evidence of arrival and departure