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Parking Advice

When you enter into a car park, you enter private or local authority land and you can be charged to use it.  The terms of use should be set out clearly i.e. where you pay for the ticket and, if the terms state that tickets must be shown clearly in the windscreen or you will receive a fine, you must do this or you could be given a parking ticket.

Some council car parks have parking attendants who can issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), which you can challenge in the same way as a PCN parking ticket issued to a vehicle parked on the street.

In areas where decriminalised parking enforcement hasn't been introduced, some local authorities issue Excess Charge Notices (ECNs) or Standard Charge Notices (SCNs) in their car parks or in metered or pay-and-display bays on the street. 

Like PCN parking tickets, these parking tickets are processed by the local council and enforcement takes place in the local magistrates' court if there's a dispute or problem.

Parking tickets issued in private car parks

Car parks run by private companies aren't covered by the same rules as council-run ones are. Instead they are governed by contract law.

Car-park operators can decide which types of vehicle can use their spaces, how long they can stay, how much they must pay, and enforce special bays (such as for Blue Badge holders) and where vehicles may not park.

If you break the terms of the car park you could be given a parking ticket. However, car park operators must have signs that state their terms clearly. If you've been given a parking ticket for breaching a term that you weren't made  aware of, you may be able to challenge the parking ticket with the car-park operator or in the county court.