Dosh dilemma – I drove into a car park and drove straight out, now I’ve got a £100 fine!

Phill was picking his daughter up from a martial arts class in town. He entered a car park, found a spot and went to the parking meter to pay, to discover it only accepted coins. Without any cash on him, he returned to his car and exited the car park straight away. 

Five days later, a brown envelope arrived on his doormat notifying him of a £100 fine for failing to buy a ticket. 

Phill was stunned and felt ‘robbed,’ as he was barely in the car park for more than five minutes.  

He reached out, asking: “what are my rights?” 

It sounds like a frustrating situation, Phill, but there may be good news. 

What the law says  

According to Citizens Advice, you should be given a reasonable amount of time to leave a car park if you decide not to park. 

Entrance grace period  

The British Parking Association (BPA) states that when motorists enter a car park, they are allowed an ‘entrance grace period.’ This period gives drivers time to read the signs, attempt payment, or leave the car park. 

While the exact length of the grace period isn’t defined, it must be reasonable and it can vary based on the size and layout of the car park.  

For example, a small, permit-only car park might offer less than five minutes, while a larger multi-story car park might offer up to 15 minutes. 

Appealing your ticket 

Given the entrance grace period, it sounds like Phill should definitely appeal the ticket.  

Here's what you should do: 

Check the type of ticket you received 

Most parking tickets are one of the following: 

• Penalty charge notice (PCN) or excess charge notice (ECN): typically issued by the council for public land (for example, high streets or council car parks). 

• Parking charge notice: issued by a private landowner or parking company (supermarket car parks, for example). 

• Fixed penalty notice: issued by the police for parking violations on red routes or where police manage parking. 

Don’t pay the fine if you’re appealing it  

If you’re appealing the ticket, don’t pay it, as this can be seen as admitting responsibility, which will prevent you from appealing.  

If you're unsure, call the issuer of the ticket to confirm you shouldn't pay if you're planning to appeal. 

Reasons to appeal a ticket 

There's several common reasons people appeal parking tickets, including: 

• the rules weren’t clear 

• you didn’t break the rules 

• someone else was driving your car 

• you think the charge is too high 

• you took longer than others to buy a ticket or return to your car 

Provide evidence  

Include any evidence you may have to give you a greater chance of success.  

This could be:  

• a valid pay and display ticket 

• photographs  

• or, in Phill’s case, dashcam footage may show that he was only in the car park for a couple of minutes 

Additional resources:  

More information on car parking fines and how to appeal them can be found at: 

Gov.uk – appeal parking fine  

Know Your Parking Rights – how to appeal a parking ticket