According to many motoring solicitors, the best tactic in contesting an unfair private parking ticket is to learn your rights, then sit tight and do nothing. Don’t respond to the fine and, chances are, they won’t even bother following you up! In fact, many people say you should respond to no correspondence from the company whatsoever – don’t even recognise their existence as a legitimate organisation!

If you do respond, make sure you do so wisely and keep copies of everything sent and received. It is also very important that you never ‘appeal’; you are not contesting a legitimate ticket, you are refusing to pay an unfair demand for money, based on a falsified breach of contract. All the ticket represents is an invoice, not an official fine.

Make it clear in all correspondence that you will not be intimidated, you know your rights and they will not get a penny from you without taking you through the full court proceedings. Not only are court proceedings time-consuming and expensive for the company, the chances are they won’t even win the case against you.

Firstly – DON’T PANIC!

Private parking tickets are NOT fines – these companies have no official right to fine you anything. The ticket they issue is simply designed to look like a fine; it is merely an invoice for a supposed breach of contract between the driven and the landowner.

Secondly – ACT!

Gather evidence to reflect the unfair nature of the situation; take photographs of unclear (or a lack of) road signs and markings, obstructed signs and your car. If there was no parking notice (or you couldn’t see it) you couldn’t have agreed to the contract you are supposed to have been in breach of! For this reason, you should take pictures to prove there wasn’t appropriate signage, or that the were hidden, blocked or hard to see. Signs need to be visible from all over the car park, or they’re not sufficient.

Take witness statements from anybody who will testify to the fact that you were given your parking fine unfairly. By gathering all this evidence you’ll be in a better position to fight the company

Next time: fighting for your rights!