Retail park parking charges: what a ticket means and how to appeal

Retail park car parks look like public car parks, but they are not. They belong to the landowner, and the rules for using them are a contract you accept by driving in and parking. Most retail parks enforce those rules through a private parking company, often using cameras that read your number plate on entry and exit. If you overstay, park outside a bay or leave the site and come back, a letter can arrive a week or two later asking for payment.

This guide explains what that letter means, how it differs from a council ticket, and what you can do about it. It covers the position across the UK, but the law differs between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in one important respect, so read the section on who is liable.

Parking charge notice or penalty charge notice?

Both are often shortened to "PCN", which causes a lot of confusion.

A private parking charge is sometimes worded to look official. It is not a fine, and the company has no power to add points to your licence. But that does not make it unenforceable. In 2015 the Supreme Court, in ParkingEye v Beavis, upheld an £85 charge for overstaying a free retail car park, finding that it protected a legitimate interest in managing the spaces. Charges that are clearly signed and proportionate are generally enforceable.

How private operators get your details

Private companies can only request a vehicle keeper's name and address from the DVLA if they belong to an accredited trade association. There are two: the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC). Membership commits the operator to that association's code of practice and its independent appeals service. If a letter comes from a company that belongs to neither, it should not have been able to get your details from the DVLA, and you may want to seek advice.

Who is liable: driver or keeper?

In England and Wales, Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 allows an operator to pursue the registered keeper if it does not know who was driving, provided its notices meet strict requirements on wording and timing. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, that keeper liability provision does not apply, so the operator generally has to show who the driver was. You are not obliged to name the driver, but you should not give false information either.

The code of practice: where things stand

Parliament passed the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 to create a single statutory code for private parking in England, Wales and Scotland. The government published a code in 2022, including a lower cap on charges, but withdrew it later that year after a legal challenge by parts of the industry. It has since consulted again on charge levels and fees.

In the meantime, the BPA and IPC have produced their own joint industry code, which their members are bringing in on a phased timetable. It includes a ceiling on most parking charges, a minimum grace period at the end of a stay and rules on debt recovery fees.

This area is in flux. Before relying on any figure for a cap, grace period or fee, check the current position on GOV.UK and the trade association named on your letter.

Common reasons for a retail park charge

• Overstaying the maximum stay. Camera systems measure from the moment you pass the entrance camera to the moment you pass the exit, including time spent looking for a space and queuing to leave.
• Leaving the site and returning. Some parks prohibit leaving the site on foot, for example to visit a neighbouring shop or station. Two short visits on the same day can also be read as one long stay if the cameras miss an exit.
• Parking outside a marked bay, in a parent and child bay without a child, or in an accessible bay without displaying a Blue Badge.
• Parking for EV charging beyond the permitted time, where charging bays have their own limits (see our EV charging guide).
• Failing to register a car on a shop's tablet or app where a longer stay is given to customers.

How to appeal, step by step

1. Do not ignore it. Note the date on the letter. Deadlines for appeals and for any reduced payment run from that date.
2. Gather evidence. Photograph the entrance signs and any signs near where you parked, ideally on a return visit. Keep receipts showing when you were in the shops. Look at the photographs the operator has sent.
3. Appeal to the operator first, in writing and within its deadline. Explain clearly why the charge should be cancelled. Common grounds include unclear or missing signs, a broken ticket machine or registration tablet, a genuine emergency, a vehicle breakdown, a short overstay within a grace period, and camera errors such as a missed exit.
4. If the operator rejects it, it must give you a code to appeal to the independent service: POPLA for BPA members, or the Independent Appeals Service for IPC members. There is no charge to appeal.
5. Know what the outcome means. If the independent service upholds your appeal, the operator should cancel the charge. If it rejects your appeal, you can still decide whether to pay or defend any court claim; the decision binds the operator but not you.

Most operators offer a reduced amount if you pay within a short period, commonly 14 days. If you appeal within that time, many will hold or reinstate the reduction if your appeal fails. Check the letter carefully, because practice varies.

If it goes to court

If you neither pay nor win an appeal, the operator may pass the debt to a collection agency and then issue a county court claim (in Scotland, a simple procedure claim in the sheriff court). Do not ignore court papers. Respond within the deadline, either by paying or by filing a defence. A judgment that is paid within one month does not stay on your credit file; one left unpaid usually does. Free advice is available from Citizens Advice.

Avoiding charges in the first place

• Read the entrance sign every time. Rules change, and a new operator can arrive without much notice.
• Set a phone timer for 20 minutes less than the maximum stay.
• If a shop asks you to register your number plate for a longer stay, do it before leaving the shop and check the screen confirms it.
• Do not leave the site on foot unless the signs allow it.
• Keep your receipts for a month or so. They are useful evidence of what you were doing and when.

For tips on fitting several shops into one visit without running out of time, see our guide to planning a retail park trip.