Do I have to pay a private parking charge?

Private parking charges are contractual, not fines. You are only liable as the keeper if the operator followed the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 requirements exactly. Over 50% of POPLA appeals succeed.

How do I appeal a council parking ticket?

You have 28 days from the PCN date to make an informal challenge. If rejected, you receive a Notice to Owner and have 28 days to make a formal representation. If that fails, you can appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for free.

How long do I have to appeal?

For council PCNs, 28 days from the date of issue. For private parking charges, 28 days from the original notice. The 50% discount is typically frozen during the appeal process.

12 June 2026

Two Parking Charges for One Visit? Why "Double Dipping" Is Banned — and How to Cancel Both

You parked once. You paid once — or overstayed once. So why have two separate Parking Charge Notices arrived for the same visit? It happens more than you would think: a driver overstays slightly and gets charged for the overstay and for a supposed payment error, or two linked operators both issue for one stay. Issuing more than one charge for a single parking event is exactly the kind of practice the sector's Code of Practice is designed to stop — and when it happens, you can usually get both cancelled.

What "Double Dipping" Actually Means

"Double dipping" is when an operator tries to extract two charges from a single parking event. Common versions include charging separately for an overstay and for "non-payment" of the same session, issuing a second notice on top of one already under appeal, or two operators covering the same site both ticketing one car. Whatever the packaging, the principle is the same: one parking event should mean, at most, one charge.

Why Both Charges Are Vulnerable

A private parking charge is a claim that you agreed to a contract by parking. You cannot breach that single contract twice in a way that justifies two separate penalties for one stay — so the second charge typically has no proper basis at all. And because both notices rest on the same underlying event, weaknesses in one usually infect the other:

Signage. If the terms were not displayed clearly and prominently, as ParkingEye v Beavis (2015) requires, neither charge stands.
Grace periods. The Code's 10-minute buffer after expiry and 5-minute consideration period on arrival can wipe out a marginal overstay entirely.
The keeper notice. Under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, an operator must serve a compliant Notice to Keeper to pursue the registered keeper — for each charge it wants to enforce.
Proportionality. Two charges for one visit is a textbook example of a penalty that goes beyond protecting any legitimate interest — the very thing Beavis said a charge must not do.

How to Challenge Both at Once

Do not pay either charge — paying is usually treated as accepting it. Appeal both in writing within the deadline on each notice (usually 28 days), and make the double-charge point explicitly: state that both notices relate to the same date, time and vehicle for a single parking event, and that charging twice breaches the sector Code of Practice. Attach your payment confirmation and photos of the signage. If the operator rejects you, escalate for free to POPLA (BPA operators) or the IAS (IPC operators).

Cancel Both Charges in 60 Seconds

Tell our trained AI about your visit — the charges, the timings, the signage, and the fact you were ticketed twice — and we'll generate a persuasive appeal letter citing the right rules under the Private Parking Code and PoFA 2012. No legal knowledge required.

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