Defending a private parking charge CCJ claim

Receiving a county court claim for a private parking charge can be unsettling, but it is a common situation and there are well-established steps you can take. Here is a practical guide to your position and options.

Understanding what has happened:

A private parking company has issued a claim against you, usually through the County Court Money Claims Centre. This is not a criminal matter. It is a civil claim, typically for breach of contract or trespass. The claim will usually be for the original parking charge plus court fees and sometimes additional costs.

The claim form will be on Form N1 or equivalent and will give you a deadline to respond, usually 14 days from the date of deemed service (which is five days after the date of issue shown on the claim form). It is essential that you do not ignore this deadline.

Immediate steps:

1. Read the claim form carefully, including the Particulars of Claim, and note the response deadline.

2. Log in to the MCOL (Money Claim Online) system or use the response pack sent with the claim to acknowledge service or file your defence. If you need more time, you can file an Acknowledgment of Service within 14 days, which gives you a total of 28 days from deemed service to file your defence.

3. Do not ignore the claim. If you fail to respond in time, the claimant can apply for default judgment, which means you lose automatically regardless of the merits.

Deciding whether to defend:

You should consider the following:

The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is central to most private parking claims. Schedule 4 of that Act created the keeper liability regime. Under this regime, if the driver was not the registered keeper, the parking company can only hold the keeper liable if it served a valid Notice to Keeper within the strict requirements of the Act. This includes serving the notice within 14 days of the alleged contravention (or 14 days after a response from the DVLA with keeper details, if applicable). If the notice was not served correctly or at all, keeper liability does not arise.

Common grounds of defence include the following.

Failure to comply with the notice requirements under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4. This includes both the Notice to Driver (which should be placed on the vehicle or sent within the relevant period) and the Notice to Keeper.

The signage at the car park was inadequate, unclear, or did not form a proper basis for a contract.

The charge is not a genuine pre-estimate of loss and amounts to a penalty. However, since the Supreme Court decision in ParkingEye v Beavis (2015), this argument is harder to run because the court held that a charge of £85 could be a legitimate contractual charge provided it served a legitimate interest. That said, higher charges or charges in different circumstances may still be challenged.

The claimant cannot prove you were the driver.

The parking company is not a member of an accredited trade association (BPA or IPC), which may affect its ability to obtain keeper details from the DVLA.

Any procedural failures in the POPLA or IAS appeals process, if relevant.

Preparing your defence:

If you decide to defend, you should file your defence within the deadline. The defence should be clear and set out each ground on which you dispute the claim, responding to each paragraph of the Particulars of Claim.

Gather all evidence you have, including photographs of signage, any notices you received, the timeline of events, and any correspondence with the parking company. If you did not receive a Notice to Keeper, say so clearly. If you were not the driver on the day in question, state that and explain (if applicable) that no valid Notice to Keeper was served.

There is a very active and knowledgeable community at websites such as the MoneySavingExpert forum and PePiPoo where people share templates, experiences, and guidance specifically on defending private parking claims. These can be helpful for understanding common issues and drafting your defence.

After filing your defence:

The claim will usually be allocated to the small claims track if the amount is under £10,000 (which it almost always is in parking cases). This means costs exposure is very limited. Even if you lose, you will usually only be liable for the amount claimed, the court fee, and limited fixed costs. You will not normally be ordered to pay the other side's solicitor fees.

The court may order directions and set a hearing date. Many parking companies discontinue claims when a robust defence is filed, because the cost of pursuing the claim through to a hearing is not worthwhile for them.

Mediation:

Since June 2024, for claims on the small claims track worth up to £10,000, the court now automatically refers many claims to the Small Claims Mediation Service. You may be contacted to arrange a mediation session. This is a free telephone mediation lasting up to an hour. You are not obliged to settle at mediation, but you must engage with the process if referred.

Summary of practical next steps:

1. Note and diarise the deadline for responding.
2. File an Acknowledgment of Service if you need more time.
3. Investigate the specific grounds on which you can defend.
4. File a clear, detailed defence before the deadline.
5. Gather and preserve all evidence.
6. Engage with mediation if referred.
7. Prepare for a hearing if the claim is not discontinued.

The key message is not to panic and not to ignore the claim. Many of these claims are successfully defended.