Private parking charge for a car I never owned: who helps?

Summary

If a private parking company says you are the keeper of a car you have never owned, and the alleged parking was in a place you have never been, who helps is the operator first. Reply in writing that you are not the keeper, attach the DVLA letter if you have one, and ask them to cancel the notice. Do not pay to “make it go away” while that point is unanswered. Paying can be treated as closing the dispute. This is not the same problem as a parking ticket where you were there but the wrong registration was typed into an app. That sibling page is for your own car. This page is for a vehicle that is not yours at all. Citizens Advice will explain the difference between a private Parking Charge Notice and a council penalty, and when to appeal. POPLA (British Parking Association members) or the IAS (International Parking Community members) only opens after the operator rejects your appeal and sends a code. They will not look at a notice you have not challenged with the operator first.

Key information

• The notice should name the operator, the vehicle registration, the place and the time. If the registration is not a car you have ever owned or kept, say that plainly.
• Keeper liability on private land, where it applies, comes from Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. POPLA’s own material says the keeper is presumed to be the registered keeper unless the contrary is proved. A DVLA letter that you are not the keeper is the proof you send. You do not have to name a driver of a car that is not yours.
• Check the operator’s trade body on the notice or on the BPA or IPC member lists before you pick POPLA or IAS. The wrong appeal service will bounce you.
• Deadlines on the notice are real. A late appeal can push you toward a court claim. If a County Court claim form arrives, file a defence. Ignoring a claim is how a default judgment appears. Citizens Advice and the court form both say this. A parking blog does not replace the defence deadline printed on the claim.
• Do not send the operator extra personal data they do not need. The DVLA letter and a short denial are enough to start.
• Citizens Advice: Advisers explain which notice you hold and whether an appeal is the right tool. Their page on when to appeal a parking ticket covers private land and council land. The page about someone else driving your car is a different situation: that is your car and another driver. Use it only if the registration really is yours. Advisers will not email the parking firm or guarantee the charge will be cancelled.
• POPLA: POPLA assesses appeals for BPA operators after the operator rejects you and issues a 10 digit verification code. You send the evidence with the appeal. They will not add documents later, and they will not reopen a decision you dislike. If you win, the operator cancels the charge. If you lose, you can still refuse to pay and defend a later claim, but you should read the decision first. Start at how to appeal. IAS is the IPC scheme. It is not POPLA. Use the scheme named on the rejection.
• Parking operator: Can cancel a notice issued to the wrong person They will not: Does not have to cancel because you are annoyed, and will not treat silence as a win for you. Reach: The appeal address on the notice.
• DVLA: Can confirm you are not the registered keeper They will not: Does not cancel the parking charge. Reach: GOV.UK contact DVLA.
• Citizens Advice: Explains private charges versus council penalties, and appeal timing They will not: Does not appeal for you. Reach: When to appeal.
• POPLA or IAS: Independent appeal after the operator’s rejection, if that operator is in the scheme They will not: Does not take the first complaint, and POPLA will not rehear a lost appeal. Reach: popla.co.uk.

Practical guidance

• Operator, before the date on the notice: “I am not the registered keeper of this vehicle. I have never owned it or kept it. Please cancel.” Attach the DVLA letter. Keep proof of sending.
• DVLA if you do not yet have written confirmation. Ask for a record you can show the operator. Do not rely on a phone call alone.
• Citizens Advice if the operator ignores the DVLA letter or tells you to name a driver anyway.
• POPLA or IAS only after a rejection and only on the scheme that matches the operator, inside the code deadline (often 28 days from the rejection for POPLA).
• Court papers: acknowledge and defend. Do not throw them away because you know the car is not yours. The judge does not know that until you say it on the form.

Related topics

More in this area

• Appealing a parking ticket if you have a Blue Badge
• Appealing a parking ticket
• Complaining about bailiffs
• Stop being chased for a parking ticket
• When to appeal a parking ticket