Parking firm loses court case – and is ordered to pay £10k
Richard Aucock, Contributor
Tue, 08 Apr 2025
Excel Parking has been ordered to pay £10,240 in costs to charity after taking a driver to court for unpaid fines – and losing.
The car park operator had demanded £11,390 from Hannah Robinson, 21. She received hundreds of letters demanding money, reports the BBC, as well as repeated phone calls.
Her problems began back in June 2021 when she started using a car park in Darlington. While she paid each time, a poor phone signal meant it took her longer than five minutes.
Excel Parking has previously been criticised for charging motorists £100 if they took more than five minutes to pay – even if they still paid for their parking session.
Robinson continued using the car park and began appealing against the charges towards the end of 2022. In February 2024, she received a letter asking her to pay 67 unpaid Parching Charge Notices, or PCNs.
Each one was £100 plus a £70 debt collection fee – a total of £11,390. It was then that she told her family.
When she received a court claim for some of the PCNs and various other costs, media coverage saw her receive free legal representation from Keidan Harrison.
In dismissing the claim during the hearing on 26 March, the judge made a pro bono costs order for Excel Parking to pay £10,240 to charity the Access to Justice Foundation.
"The hearing was very tense but I’m glad the judge saw through them," said Robinson.
Excel Parking Services Ltd told the BBC it did not want to comment as it was appealing.
Ask HJ
Can I contest a parking ticket for parking on private land?
Once a week I attend a social function at a church hall for about 2 hours. I am aware that this is covered by a Parking Company called Civil Enforcement who are approved BPA Operators. When you enter the church grounds from the road, there are no signs telling you that you are entering a parking zone area. On entering, there are vehicles parked up to the fence on the left. These parked vehicles actually obscure signage telling you to register your vehicle! I usually drive past them and park immediately in front of the hall where there are no signs at all.
Prior to entering the hall area there is a small screen for you to fill in your vehicle details and on doing so it confirms that you are allowed to park on this private land. Signage telling you to do so is either missing or fallen on the floor and the screen is so small that it could easily be overlooked.
I have recently received an invoice from Civil Enforcement for £100.00 reducing to £60.00 if paid within 14 days of the notice (14th March 2025). They state that I parked on the 26th February 2025 and failed to obtain a permit to do so. The invoice shows two very grainy pictures purporting to be my car but could be any ones as no reg no is shown, although their written description correctly shows my reg no. etc
I could have forgotten to register my car on this particular occasion but I doubt it and cannot prove it. Also there have been times when the screen was not working at all but I cannot remember when. Do you think I would stand any chance of successfully appealing due to inadequate signage?
We would suggest challenging the parking ticket, because it costs nothing to do so and is usually worth a try. You can read our in-depth guide on this process here - https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/advice/driving-advice/parking-ticket-appeals/
Answered by David Ross
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