Appealing to POPLA or the IAS after a private parking company says no

Which service hears my appeal?

A parking company that gets keeper details from the DVLA must belong to one of two trade bodies. If it belongs to the British Parking Association, the independent appeal is to POPLA, Parking on Private Land Appeals. If it belongs to the International Parking Community, it is the Independent Appeals Service, the IAS. The company's rejection letter must tell you how to appeal.

Both only hear an appeal the company has already refused. Paying the charge normally ends your right to appeal.

POPLA is run by Trust Alliance Group and funded by the British Parking Association. The IAS is run by Accord Dispute Resolution, and its adjudicators are qualified solicitors or barristers.

What are the deadline and the cost?

For both, you have 28 days from the date the company rejects your appeal. POPLA needs the 10-digit verification code from the rejection letter, which is valid for 28 days. A standard appeal to either is free.

Appealing to either one means giving up the reduced amount, so if you lose, the full charge is due. While the appeal is with them, the company must not pursue you for payment.

POPLA accepts an expired code only in limited cases, such as being in hospital or abroad for most of the time it was valid. If you miss the IAS deadline, you can ask the company to agree to a late appeal within 12 months of the charge. It can refuse, you pay a non-refundable fee, and the decision then binds you as well as the company.

What do they decide on?

POPLA decides whether the charge was issued correctly, using the law, the industry code and the evidence from both sides. The IAS decides whether the charge is lawful. Neither will allow an appeal on mitigating circumstances alone.

POPLA can send serious circumstances outside your control back to the company to reconsider. If the company still pursues the charge, POPLA then decides whether it was issued correctly.

Complaints about customer service or the state of the car park are not grounds, unless they affect whether the charge is valid.

Which grounds work?

• The notice to the keeper arrived too late, or leaves out wording the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 requires.
• The signs did not make the terms clear.
• You paid, or did not stay longer than allowed, and can show it.
• The company did not allow the grace period or consideration period the industry code requires.
• The car had been stolen.
• You have already paid, or are being charged the wrong amount.

Not sure which of these fit your notice? Check it free. You see the verdict and the deadline before you pay.

How do I make my case?

Put everything in at the start. POPLA does not let you add new evidence or new grounds after you submit, and the IAS says its decision cannot be reviewed later.

At POPLA the company has 21 days to send its evidence pack. You then have 7 days to comment on it, for example to point out that a sign it shows has since been removed. Your comments must stick to your original grounds.

Appeal each charge separately. Neither service combines several charges into one appeal. POPLA says appeals typically take six to eight weeks.

What happens after the decision?

If you win, the charge is cancelled, and the company must accept the decision.

If you lose, the company will expect the full charge. The industry code gives you 28 days from the decision to pay before it can add more.

A standard IAS decision binds the company but not you. POPLA cannot reconsider its decision, and suggests Citizens Advice or independent legal advice if you still dispute the charge. If the company later sends a court claim, answer it by the date given.