Added 'Debt Recovery' Fee Over £70 — Or Added Before the Charge Was Even Overdue
Parking operators and their debt collectors routinely inflate a £100 parking charge to £170 or more with 'debt recovery' or 'admin' add-ons. Under the industry Single Code of Practice (binding on all BPA and IPC members), such a sum is capped and conditional: clause 9 provides that 'Where a Parking Charge becomes overdue a sum of up to £70 may be added' — no more than £70, and only once the charge is actually overdue. A charge only becomes overdue after the 28-day payment period has expired or, where an appeal was made, once the appeals process has completed and the time to pay has passed (clause 10.1 NOTE). So any of the following breaches the Code: (a) an add-on above £70; (b) fees added while an appeal was still pending (enforcement and debt resolution must be suspended during an independent appeal — clause 8.4.7); (c) fees added before the 28 days ran out; (d) multiple stacked fees (debt fee + 'legal costs' pre-action) taking the demand above £100+£70. Beavis approved only the advertised £85 charge itself, not later add-ons, and the sign must state the parking charge — an uncommunicated extra was never part of any contract. In practice this ground strips the add-on and gives strong leverage; it does not by itself cancel the underlying £100 charge, so pair it with a liability ground where one exists.
Legal basis
Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice v1.1 (17 Feb 2025): clause 9 ('Where a Parking Charge becomes overdue a sum of up to £70 may be added'); clause 10.1 NOTE (a parking charge becomes overdue only after expiry of the 28 days for payment or completion of the appeals process plus time to pay); clause 8.4.7 (enforcement/debt resolution must not commence, or must be suspended, while an independent Appeals Service appeal is pending); clause 8.2.2 (charge itself capped — 40% discount within 14 days); contract law — sums not communicated on the signage were never incorporated into any contract (ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 upheld only the advertised charge).
How to identify this in your case
Only use where the demand exceeds the parking charge stated on the original notice. Check the arithmetic on the latest letter: original charge (max £100) vs current demand. Flag if: the uplift exceeds £70; any fee was added while the customer's appeal (to the operator or to POPLA/IAS) was still open; fees appeared before 28 days from issue; or several separate 'admin'/'debt'/'legal' fees are stacked. The customer's letters and their dates are the evidence — ask for the latest demand letter.
Sample appeal wording
Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at. Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details; leave any case citation as it is.
The sum now demanded exceeds what can lawfully be pursued. Under the Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice, where a parking charge becomes overdue 'a sum of up to £70 may be added' (clause 9) — and no more; and a charge only becomes overdue after the 28-day payment period has expired or the appeals process has concluded (clause 10.1). Enforcement and debt resolution must be suspended entirely while an independent appeal is pending (clause 8.4.7). The additional sums you demand [exceed £70 / were added while the appeal was pending / were added before the charge was overdue] and were in any event never displayed on the signage said to form the contract, so they were never contractually agreed — ParkingEye v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 sanctioned only the advertised charge itself. I put you to strict proof of: (1) the contractual and signage basis for each added sum; (2) the date on which the charge became overdue under clause 10.1; and (3) an itemised breakdown showing the add-on does not exceed £70. I require the demand to be reduced accordingly and reserve the right to report the breach to your Accredited Trade Association.
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- https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/Sector%20Code%20Templates/sectorsingleCodeofPracticeVersion1.1130225.pdf
- https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/new-private-parking-code-of-practice-comes-into-force-amEPQ4x3t1ek
- ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 — reported on Find Case Law under the joined appeal Cavendish Square Holding BV v Talal El Makdessi:
- https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/uksc/2015/67
- Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0.