Prohibition on Payment-Method Surcharges (S.I. 203/2025)

S.I. 203/2025 amends the payment provisions of the Vehicle Clamping Act 2015 to prohibit a parking controller from imposing additional fees based on the payment method used (e.g. surcharging credit-card releases versus cash). Any operator that adds a card-payment surcharge to the release fee is in breach of the 2025 regulations. The driver can demand a refund of the surcharge component and, on refusal, lodge a second-stage appeal — the surcharge itself is grounds.

Legal basis

S.I. No. 203/2025 — Vehicle Clamping Act 2015 (Appeals Procedure) Regulations 2025 (payment-method neutrality provision); EU Directive 2015/2366 (PSD2) art. 62(4) (no surcharges for consumer card payments).

How to identify this in your case

Compare the receipt against the published clamp-release fee. Any 'service fee', 'card fee', or 'processing fee' above the prescribed release amount is unlawful.

Sample appeal wording

Before you send this

Deadline. A late submission can be turned down without your argument being read. Check your notice for the deadline and how it is counted.
Paying may end it. Paying can count as accepting the notice and can close a challenge already under way. Part-paying or acknowledging an old debt can also revive a time limit that had expired.
The amount can change. Check what happens to the sum if you challenge — it may be held, re-offered lower, or keep rising, and fees or enforcement can continue meanwhile.
Use the official route. Use the method, recipient and form your notice specifies, with any reference, evidence and signature it asks for. Sent elsewhere, it may not count.
Only say what is true. Do not copy any statement of fact unless it is true for you, and check the legal point still applies. Delete what does not fit. It may be treated as your statement.
Careful what you volunteer. Avoid unnecessary admissions — naming the driver or accepting responsibility can remove arguments. But answer anything you are legally required to answer, and do include the evidence your ground needs.
Keep the record. Keep what you sent, the attachments, any receipt, and the reply. Note the next deadline.

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 receipt shows an additional [€X] charged as a 'card payment fee' over and above the prescribed clamp-release fee. This is prohibited by S.I. 203/2025 (payment-method neutrality), which forbids imposing additional fees based on payment method. I demand a refund of the surcharge and reserve the right to escalate to the Clamping Appeals Officer under VCA s.22.

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Scan your PCN — our AI checks if this ground applies to your specific ticket, drafts a properly-cited appeal letter, and sends it for you where the council takes email — guiding you through their own online form where they use one, so you press submit. The win fee is only charged if you win.

Prohibition on Payment-Method Surcharges (S.I. 203/2025)

Legal basis

How to identify this in your case

Sample appeal wording

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Sources

Related appeal grounds

Next steps