I was only a few minutes over
Ten minutes late back to the car and the charge is £100? The industry's own code of practice says a paid or permitted stay must carry a grace period on top — many overstay charges are issued inside the very period the rules protect.
Phrases to look for on your letter: “exceeded paid time” · “overstay” · “exceeded maximum stay”
Why this is an appealable position
The BPA Code of Practice requires a minimum 10-minute grace period AFTER a paid-for or permitted period ends before a charge can be issued, plus a consideration period on arrival to read the signs and decide. An ANPR "stay" also measures camera-to-camera, not parking: queueing at the exit, finding a space, or a stop at the on-site shop are inside that measurement. Charges issued within the grace window are issued against the operator's own rulebook.
The clause to put in the letter
Name the paragraph, not just the rulebook. An operator answering "the Code requires a grace period" can wave it away; an operator answering its own clause number, quoted back at it, has to deal with what the clause says.
Code of Practice v1.1 §5.2: A grace period as set out at Annex B to this Code must be allowed by the parking operator in addition to the parking period. A parking charge must not be issued during a Grace Period.
(Grace period, page 15 of 57; read at source 2026-09-05)
Code of Practice v1.1, Annex B, B.1: The minimum consideration and grace periods listed in Table B.1 must be applied by parking operators.
(Consideration and grace periods, page 34 of 57; read at source 2026-09-05)
Your position is strongest when
- Overstay is 10 minutes or less past paid/permitted time (BPA operator)
- Long queue at exit or barrier inflated the measured stay
- Total ANPR duration barely exceeds the free period
Evidence to gather now
- Payment record showing paid-until time
- Anything evidencing exit delay (receipts, photos)
- The NtK's own ANPR timestamps — do the maths in the letter
Your first move
Subtract paid-until from the exit timestamp in the Notice itself. If the difference is inside 10 minutes with a BPA operator, quote the grace period and appeal.
Not sure yet? Check whether you'll lose your discount first — free
Build my appeal letter, freeAnswer 8 questions about what happened and get a ready-to-send appeal letter in minutes. It costs nothing, and you can download it.
The one thing on this site you can pay for is one operator’s full POPLA record, £20 once: three years of that company’s appendix rows, the grounds and the clause of its own rulebook that answers each one, its own published route and your clock. See what is in it, free. You never need it to appeal.
Common questions
Is 10 minutes' grace the law?
It is the BPA's code requirement (their members must follow it) rather than statute. IAS members run a different code — our operator pages tell you which body covers your operator, which changes the argument to make.
Who issued your ticket?
Private operators and councils run entirely different appeal routes. Find your operator to see whether your independent appeal goes to POPLA or the IAS — or read the council PCN route if your letter says “Penalty Charge Notice”.
Still deciding whether it is worth it?
The question underneath this one is usually about money, not law: if I appeal and lose, does it cost me more than paying today? Check whether appealing puts your discount at risk — free, with the rule quoted from the code that applies to your issuer, and the published odds at independent appeal.
Where these rules come from: Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4 (keeper liability; the notice deadlines are its paragraphs 8 and 9) · British Parking Association · International Parking Community.