Is a 30% discount on a private parking charge allowed?
Spot the mistake in 3 seconds: £100 charge, £70 if you pay early. What's wrong?
Read the notice as text
- Heading
- PARKING CHARGE NOTICE
- From
- Specimen Car Parks Ltd (fictional)
- Vehicle
- AB12 IDE
- Land
- Anytown Hospital visitor car park, Zone B
- Date and time
- Thu 8 Oct 2026, 11:32
- Reason
- Parked without a valid visitor permit
- Parking charge
- £100
- Pay early
- £70 if paid within 14 days of this notice
What is wrong with it?
Tap the one you think is the mistake.
The early payment amount
Yes, that is the mistake.
The £100 charge
Not this one. Try another.
The 14-day early payment window
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Show the answer
The mistake: The early payment amount
The £100 headline is within the cap, so that is not it. Look at the early payment line. Knocking £100 down to £70 is a 30% cut, and the Code that BPA and IPC members sign up to requires at least 40% when the driver pays within 14 days of a windscreen notice. The most this notice could ask for early is £60. If you appeal, name it as a breach of the Code. If you would rather pay, you can ask the operator in writing to honour the minimum 40% cut inside the 14 days.
The rule it breaks
A reduction of a minimum of 40% must be offered where payment is made within 14 days of the issue of the Notice to Driver where a notice is issued at the time of the parking event
The private parking sector single Code of Practice, version 1.1 (BPA and IPC), Clause 8.2.2, read 19 October 2026; quoted word for word.
Also in the text
Parking charges must not exceed £100.
Clause 8.2.1, read 20 October 2026; quoted word for word.
The dates, worked out
| Notice issued | Thu 8 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Early payment window | 14 days from issue, to Thu 22 Oct 2026 |
| Reduction offered | £100 to £70 is 30% off |
| Reduction required | at least 40% off, so no more than £60 |