Appeals and court
County court claim for a parking charge: the deadlines
Independent site, not a council, operator or appeals service. You pay or appeal only through the channel printed on your notice.
Enter the date the claim form was posted, printed on it: the tool gives deemed service, the acknowledgment deadline and both defence dates.
Deadlines on a county court claim
Acknowledge by
22 December 2026
| Claim deemed served | 8 December 2026 |
| Defence without acknowledgment | 22 December 2026 |
| Defence after acknowledging | 5 January 2027 |
CPR 6.14, 10.3 and 15.4, counted from deemed service. Check the dates printed on your claim form.
A private parking company can only make you pay a disputed charge by suing you in the county court. Before that, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims expects it to send a letter of claim and give you 30 days to reply. The claim form itself usually comes from the court's bulk centre by post. Under the Civil Procedure Rules, a claim form posted by the court is deemed served on the second business day after posting, bank holidays and weekends left out. You then have 14 days after service of the particulars of claim to file an acknowledgment of service, and 14 days to file a defence, extended to 28 days if you acknowledge in time. Missing these dates allows the company to ask for judgment in default, without a hearing, and an unpaid judgment can reach your credit file. Acknowledging the claim and filing a defence keeps your case alive; a defence sets out, in your own words, why the charge is not owed, and the case then moves to the small claims track.
Reply to a letter of claim
Reply by
2 December 2026
| Period | 30 days |
| If you ask for documents or advice | about 30 more days, to 1 January 2027 |
Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, paragraphs 3.4 and 4.2.
Rules, amounts and dates read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The timetable, from posting to defence
| Step | Rule | Claim form posted 23 December 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Deemed service | second business day after posting (CPR 6.14) | 29 December 2026 |
| Acknowledgment of service | 14 days after service of the particulars (CPR 10.3) | 12 January 2027 |
| Defence, without acknowledgment | 14 days after service (CPR 15.4) | 12 January 2027 |
| Defence, after acknowledging | 28 days after service (CPR 15.4) | 26 January 2027 |
The example uses a date just before Christmas on purpose: bank holidays on Christmas Day and the substitute Boxing Day holiday are not business days, so service and every later date move. The tool at the top applies the same counting to your own date. Always compare its result with the dates printed on the claim form and in the notes that come with it.
Before the claim: the letter of claim
The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies when a business claims a debt from an individual. The creditor sends a letter of claim with a reply form, an information sheet and a financial statement, and should wait 30 days for your reply before issuing proceedings. If you reply that you need documents or advice, the protocol expects the creditor to allow reasonable time; the mini-tool under the summary shows the date with a further 30 days. A full reply at this stage, setting out your grounds, often shapes what happens next, and a court can take into account whether either side followed the protocol.
Acknowledging and defending
Most parking claims are issued through the court's online bulk service, and the claim form explains how to respond online. Acknowledging under Part 10 buys time. The defence under Part 15 must say which parts of the claim you deny and why, and give your own version of events. Typical defences mirror the appeal grounds: no contract because the signs were unclear, the keeper not liable because Schedule 4 was not followed, a paid stay, a grace period, an amount above what the terms allowed. If you were the keeper but not the driver, the page on the keeper who was not driving explains the conditions the company must prove.
After the defence
Once a defence is filed, the court sends directions questionnaires and, for claims of this size, the case is normally allocated to the small claims track, where hearings are informal and the costs that can be claimed from the losing side are limited. You can still settle at any point by agreement. If you decide to pay, do it through the claimant and get written confirmation that the claim will be discontinued. The service rules come from Part 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules; for the letters that come before a claim, see the debt collection page. This site does not give legal advice; free advice is available from advice agencies, and the court forms explain each step.