Can I appeal a private parking charge if the payment machine was broken?

Photograph the faulty machine, any error message and the nearby signs. Check whether another machine, app, phone-payment method or clearly signposted alternative was available. The strength of the appeal often depends on what the driver could reasonably have done under the displayed terms.

If you called a payment number, opened an app or spoke to staff, keep call logs, screenshots and names if available. A brief contemporaneous note made at the time can also help later.

Do not assume a broken machine automatically creates unlimited free parking. The key questions are what the signs required, what alternatives existed and whether the operator is trying to charge despite evidence that payment could not reasonably be completed.

In Northern Ireland, private parking disputes are civil matters and the Consumer Council distinguishes driver liability from registered-keeper status. Always separate a private Parking Charge Notice from an official Penalty Charge Notice because the appeal and enforcement routes are different.