Council PCN vs Private Parking Charge: What's the Difference?

A council PCN is a statutory penalty under the Traffic Management Act 2004 — it's enforced by the council, and an unresolved appeal goes to an independent tribunal. A private parking charge, from an operator at a supermarket or retail park, isn't a fine at all — it's a contractual claim, and works through a completely different process (POPLA or IAS) with different rules.

The two get treated as interchangeable more often than they should be, and using the wrong basis in an appeal weakens an otherwise valid case.