A letter from Parkwatcher, Park Control, ParkDepot or a similar company — demand for €30 to €130, subject line "increased parking fee" or "contractual penalty". Many people pay immediately without questioning whether they are actually obliged to. That is precisely what this business model relies on.
What is a "private parking ticket" anyway?
These companies monitor private car parks on behalf of property owners — supermarkets, shopping centres, hospitals, residential complexes. Anyone who violates the posted parking conditions receives a payment demand. The crucial point: these letters are not an official notice and not a fine. There is no state authority behind them. They are a civil law contractual penalty (so-called Realofferte), and only valid if a contract was actually concluded through the act of parking.
When is the claim justified?
For a valid contract to exist, the signage must meet minimum requirements: signs must be visible at the entrance, parking conditions must be clearly stated, and the penalty amount must appear on the signs themselves. If any of these elements are missing, no contract was formed.
Keeper liability: do I have to pay if I was not driving?
There is no automatic keeper liability in German civil law for private parking violations (contrast § 25a StVG in public law). The contracting party is the driver, not the keeper. The BGH (XII ZR 13/19, 18.12.2019) clarified that a blanket denial is insufficient in court proceedings. The keeper bears a secondary duty to identify who could have been driving (sekundäre Darlegungslast). Importantly, this duty also applies where the potential driver is a close family member — the right to refuse testimony (§§ 383 f. ZPO) protects relatives from being called as witnesses later, but does not release the keeper from the duty to name them as possible drivers. Pre-court, however, there is no legal obligation to name any driver at all in response to an invoice or debt collection letter.
Why the letters keep escalating
Non-response triggers reminders, then debt collection letters with added fees. A court payment order (Mahnbescheid) is more common than an actual lawsuit for small amounts; it can be opposed within two weeks at no cost.
Is it worth fighting back?
Instructing a lawyer to fight a €40 demand costs well over €100 under the German fee schedule (RVG) — more than the claim itself. Paying is often the economically rational choice. A free written objection letter is the genuine alternative: it costs only time and postage and frequently leads to the matter being quietly dropped. Legal assistance makes sense if the amount is significantly higher, a court payment order has gone unanswered, or legal expenses insurance covers the costs.
Limitation period
Claims under private parking management are subject to the standard three-year limitation period (§ 195 BGB), running from the end of the calendar year in which the violation occurred and the operator obtained knowledge of the circumstances (§ 199 Abs. 1 BGB).