A bright yellow menace found attached to the wipers of cars all over Denmark, parking tickets can be pretty hefty. 

But if you’ve been given a parking fine (parkeringsafgift in Danish), you have options that should enable you to appeal successfully against incorrect fines. There are certain things you can do to give your appeal the best chance of being accepted.

Parking fines can be issued in two different ways. One is the aforementioned (and dreaded) slip on the windscreen, which may be yellow or another colour, depending on the issuer.

READ ALSO: How much money does Denmark earn from parking tickets?

Some car park operators do not use physical tickets anymore, especially if their parking control is semi-automated (using things like cameras and number plate readers). In these cases, you might receive a fine in the inbox of your secure digital mail (e-Boks).

In the former instance – when you receive the fine before getting back into your car – have a good look around.

Take photos: Of where the car is parked (within parking space demarcations), signage in the car park/parking lot or on the street, and your p-skive or parking disc, the small clock display all Danish cars are required to have. This is used in some car parks as proof of the time you parked the car.

If you’ve missed a sign stating restrictions and thereby breached them, or if the fine is otherwise a result of your own error, there is probably little you can do and it’s probably best to cough up as soon as you can.

However, if you think a mistake has been made – you’ve been fined for not paying, for example, but have a receipt or parking app that shows you have – you can appeal the fine.

The first step here is to submit an appeal (en klage in Danish) to the company or authority which gave you the fine. This should be done in writing and preferably electronically so you can document the appeal and when it was sent. Some parking operators have pages on their websites through which complaints can be sent – here is an example.

You can request the fine issuer provide their own documentation for the parking transgression and can also submit your own (such as receipts showing you paid for the parking, including digital ones). Parking companies can charge a fee for this process.

Note that any fine should be put on hold while your appeal is being handled – you should therefore not receive a reminder for not paying it.

In some cases, the issuer may accept your appeal and cancel the fine (I have experienced this personally on one occasion). Otherwise, the fine will be upheld and reasons given for this.

You then have the option of agreeing with the response and paying the fine, or appealing again in writing to the issuer, in the same way you appealed initially.

Alongside this step, you could also choose to take the matter up with the owner of the car park. For example, supermarkets or DIY stores often have car parks operated by outside contractors which can charge you a fee if, for example, you forget to use your parking disc. These companies might not want dissatisfied customers and could therefore be amenable to helping you get the fine cancelled.

There’s no guarantee, but if you put your argument forward well (using photos, receipts and the like) then you could be successful.

Finally, if a private parking company rejects your appeal twice and you still disagree, you can take the complaint to the official parking claims authority, Parkeringsklagenævnet. This is an independent board which will assess the appeal. It charges 175 kroner to do so.

There are certain formal criteria you must abide by when submitting a claim this way so it may be worth asking a professional to advise you before going ahead. If you are a member of the motorists’ association FDM, you can ask them to do this.