Car parking firm NCP falls into administration – what it means for bookings, season tickets and more

NCP was founded in 1931 and runs car park at sites including airports, hospitals and train stations. It fell into administration on Monday 16 March, with financial services firm PwC appointed to oversee the process.

The administrator said the business has "faced a challenging trading environment over several years", citing changing consumer behaviours and high costs leading to trading losses.

PwC is exploring ways to sell the business, calling this "the best option" for those NCP owes money to. Almost 700 jobs are at risk. If you're worried about your role, check your rights in our Redundancy help guide. PwC's website also contains info on the administration for employees and motorists alike.

Update, Tuesday 24 March: 22 NCP car parks to close this week

The administrator, PwC, has confirmed that a total of 22 NCP car parks across the UK will permanently close at 11.59pm on Friday 27 March. The remaining 318 sites will remain open for now, with no other sites currently earmarked for closure.

We've asked PwC what will happen to any cars left at the 22 locations below after they shut, and we'll update this story when we know more.

- Ashford County Square
- Ashton-under-Lyne Cotton Street
- Banbury Marlborough Road
- Bexley Royal Oak Road
- Birmingham Gough Street
- Bournemouth Hinton Rd
- Bristol Nelson Street
- Bromley Travelodge
- Cardiff Dumfries Place
- Eastbourne Trinity Place
- Exeter Market Street
- Grantham Station 1 - 3
- Hinckley Britannia Shopping Centre
- Ipswich Portman Road
- Leicester Abbey Street
- Leicester East Street
- Leicester Lee Circle
- Leicester Rutland Centre
- London Harley Street (previously Portland Place)
- London Kings Cross St Pancras (previously Judd St)
- London Knightsbridge
- Luton Regent Street

What this means for pre-booked spaces and season tickets

Here's the latest:

• If your reservation or season ticket is for an NCP car park that's CLOSING, it's not yet clear what will happen. We've asked PwC what your options are – including whether you can get a refund or change the location on your season ticket, for example – and we'll update this when we know more.
  
  If you ultimately don't receive the parking you paid for, card protections such as chargeback or Section 75 may offer a route to try to reclaim your money. We've more info on your card payment rights below.

• If your reservation or season ticked is for an NCP car park that's staying OPEN, it will be honoured. However, PwC has said that, due to the administration, you can't cancel and get a refund if you've changed your mind about your booking.

NCP also appears to still be taking future bookings and you can still buy new season tickets, though given it's unclear what will happen next in the administration process, you should proceed with caution as you may struggle to get your money back if NCP closes for good.

Parking tickets issued by NCP are still valid

According to PwC, any private parking penalties issued by NCP are still valid. This means that you are still liable for payment if the ticket is fair. You should be able to find out how to pay on the parking charge notice (PCN) itself.

For unfair parking tickets, PwC is yet to confirm whether the appeals process has changed due to NCP's administration. NCP's appeals page is still online at the time of writing. However, it's uncertain how long this appeals process may remain in operation and if you'll receive a refund should you win.

Read our Private parking tickets guide for help appealing an unfair parking penalty.

Owed money by NCP? How to try to get it back

When a firm goes into administration, typically consumers are treated as unsecured creditors. In plain English, that usually means:

• You'd rank behind banks and other secured creditors, meaning refunds aren't guaranteed.

• You might receive only some – or none – of your money back.

• Any repayment could take a long time.

PwC's Q&A on the issue currently states that "as a result of the administration, we are unfortunately unable to provide you with any refund". Of course, there's no harm in asking. PwC says you should continue to use the parking firm's usual customer service channels for "business‑as‑usual" queries. You can also email: ncpcustomerservice@ncp.co.uk.

If you don't get anywhere, you can try the following:

1. Paid for something costing more than £100 on a credit card, you may be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This makes your card provider jointly liable if the company you paid for a service fails to provide it.
   
   Section 75 is a legal protection and is generally stronger than chargeback (see below), but it only applies to credit card payments (so not debit cards). You can try a Section 75 claim if:
   
   - You paid at least £100 (even if only part was on the card).
   - You paid directly to NCP (not via a third‑party agent).
   - You didn't get the service you paid for.

   If successful, your card provider should refund you – regardless of what happens to NCP. Read our Section 75 guide for further info.

2. Paid by debit or for something costing less than £100 on credit card? Try chargeback. Here, you can ask your bank to attempt a chargeback. This is a scheme run by card networks (such as Visa and Mastercard) that enables your bank try to claw back money if you didn't get what you paid for – for instance, if a car park closes and you can't use a booking or season ticket. To use chargeback:
   
   - Contact your bank.
   - Explain what you paid for and why you didn't receive it.
   - Provide evidence (booking confirmation, receipts, emails).
   
   Chargebacks aren't guaranteed, and time limits apply – often within 120 days of the service not being provided (or when you realised there was a problem). Banks decide on a case‑by‑case basis. Our chargeback guide has more info.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.