Frequently asked questions

A contractual penalty (Vertragsstrafe, §§ 339 ff. BGB) is an amount that becomes due when the terms of use of a private car park are breached — for example by parking without authorisation. It is validly agreed when a clearly visible sign at the entrance informs drivers of the terms and the amount before they park (§§ 305 ff. BGB). The amount must be reasonable (§ 307 BGB).

On parking spaces clearly marked as private property — by markings or private signage — and at blocked entrances to courtyards, underground garages or emergency exits. The driver must be unreachable and the parking space urgently needed. FalschParker dispatches a tow truck from our partner network within around 20 Minutes.

In three steps: 1) Photograph the vehicle with FalschParker, capture the licence plate and submit the case. 2) We identify the keeper via the responsible vehicle registration authority and issue the contractual penalty digitally with a QR code. 3) We take over delivery, collection and all communication — you receive the amount automatically, with no further effort on your part.

For you as a parking-space owner or lessee FalschParker is completely free — including towing, keeper lookup and collection. There are no setup or recurring fees. All costs are recovered directly from the unauthorised parker.

The process rests on the property owner's house right under German civil law and on validly agreed contractual-penalty notices. The key requirement is clearly visible signage on the private parking area. We work with specialist lawyers. Whether a claim is enforceable in any individual case depends on the specific circumstances; we cannot give any assurance as to the outcome of an individual case.

All data is processed in full compliance with the GDPR and used exclusively to handle the specific parking incident. Keeper lookups are performed by the responsible vehicle registration authority, sensitive information is transmitted in encrypted form and is never shared with uninvolved third parties. Full details are in our privacy policy.

Yes, it is completely free for parking space owners and tenants. You incur no costs – the fees are collected directly from the wrongful parker.

If the compensation isn't paid on time, we initiate the collection process. We handle all further steps – you don't have to do anything else.

No, a court injunction is not required. You can claim compensation for unauthorised parking on your private space even without one. An existing injunction does, however, enable additional legal steps such as a criminal complaint.

Our GPS-based network of towing providers automatically identifies the nearest available driver. You can track the tow truck’s arrival in real time on the map.

It depends on the terms of use of the car park in question: the amount is stated on the sign at the entrance and must be reasonable (§ 307 BGB). See our blog post “How high can a private parking penalty be in Germany?” for details.

We collect licence plates, proof photos and GPS location. All data is processed in accordance with the GDPR and used solely to enforce your legitimate claims.

In principle, whoever controls the car park and set the terms of use — owner, tenant, property management or operator. The claim can be assigned to a service provider such as FalschParker (§§ 398 ff. BGB), which then collects it itself.

You do not need a court order. What matters is a clearly visible sign at the entrance that informs drivers of the terms of use and the amount of the contractual penalty before they park. Only then are the terms validly agreed as standard terms (§§ 305 ff. BGB); the amount must be reasonable (§ 307 BGB).

An assignment (§ 398 BGB) transfers a claim from one party to another. The debtor-creditor relationship changes because the claim is transferred to us. The assignor (Zedent) transfers the claim to the assignee (Zessionar), who can then collect it independently.

The amount is set by the parking-space owner in the terms of use, which must be clearly signposted at the entrance before parking. It must be reasonable; unreasonably high amounts can be invalid (§ 307 BGB). In the case decided by the BGH, an increased parking fee of €30 was at issue (BGH, XII ZR 13/19).

Our service is completely free for our customers. There are no costs to you — fees are collected directly from the unauthorised parker.

On parking spaces that are clearly distinguished from public areas by visual and signage features — markings, private signs — as well as at entrances to courtyards, underground garages, etc. In particular, when the driver cannot be identified and the parking space is urgently needed.

Under § 398 BGB, the towing costs can be assigned (ceded) to us. Once the assignment is in place, the right to recover the costs from the unauthorised parker passes to the towing service, which then pursues collection independently.

Only towing costs at the customary local rate are recoverable; the costs of general car-park monitoring are not (BGH, judgment of 4 July 2014 – V ZR 229/13). That towing from a private car park is permitted in principle and that the responsible party bears the costs was already decided by the BGH in 2009 (V ZR 144/08).

The FalschParker ParkGuard service is ideal for B2B customers such as retailers, larger businesses and other facilities with high-traffic parking areas. It is particularly suited to operators whose own staff do not have the capacity to enforce parking themselves.

Our professionally trained ParkGuards check your parking areas according to your specifications. They verify whether vehicles hold an active parking booking or are listed as authorised in FalschParker. ParkGuards complete a three-week training programme covering a wide range of on-site situations and wear clearly identifiable clothing to ensure a visible presence on site.

If our ParkGuards identify a parking violation, a digital contractual penalty (Vertragsstrafe) with a QR code is issued according to your specifications. You benefit from full transparency: every step is documented in FalschParker.

Yes, the service is free as long as the parking volume is in reasonable proportion to the enforcement effort required.

Yes. Your bay is private property. Anyone parking without authorisation commits unlawful interference — under German law you can act and issue a contractual penalty through FalschParker. We handle owner identification, administration and collection.

It's free for you as the space owner, tenant or manager. There are no subscription or setup fees — the contractual penalty is paid by the wrongful parker.

Yes. Whether an outdoor bay, underground garage or visitor space — you capture the outside parker by photo in the app and issue the penalty. We can supply matching notice signs on request.

Yes. Property managers and cooperatives manage any number of properties, zones and bays centrally in one app — with a complete overview of every report.

Using FalschParker you capture proof photos of the vehicle (with the licence plate visible) and a photo of the fuel receipt for the suspected fuel theft. We handle the entire administration and collection. Once we have received the outstanding amount, we transfer it to you the same day.

The processing costs for a fuel theft amount to EUR 20.00 to cover our administrative effort, since in most cases there is no intentional fraud behind it.

When a foreign-registered vehicle is involved, we use the power of attorney you sign with us to contact the relevant authorities, trace the person responsible and invoice the applicable claim.