Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi,

I visited Bham on the 17/04 for a night of pubs, fully intending to leave before midnight. I payed the CAZ fee as required before leaving my car and went about my evening. We left before midnight, though our departure was delayed by a friend of mine, who I was going to be driving home from Bham, having a genuine mental health 'crisis' as you could call it. This delayed our departure by a short amount of time and distracted me from the exact time which we left the CAZ, as I was attending to my friend and made anxious by the situation as a whole. Subsequently I was issued a PCN with the timestamp 00:01 on the 18/04/2026. Not joking - a 1 minute overstay.

I have visited Bham CAZ numerous times and always payed on time.

With the facts in mind - shall I submit a representation? Its worth noting Im a student. Avoiding a 60quid fine would be very helpful, but recieving a 120quid find because BHam council rejected my representation outside of the courtesy window would make life difficult.

what would you do? shall I submit a representation with evidence of my payment on the
17/04/2026?

Well, if you can't even afford the £60 then maybe pay-up, because Bham don't reoffer the discount whne rejecting representations, but in my view, you would win at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal on a de minimis appeal basis, but to do this, you must risk the full £120.  Yes, Bham are venal and rapacious, like most councils.

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. I've come to a similar conclusion.. at appeal I'd probably win, but is it worth the risk? Being close to some pretty difficult exams for me, I'd really like to avoid having to pick up shifts to pay for the £120.

Woes of being a poor student!