Free Traffic Legal Advice

I’m posting this for a friend as she doesn’t have access to this website.

The £4.70 charge seemed excessive to me given the first hour is free.

Please could you advise?

Many Thanks



I received a fine today which I believe to be unfair, could someone kindly advice on how I can get it reversed.  I parked in what appeared to be a standard parking bay. Before leaving my car I checked the nearby sign and used the RingGo app to pay for 2 hours of parking, (I paid £4.70) believing I had complied fully with the requirements. When I returned, I was surprised to find a penalty charge notice. After speaking with a parking warden, I was told the bay was reserved for disabled badge holders. However, there was no visible road markings at the end of the bay to indicate it was a disabled bay, nor was the signage clear. The lack of clear markings and ambiguous signage misled me into thinking it was a normal parking bay.

Ilford Lane is very long, so can you please post a GSV link to the exact location telling us where your car was parked.

Also you've blanked out key information on the PCN.We need car reg. and PCN number so we can look at the council's photos, (assuming the CEO took some, and they usually do).

The sign seems clear enough to me. There are two signs one above the other, each one with a set of restrictions with an arrow (left or right pointing), to show where the restrictions apply. Best practice is to mount the two signs side-by-side, but it's not essential.

A bay has to comply with regs. Traditionally this has meant white markings but what's becoming more common now is this alternative:

'The bay may be varied to contrast, in pattern or colour, from the surrounding parts of the road and any adjoining bays, in which case the marking may be omitted.'

These bays would be found to be correctly marked IMO.

Given that there's only a single disabled bay, the sign must apply and your friend made a mistake. IMO, they'd be looking for procedural salvation if such exists or might occur.

The bay is clearly marked IMO although the white lines, which are co-linear with the contra-coloured surface treatment, are starting to fade. But your photo is an exemplar of the new (2016) way in which bays may be marked.

I would not take this argument to adjudication.