Couple of cases out of many with the caution that some adjudicators take a hardline. The law that prescribes the VRM font doesn't actually specify a zero - it is identical to an O.
----------
Case reference 2240383584
Appellant Shaheen Akter
Authority London Borough of Newham
VRM WF09CXV
PCN Details
PCN PN39070079
Contravention date 27 Jun 2024
Contravention time 16:00:00
Contravention location Shaftesbury Road Car Park
Penalty amount GBP 130.00
Contravention Parked without payment of the parking charge
Referral date -
Decision Date 14 Nov 2024
Adjudicator Martin Hoare
Appeal decision Appeal allowed
Direction cancel the Penalty Charge Notice.
Reasons Ms Akter submitted On 27 June 2024, I parked my vehicle at Shaftesbury Road Car Park.
At 15:49, I successfully made the required parking payment via phone for location code 70025, which corresponds to Shaftesbury Road Car Park.
The payment was confirmed, and I have attached a screenshot of the transaction from my phone, along with a corresponding bank statement, as evidence.
Despite my payment being made at 15:49, I was issued the PCN at 15:55, claiming non-payment of the parking charge.
According to the Council there was no valid payment. The correct car registration number is WF09CXV.
Ms Akter entered WFO9CXV.
It is common ground that the Council received payment. The distinction is trifling .the law is not concerned with a trifle.
In any event, according to the Oxford English Dictionary
Definition of O noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
O used to mean zero when saying phone numbers, etc.
My number is six o double three (= 6033).
The Council has relied on a distinction without a difference.
---------
Case reference 2250650767
Appellant Amir Eslami
Authority London Borough of Waltham Forest
VRM KF23OHX
PCN Details
PCN FR6600583A
Contravention date 19 Jul 2025
Contravention time 11:23:00
Contravention location Grange Park Road
Penalty amount GBP 160.00
Contravention Parked resident/shared use without a valid permit
Referral date -
Decision Date 07 Apr 2026
Adjudicator Sean Stanton-Dunne
Appeal decision Appeal allowed
Direction cancel the Penalty Charge Notice and the Notice to Owner.
Reasons This PCN was issued for the alleged contravention of being parked in a resident's or shared use parking bay or zone in Grange Park Road without a valid virtual permit or without clearly displaying a valid physical permit or voucher or pay and display ticket where required or without payment of the parking charge.
I have looked at the CEO's photographs and these show that Dr Eslami's car was parked in a permit holder only parking bay during controlled hours. Dr Eslami has explained that he was given a courtesy car while his own vehicle was being repaired and that he had changed the registration on the permit. It is not in dispute that Dr Eslami has a resident's permit. The Council says that the incorrect vehicle registration had been entered for the courtesy car because the registration was entered as KF23 OHX instead of KF23 0HX. The O and the 0 were interchanged.
The keyboard entry 0 may denote a zero but it may, in my judgement, properly be read in the alternative as a letter and the same applies the other way round. If someone wrote 0, it could properly be read as a zero or as the letter of the alphabet. I find that the alleged contravention did not occur.
