Author Topic: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed  (Read 3215 times)

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Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« on: »
@H C Anderson 
@stamfordman 
@cp8759 


Hi all,

I've received a PCN and would appreciate your advice before I submit my informal appeal within the discount period which is Monday.
Date:22nd Sept, 2024
Contravention Code:16 (parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit)
Time:13:39

The contravention Code 16 states "parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit". However, I hold a valid permit which expires 26th December 2025. Linked to permit.

The core issue is its *clarity not visibility*.

The PCN was issued on a sunny day in broad daylight, not at dusk or when it was dark.
When I discovered the PCN around 8.45 pm, I first checked the permit on the windscreen and the details were readable even though it was dark at night.

Here’s the situation:

The Permit's Condition:The edges of the permit have a tendency to fold up, likely due to weather and the material. The edges were folded when the PCN was issued.

All my Medway permits end up folded up. I don't have this issue with my other permits.

The CEO's Perspective: The CEO's photos (link below) appear to be taken from the driver's side or other angles where the folded permit's details are obscured.
The Actual Visibility: Despite the fold, the permit details were fully visible from a direct, frontal view or from the passenger side where it's displayed. This wasn't a case of a missing permit, but one that this CEO chose to read from that angle. The blue Medway permit was clearly visible but maybe couldn't be read from the specific angles the CEO used.

My car was parked in its usual space, and if that was the case I should have had multiple PCN's. I haven't changed anything regarding displaying my permit and I haven't received another PCN. I am assuming it was a desperate CEO.

I plan to appeal on the grounds that a valid permit was displayed and was legible from the correct vantage point. I will include a clear photo of the valid permit laid flat. Is this a valid grounds? What is the technical name for it?

Are there any other additional grounds for appealing ?

I'd appreciate your opinions on a few things:

1.  How should I best frame this "visibility / readability vs. angle" argument to the council?
2.  Is it worth including my own photos demonstrating the permit's visibility from the front/passenger side?
3.  Any other suggestions or similar experiences?

I'd be grateful for your opinions, suggestions and any other points to include in the appeal.

All thoughts are welcome. Thanks in advance for your help.

Link to PCN & Current Permit
https://ibb.co/album/zX2Lm0

https://ibb.co/Z1JjWyB7
https://ibb.co/tMTMzP05
https://ibb.co/p6rHwLYy
https://ibb.co/xqt2rmdf
https://ibb.co/f73zbNH
https://ibb.co/GmfD2mS
https://ibb.co/YqyzJdy
https://ibb.co/67c2h0c8
https://ibb.co/JWcC69k8
https://ibb.co/pvf5vc0d
« Last Edit: October 04, 2025, 04:00:41 pm by JOJO1209 »

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Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #1 on: »
So this time you do have a code 16.

And this is the CEO's pic...

Can't you get a holder that keeps the permit flat?



Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #2 on: »
Sorry to have to say it, but if this is your idea of "visibility", I can see why the CEO served a PCN.
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Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #3 on: »



So this time you do have a code 16.

And this is the CEO's pic...

Can't you get a holder that keeps the permit flat?



@stamfordman
Thanks for your response

What is the correct code CC 16  or CC 19?
It is code 19 that I have seen issued on my road which is usually £50.


A simple 'yes' or 'no' and a brief explanation of the difference in relation toy case between Code 16 and Code 19 would beincredibly helpful for me to understand how to proceed with challenging this and any future PCN's.


The Flawed CEO's photographic Evidence:
It is Inadequate and Misleading.  I have serious concerns about the photographic evidence provided on the Medway website.


Timing and Visibility: My own photograph, taken at 20:45, clearly shows the permit details. In contrast, the CEO's photo was taken at 13:39 in full daylight, yet the details are obscured

 The CEO's daytime photo is angled to obscure the details, while my evening photo proves the permit was visible and valid. This feels like a deliberate attempt to misrepresent the situation.


The CEO deliberately took the photograph from an angle that makes the permit details unreadable, rather than capturing a clear, front-on shot. This does not constitute reasonable or fair evidence.


Furthermore, no one else has access to my car, the permit could not have been adjusted between the CEO's photograph and my own.


Please review the picture I took in the night around 20:45 hrs. Let me know what you think.




2. The Permit Holder:
The holders (even expensive ones) warp, and the permit itself curls due to weather, despite my best efforts to keep it flat. I have bought several permit holders even expensive ones. Also the paper permit itself starts curling after a couple of months. When it is new it is fine. I have the previous years and it is the same.
Any suggestions how to stop or avoid this curling or the permit and the permit holder will be appreciated. It can be very stressful. My other permit ehich is a round one does not curl.


Any advice on how to best frame my appeal would be hugely appreciated


I want to send it today to be within the discount period just incase it turns out that I have to pay it.


Many thanks.

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #4 on: »
Sorry to have to say it, but if this is your idea of "visibility", I can see why the CEO served a PCN.

@Incandescent
I appreciate you taking the time to look, but I would encourage you to review the full context in my original post and my linked pictures before drawing a conclusion. My explanation and the photo evidence (including the time-stamped images from the CEO and myself) address the specific issues of the permit's condition and the angle of the official photograph. I'm here for constructive advice on challenging the PCN based on that evidence


Please review the full context if you'd like to contribute constructively."

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #5 on: »
The CEO's pic shows a mess of curled up permits.

All you have is an ask for discretion showing you have a valid permit and note their permits do curl but really you need to take responsibility.

Tape the holder shut so the permit can't curl or get one that seals flat.

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #6 on: »
+1 to your irresponsibility!

You posted: The core issue is its *clarity not visibility*.

This is your take, we don't know the CEO's position and won't know until their notes are reviewed by the authority on receipt of your reps.

I suggest:

I hold a valid permit, see enclosed.
This has a tendency to curl at the edges at times. I try to counter this with a holder, but if this was the reason for the PCN then I apologise.
As a res permit holder I park in this area regularly and this is the first time that an issue has arisen*. I hope you would use your discretion to cancel on this occasion, but in any event a detailed reason for my apparent failure would be appreciated.

*- if true!


Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #8 on: »
The CEO's photo clearly shows that the permit is curled over to the extent that the top edges are overlapping.

The OP's photos,  show a permit which is much less curled.  The top edges are not even touching. 

https://ibb.co/fGXM1gjZ


This is not just a difference of angle / perspective / parallax.

I am curious how the permit moved from, presumably, fully visible display on parking, to curled over when the PCN was issued, to unfurled when OP returned to car.  Could the OP explain this to a sceptical adjudicator, if it came to it?

As HCA I would be inclined to ask for discretion. An apology with a note that you had a valid permit and unfortunately it was partially obscured,  copy attached. You have now remedied the situation with a better quality pass holder, and you are sure it won't happen again.

My council, Greenwich, have a policy of forgiving a first offence for partially obscured permit.  Yours may too. I have previously benefited from an appeal on that basis*.


*In my case the council didn't cancel PCN. I appealed. Adjudicator found in my favour that council didn't follow policy.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2025, 02:02:36 pm by JoCo »

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #9 on: »

@stamfordman
@H C Andersen

Thanks for all the input.

I'm posting a follow-up to my previous message to provide some additional evidence that really highlights the extent of this curling problem.

I've laid all my permits side-by-side for a direct comparison. The attached picture shows all my Medway permits for the last 3 years - 2023, 2024, and 2025. As you can see, they are all severely curled, forming an arch. This isn't a minor issue; it makes them impossible to lie flat.
The other pictures are of my other permits for the last 4 years, which are made of pure paper. They remain perfectly flat and fully readable.

The photo of the back of the Medway permit clearly shows how the lamination has tightened and distorted, much worse than the front.

This side-by-side comparison proves the point conclusively. The problem is not how I store them or the holder in which they are displayed—it is 100% the laminated plastic backing on the resident permits.

The lamination on the back is the root cause, which is why the back consistently curls much more severely than the front. This creates a tight roll that makes the permit impossible to display flat. The curl is consistently worse on the laminated back, proving the material itself is the cause.

When we used to have paper tax discs that were displayed on windscreens for years, they had no curling issues because they were fully paper.

The sun and the car temperature cause the laminate to shrink and curl irreversibly after a few months.

This is a consistent, predictable flaw affecting every single one of these permits issued across multiple years. The council needs to address this poor material choice, as it is directly leading to unfair PCNs for residents.

My Resident Permit had curled to the point of being partially unreadable or hard to read from a distance.

Is this a predictable material flaw, and is the council at fault for using a material unfit for its intended environment (a car windscreen)?

By using this inferior laminated material, the council has created a situation where a legally displayed permit becomes non-compliant through no fault of the resident.

This feels like a design flaw that is unfairly penalizing residents.

A valid permit should not become non-compliant due to a material choice made by the council. The fault lies with the permit's inability to withstand its intended environment, not with my conduct as a permit holder.

I need your opinion or input on this specific point:

Any opinion or shared experience you can provide that supports this "design flaw" argument will be invaluable for my appeal.

Thank you for your help.

https://ibb.co/9khJjhBq
https://ibb.co/3yY738YZ
https://ibb.co/wNC6kstG
https://ibb.co/G4mHHDjc
https://ibb.co/YqyzJdy  (Picture taken Jan 25 when permit was less than a month one month old. Permit was nice and flat)

https://ibb.co/C3XW35dQ
https://ibb.co/9mq5KJbn
https://ibb.co/v4NZBpKk
https://ibb.co/RkWH9Rx5

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #10 on: »
Any opinion or shared experience you can provide that supports this "design flaw" argument will be invaluable for my appeal.

I wouldn't even go there. *

If asking for discretion do not mix this with a claim that it's the council's fault anyway. What do you think this would achieve at this stage?

Appeals have been won on whether a council's P&D tickets or vouchers are fit for purpose but ONLY when they were displayed as required when the driver left the vehicle and then failed e.g. adhesive melts in the sun.

Would you be claiming that the permit was fine when you left the car and curled up afterwards??
« Last Edit: October 06, 2025, 10:52:49 pm by H C Andersen »

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #11 on: »
*- if true!

Same OP:

https://www.ftla.uk/civil-penalty-charge-notices-(councils-tfl-and-so-on)/code-19-medway-council-meadowbank-resident-parking-permit-partially-displayed/


Thank you for highlighting that.
I might be wrong but I don't believe this is the same situation / circumstances with this PCN and other PCN you have highlighted with Medway Council.

On that previous occasion, I wrote a letter explaining the mitigating circumstances and apologised, asking for discretion on compassionate grounds. That appeal was rejected, even though a valid permit was held and sent with the appeal.

Before submitting that appeal I called the council and explained the situation and a staff member informed me that if I submitted proof of my valid permit, the PCN "will be cancelled." Which I did.
I relied on this advice and submitted my current permit with an apology and explaining the mitigating circumstances,
but the council reneged on this and rejected my appeal.

I am unsure if this will work this time. I am looking for other options / points to appeal this PCN. Is the poor quality of the material of the permit a valid point?


The key lesson from that experience is that an apologetic approach, asking for sympathy, does not seem to work any longer with Medway Council for this type of PCN."

Although it depends on who is reviewing the appeal.

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #12 on: »
Is it not permissible to attach (adhesive, double-sided tape, staple etc) the permit to a rigid backing, like card or plastic, so it doesn't curl?

My wife just uses sellotape invisible tape to fix a parking permit to the windscreen of our car

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #13 on: »
Hello, I am a traffic warden and - ironically - feel sorry for the OP.

I feel that her council are particularly harsh, in mandating that the resident permit needs to be physically displayed. In Westminster, they went digital a few years ago, and others seem to be moving in that direction.

In the boroughs that issue physical permits, the only situation where the physical permit really matters is when the permit is non-vehicle specific e.g. a hair salon buys a physical business permit, then receives it in the post. It is incumbent on the duty hairdresser to display the permit on their dashboard, as this is the only proof that that vehicle has parking rights. If the permit curls up due to the sun, then all hell breaks loose.

I concur with the OP, on the premise that paper permits do not curl up in the way that laminated ones do, and urge the OP to flag that issue at the council as best as they can. It is a serious design flaw!

I am unsure if the challenge to the PCN is the best avenue for that though.

I am going off on a tangent but one thing I hate is P&D ticket machines that do not dispense a P&D ticket with an adhesive that the driver can use to stop the ticket flipping over. All hell breaks loose there too!

With respect to the actual appeal, I reviewed the photos of the PCN, but could not find any of signage to say that she was in a permit holder bay. I always take a photo of a sign in proximity of the vehicle that I issue. In the cases where colleagues have not done so, the PCNs can get challenged, and successfully overturned on this point.

Re: Medway CC16 Meadowbank Resident Parking Permit displayed
« Reply #14 on: »
With respect to the actual appeal, I reviewed the photos of the PCN, but could not find any of signage to say that she was in a permit holder bay.


That's because they're the OP's. The council's are a different matter!