Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi Everyone,

On New Year's Day, I parked my car on a single yellow line on a road in the London Borough of Southwark and received a penalty charge notice of £130.

When I entered the road, I did notice a sign. After receiving the PCN on my car, I went back to look at the sign for the zone in which I was parked (see attached image). The sign is located under a bridge with no lighting, which is probably why I didn't see it.

On top of that, the sign had something over the start time. I had to take a picture with the flash on to see it clearly (see attached image).

Since it was New Year's Day, a bank holiday, I assumed parking was free. I’ve always parked on single yellow lines during bank holidays without issue.

There were no parking restriction signs on the side of the road where I parked (see attached images), and nothing indicated that parking was not allowed there.

On the opposite side of the road, there were parking permit holder bays, but on my side, it was just yellow lines.

Do I have any ground to challenge it? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

PS. Part of the PCN is destroyed as it was raining, so some text is missing.


IMAGES:
Penalty Charge Notice:



Parking Zone Sign:



Parking Sign With Flash:



Yellow Lines:

I have updated the PCN with no redactions.

I have created this draft, please let me know what you think.

I mentioned the old site with the outdated information as well. If this is not a good idea, then I will remove it. Look forward to your feedback.



Dear [Authority Name],

I am writing to formally challenge the Penalty Charge Notice issued to me for parking on Drummond Road in Zone G on New Year’s Day, January 1st, 2025. My decision to park there was based on the information provided on your official website regarding parking restrictions on public and bank holidays.

Before parking, I conducted a Google search to ensure I understood the parking restrictions applicable on New Year’s Day. My search led me to two pages on your website:

A page last updated on 28 November 2023, which explicitly stated that yellow lines are enforceable on public and bank holidays.
A more recent page last updated on 20 December 2024, which is part of your newer website and did not state that yellow lines are enforceable on public and bank holidays.
Given that the December 2024 page is the most recent and part of your updated site, I reasonably relied on this information to conclude that yellow lines were not enforceable on public and bank holidays. This information directly influenced my decision to park on Drummond Road.

Had the December 2024 page clearly stated that yellow line restrictions remain enforceable on public and bank holidays, I would not have parked in this location. The absence of this critical detail created a misleading impression of the parking rules, which resulted in my unintentional contravention of the regulations.

I respectfully submit that this inconsistency in the information provided on your website constitutes a procedural impropriety. I acted in good faith based on the most current and official guidance available.

I kindly request that the Penalty Charge Notice be canceled on this basis. I look forward to your response and thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Contact Information]

I look forward to your draft. Thank you.

Thank you for your draft!

I thought I would give it a day to see if anyone else would be able to share their input.

I'll wait a bit longer, but the 14 day 50% discount period will soon be up.

Should I add that there were no signs on the side of the road where I parked? I have pictures above to confirm that.

Look forward to hearing from other experts in this forum.

Thanks.

I just wanted to double check which option I select.

I'm assuming it's option 1?

Thanks

Thank you!