Free Traffic Legal Advice

On Friday 21st April I parked in a disc parking zone (Hide Hill) in Berwick Upon Tweed for about 20 mins. The allowed time is 1 hour (no return within 2 hours). When I returned to the car a parking attendant was giving me a ticket for overstaying, this is a Code 30. I had accidentally put the time on the disc to be an hour early. However I could easily prove that I was elsewhere an hour before the ticket was given as I had receipts from Morrisons, which is a couple of miles away (and on the day, about a 15 min journey due to roadworks).

In summary I parked at approx 11.25am but set my disc to 10.25 and was given the ticket at 11.44




Traffic Order for Hide Hill

My informal appeal on the grounds that I didn't overstay was rejected:

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ACT 2004
Penalty Charge Notice: NV05163371
Issue Date: 21/04/2023
Location: Hide Hill
Vehicle Registration: NK13VGX
Thank you for writing to us and for your supporting evidence.
After considering your challenge we have decided not to cancel your Penalty Charge Notice
(PCN).
The signage where you parked states: ‘Disc Zone, Mon – Sat, 9am – 5:30pm, 1 hour, no
return within 2 hours’.
You were given a PCN as the Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) believed you had overstayed
the 1 hour time limit.
You have stated that you set your parking disc an hour early in error. Although you may not
have overstayed the time limit in place your parking disc showed the time of arrival at
approximately 10:15 and your PCN was correctly issued at 11:44.
The front of the disc has 'ARRIVAL TIME' under the red arrow. The reverse of the disc under
‘Instructions for use’ state:
1. Set your disc to the time of arrival
2. Display the disc inside the windscreen, so the time can be clearly seen
3. Please check the signs for the maximum stay and other restrictions
4. You have committed a parking offence if you:-
• Park and fail to display the disc clearly
• Indicate a false time of arrival-perhaps mistakenly
• Subsequently alter the time on the disc
• Exceed the maximum stay
Parking Services, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF
(T) 0345 600 6400 (W) www.northumberland.gov.uk
Whilst we appreciate your explanation as outlined in your challenge, regrettably this would not
be a reason for us to cancel your PCN. It remains the driver’s responsibility to ensure the time
of the parking disc is set correctly before leaving their vehicle.
Please be advised that the council will not consider any further informal challenges
against this PCN. This will not prevent the owner/registered keeper making a further
formal appeal in response to a Notice to Owner.

I have now received the NTO and am intending to reply saying that I wasn't parked for more than an hour, and can prove it, and thus the contravention didn't occur. Help with wording appreciated!

My initial proposed response is: "The time and date of the alleged contravention is 11:44 on 21/04/2023. Parking is allowed for 1 hour. However as can be seen from the attached receipt I was at Morrison's at 11:09 that morning, less than an hour before 11:44. Therefore the contravention "Parking longer than permitted" has not, and could not possibly, have occured."

I originally posted this on pepipoo.com, link below to the original discussion there.


Link to Pepipoo posts

Morrisons is about 1.5 miles from Hide Hill where I parked, a journey which on the day took about 15 mins due to roadworks. I filled the car up at the Morrisons petrol station at 11.09 and have the receipt to show this. I also did some shopping in the supermarket before filling up. I then drove to Hide Hill, parked at about 11.25, completed my business and returned to the car at 11.45.

My point being that as I was at Morrisons at 11.09 I couldn't also have been parked at Hide Hill at 10.45 and thus couldn't possibly have overstayed.

Best to spell all this out in my reply then?

How about:

This contravention Code 30 "Parked for longer than permitted" did not occur.

On the morning of 21/04 I went to the Morrisons supermarket at the north end of Berwick, where I did some shopping and the filled up my car with petrol. The time on the receipt is 11.09. I then drove to Hide Hill, a distance of approximately 1.5 miles, the journey taking about 15 minutes (longer than usual due to roadworks). I therefore arrived at Hide Hill at approximately 11.25.

I returned to the car to be given a PCN, with a time noted of 11.44; this was based on my parking disc which I had inadvertently set to an hour earlier, and thus the CEO believed I had been there for more than an hour.

However this is not the case, as the times on the receipts at Morrisons demonstrate. As I did not overstay the contravention did not occur.

I've already done an informal representation, which was (predictably) rejected.

I've now got the NTO and need to respond formally. Not sure if it needs any more than this?

Map attached - best I can do to show Morrisons and Hide Hill

Scans of the NTO attached. There's also a form I can fill in to write my representations.

nobody in their right mightmind would park their car on Hide Hill

One of the Morrisons' receipts is for petrol, which surely conclusively proves that the car wasn't at Hide Hill at 11.09 - so I think I should omit the bit about not walking the 1.5 miles, and say this instead.

As expected my formal representations have also been rejected. Link below:

https://imgur.com/a/tdJnzLm

I presume I now appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal repeating what I've said before. I feel like I should emphasise that the receipt for buying petrol does absolutely demonstrate that the car was elsewhere as it's impossible to fill a car with petrol from a petrol station  a mile away whilst it is parked at Hide Hill.

Also whilst it might be an offence to indicate a false time of arrival, that isn't what I've been charged with.