As you put it I guess the version does not go down well, in hindsight lesson learnt I should have paid before even leaving the car as I had no reason not to pay, it's free, why would anyone not pay.. the only mistake was it wasn't paid instantly, rather I took the person that I was with into the shop out of courtesy, in admist getting them settled, I remembered the ticket (although within a minute still), then came back out to check and pay. Had it been after 20 minutes taht I guess the question could be asked why?
I guess what I am trying to understand is, should there have been an observation period or not, as the CEO said he observed for 2 minutes, which he didn't and the ticket also states the same time? would this be enough to cancel teh ticket?