Thanks all, this is what I've conjured up with some help from AI:
I am writing to make an informal challenge against the above PCN.
The PCN states that my vehicle was observed from 12:37 to 12:43 and that the alleged contravention was “parked without payment of the parking charge.” I ask the council to cancel the PCN on the basis of the circumstances set out below, or alternatively to exercise discretion.
I arrived at approximately 12:40 and attempted to pay for parking using RingGo. I was not trying to avoid payment; I was in the process of arranging payment. I successfully purchased a RingGo parking session at 12:47, only a few minutes later. I attach evidence of the RingGo payment.
The short delay was caused by difficulty completing payment on my phone. This occurred during an exceptional spell of hot weather affecting London and the South East. On 23 May 2026, the UK passed 30°C for the first time that year and the day was reported as the hottest day of the year so far at that point. In those conditions, my phone overheated / stopped operating properly, which delayed my ability to complete the RingGo transaction immediately.
Because my phone was not working properly in the heat, I went into Tolworth Library, which was immediately across the road from where the vehicle was parked, to get into the shade / cooler environment and wait for the phone to turn back on so that I could complete the RingGo payment. I then completed the RingGo payment at 12:47.
There were also no working parking payment machines available on the street, so I had no practical alternative but to use the phone/app payment method.
I appreciate that payment should normally be made promptly on arrival. However, in this case the delay was short, payment was made at 12:47, and there was no deliberate attempt to park without paying.
I also do not accept that the vehicle was present from 12:37, as my recollection is that I arrived at approximately 12:40. The council’s online evidence does not appear to substantiate that my vehicle was present and continuously observed from 12:37 to 12:43. If the council does not accept this challenge, please provide the Civil Enforcement Officer’s contemporaneous notes, all photographs taken, and any other evidence relied upon to show that the vehicle was present and observed for the full period stated on the PCN.
For these reasons, I ask the council to cancel the PCN. In the alternative, I ask the council to exercise discretion given the very short delay, the fact that payment was made, the unusually hot conditions affecting phone-based payment, and the lack of a street payment machine alternative.
If the council rejects this informal challenge, please address each of the points above and confirm whether the discounted penalty will be re-offered.
Yours faithfully,
