Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi,

This is my first time posting so hope I have done it correctly.

I parked in a Southend Council car park but found neither machine accepting card, tried to call to pay but both my cards got rejected and tried via the app but due to poor reception could not connect. Having been seen by the civil enforcement officer tryng to pay, i was very upset when i received a PCN. So much so, that I came home rather than go to my exercise class. At no point did I leave the car park, meet anyone or drop anyone off.

Here is what I wrote in my appeal

Parking ticket number: OS14788482
Vehicle registration number: BL67UYW

I received a parking ticket on 11/1/25 but I believe the ticket was wrongly issued / there are mitigating circumstances, and I would like to submit an appeal for the following reasons:


•   The alleged contravention did not occur / Mitigating circumstances
Quite simply, the Officer got it wrong and I was not parked inappropriately at the time the ticket was issued. This is due to the fact that I tried to pay by card at the closest ticket machine but this was unsuccessful as, at the time, it was only accepting cash payments. Other people were also faced with the same difficulty.

I then tried to pay over the phone, but despite having sufficient funds in the account, this payment was declined twice. I then tried again with a different card, but despite again having sufficient funds in the account, this card was also declined by the automated service.

I then went to another, further away ticket machine and despite the ice slowing me down, I got there as quickly as possible. Here I spoke to other people who were struggling to pay, as this machine was also only accepting cash payments. As we were discussing the situation, and wondering what to do, the Civil Enforcement Officer (No. 421) in the car park was present for the conversation and could clearly hear the discussion regarding how it was proving impossible to pay. This would be captured on their personal camera.

One person suggested, incorrectly as it turned out, that the first machine was now taking card payments so I went back there but again it was only taking cash. I then went back to my car and discovered that despite clearly being aware that I had struggled to pay, the Civil Enforcement Officer (No. 421) had issued me with a ticket.

I then calmly explained to the officer that I should not have been given a ticket as I had been struggling to pay (something they already knew), as CCTV, the officer’s personal camera and my telephone records will confirm. The officer then made detailed notes as I explained the situation to them (again) and encouraged me to appeal. Finally, the officer then claimed that I had been issued a ticket as I’d been ‘10 minutes’ in the car park, however the times on the PCN clearly show that this was not true, as in fact, I’d been less than 9 minutes.

All these circumstances I submit as proof of my appeal.

The council in their reply admit that the machines were not working but claim nobody else had problems with the phone or app.

I have now received a notice to owner

What do I do now?

Thanks

Hi, Thanks for your response.
Hopefully the councils response is now attached (maybe it wasnt showing up before?)
What  posted previously was my challenge
I went back to my car to leave to go and park elsewhere as I wanted to attend an hour long exercise class.
The civil enforcement officer was by the car, having just issued the PCN, but she had seen people go from machine to machine trying to pay (it's a fairly small car park).
Yes I am the registered keeper.
Thanks

Thanks.

I have now got the NTO.

So, do I complete it, outlining the points above without saying'I' in my response ?

(even though I have to sign it??)

Also, I have to tick the grounds for appeal so is it

a) the alleged contravention didn't occur

b) There has been a procedural impropriety by the enforcement authority

or

c) The order is invalid?

Thanks again

Appeal first draft


I received a parking ticket on 11/1/25 but I believe the alleged contravention did not occur and I would like to submit an appeal for the following reasons:  (Should I mention the NTO here?)

I parked,  looked for the relevant terms and conditions,  and attempted to pay by using the closest ticket machine. However at this time, the machine was only accepting cash.  Other people were also faced with the same difficulty.
I then tried to pay over the phone, but despite having sufficient funds in the account, this payment was declined twice. I then tried again with a different card, but despite again having sufficient funds in the account, this card was also declined by the automated service.  I then tried to download and pay via the app, but due to poor reception in the car park, this proved impossible.

I then went to another, further away ticket machine and despite the ice slowing me down, I got there as quickly as possible. Here I spoke to other people who were struggling to pay, as this machine was also only accepting cash payments. As we were discussing the situation, and wondering what to do, the Civil Enforcement Officer (No. 421) in the car park was present for the conversation and could clearly hear the discussion regarding how it was proving impossible to pay. This would be captured on their personal camera.

One person suggested, incorrectly as it turned out, that the first machine was now taking card payments so I went back there but again it was only taking cash. I then went back to my car to leave and find another car park as I wished  to attend an exercise class and wanted to find another car park that would enable me to pay for parking. Once I returned to my car, I discovered that despite clearly being aware that I had struggled to pay, the Civil Enforcement Officer (No. 421) had issued me with a ticket.

I then calmly explained to the officer that I should not have been given a ticket as I had been struggling to pay (something they already knew), as CCTV, the officer’s personal camera and my telephone records will confirm. The officer then made detailed notes as I explained the situation to them (again) and encouraged me to appeal.  This tooing and froing between machines and payment methods took only as much time as was necessary, and in all the time I was there, I never left the car park, dropped anyone off or collected anyone.

Finally, the officer then claimed that I had been issued a ticket as I’d been ‘10 minutes’ in the car park, however the times on the PCN clearly show that this was not true, as in fact, I’d been less than 9 minutes.

Appeal second draft


I received a parking ticket on 11/1/25 but I believe the alleged contravention did not occur and I would like to submit an appeal for the following reasons:  (Should I mention the NTO here?)

I parked,  looked for the relevant terms and conditions,  and attempted to pay by using the closest ticket machine. However at this time, the machine was only accepting cash. I then tried to pay over the phone, but my card was rejected twice - despite having sufficient funds.  I then tried to download and pay via the app, but due to poor reception in the car park, this proved impossible.

I then went to another, further away ticket machine and got there as fast as possible despite the ice slowing me down, however this machine was also only accepting cash payments. As I discussing the situation with other drivers, the Civil Enforcement Officer (No. 421) in the car park was present for the conversation and could clearly hear the discussion regarding how it was proving impossible to pay. This would be captured on their personal camera.

I went back to the first payment machine, as one person suggested, incorrectly as it turned out, that the first but again it was still only taking cash. I then went back to my car to leave and find another car park as I wished  to attend an exercise class and wanted to find another car park that would enable me to pay for parking. Once I returned to my car, I discovered that despite clearly being aware that I had struggled to pay, the Civil Enforcement Officer (No. 421) had issued me with a ticket.

I then calmly explained to the officer that I should not have been given a ticket as I had been struggling to pay (something they already knew), as CCTV, the officer’s personal camera and my telephone records will confirm. The officer then made detailed notes and encouraged me to appeal.  This back and forth between machines and payment methods took only as much time as was necessary, less than 9 minutes despite the officer saying it was 10, and in all the time I was there, I never left the car park, dropped anyone off or collected anyone. Finally the officer saw me get into my car and prepare to leave.

Here is the first appeal along with their reply - hopefully

I received a parking ticket on 11/1/25 but I believe the ticket was wrongly issued / there are mitigating circumstances, and I would like to submit an appeal for the following reasons:


•   The alleged contravention did not occur / Mitigating circumstances
Quite simply, the Officer got it wrong and I was not parked inappropriately at the time the ticket was issued. This is due to the fact that I tried to pay by card at the closest ticket machine but this was unsuccessful as, at the time, it was only accepting cash payments. Other people were also faced with the same difficulty.

I then tried to pay over the phone, but despite having sufficient funds in the account, this payment was declined twice. I then tried again with a different card, but despite again having sufficient funds in the account, this card was also declined by the automated service.

I then went to another, further away ticket machine and despite the ice slowing me down, I got there as quickly as possible. Here I spoke to other people who were struggling to pay, as this machine was also only accepting cash payments. As we were discussing the situation, and wondering what to do, the Civil Enforcement Officer (No. 421) in the car park was present for the conversation and could clearly hear the discussion regarding how it was proving impossible to pay. This would be captured on their personal camera.

One person suggested, incorrectly as it turned out, that the first machine was now taking card payments so I went back there but again it was only taking cash. I then went back to my car and discovered that despite clearly being aware that I had struggled to pay, the Civil Enforcement Officer (No. 421) had issued me with a ticket.

I then calmly explained to the officer that I should not have been given a ticket as I had been struggling to pay (something they already knew), as CCTV, the officer’s personal camera and my telephone records will confirm. The officer then made detailed notes as I explained the situation to them (again) and encouraged me to appeal. Finally, the officer then claimed that I had been issued a ticket as I’d been ‘10 minutes’ in the car park, however the times on the PCN clearly show that this was not true, as in fact, I’d been less than 9 minutes.

All these circumstances I submit as proof of my appeal.

Just to say thanks to everybody that helped on this site.

The council have cancelled the PCN 'as a gesture of goodwill'

So all sorted

Well done. They knew they were on a loser !