Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: joebassman on April 23, 2026, 07:28:09 pm
-
Thanks for your replies.
We have drafted an appeal to send to the council. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Dear Sir/Madam
I am contacting you regarding the PCN UZ70232964 served on the 23rd April 2026 for my vehicle reg: AV26PPK. I paid £2.50 for all day parking using the MiPermit App, please see attachment. I recently started work as a social worker in the Suffolk Children and Young People's Service based at the Mix in Stowmarket. I thought I had selected the correct location for the parking and paid the correct fee for the duration of my stay. Unfortunately, I must have selected the location for Union Street Car Park in error, whose code is one digit different from the Ipswich Street Car Park code. As I have paid £2.50 for parking in Stowmarket at your council car park, there has been no loss of revenue on your part. This was an honest mistake on my part so I am requesting that, on this occasion, you kindly reconsider the PCN that has been issued.
Thank you for your kind assistance.
-
When did your mother last park in the car park that MiPermit showed incorrectly ?
Maybe your mother thinks the app is more sophisticated than it actually is. For me, when I park in Nantwich using RingGo, I open the app when I'm actually parked in the car park, but I then do get a choice of car parks. I think the reason for this is that the app is on a mobile phone, not a car, therefore it needs the app user to confirm what car park he/she wants to pay for.
Its the first time she has used an app to pay for parking. She usually pays by card in the ticket machine and has always done so at that car park as its also for the cinema. The reason she used the app was because her work starts at 8am but the car parking charge doesn't start until 8.30am, so she is unable to pay using the machine before work, but can pay using the app.
Whenever I use an app to pay for parking, I always double check that the code matches the one on the board, but unfortunately, my Mum isn't as tech savvy.
-
When did your mother last park in the car park that MiPermit showed incorrectly ?
Maybe your mother thinks the app is more sophisticated than it actually is. For me, when I park in Nantwich using RingGo, I open the app when I'm actually parked in the car park, but I then do get a choice of car parks. I think the reason for this is that the app is on a mobile phone, not a car, therefore it needs the app user to confirm what car park he/she wants to pay for.
-
As your account makes clear, there is no objective evidence that the app is/was at fault. I cannot see a statutory defence and therefore asking for the authority's discretion based upon your account would seem to be the best option.
IMO, do not make claims which cannot be substantiated, especially if these are critical of the app. Why would they be moved to exercise discretion in the face of such assertions?
-
I've gone to the car park and its showing the correct car park in the app now when I press nearest location. My Mum is adament that it wasn't showing the correct car park when she paid and she said that the same thing happened the day before but she didn't get a PCN then.
She didn't realise the mistake until she received a PCN and thought she had bought the correct ticket both times.
She paid for a ticket on both days, so she obviously wasn't trying to avoid paying for a ticket.
-
IMO, given that the information board and instructions seem clear then any defence would go to mitigation. This would be bolstered if you could demonstrate that the app does not give this car park despite being parked in it then this would help because it suggests a systemic failure.
-
Sorry, there is an error in my post earlier today. I said the parking app uses GSV to get a position, but I meant to say GPS (Global Positioning System).
-
Thanks for your reply. No I wasn't in the vehicle at the time.
In the app there is an option to select the nearest car park and that then shows the code of the nearest car park. My Mum used the app from her car and didn't look at the board.
Yes you have to register with the app and register your car and number plate.
My mum registered for the app this week to use this specific car park. She uses this car park for work as her workplace don't have their own car park and only downloaded the app and registered this week as she has just started her job. She said she's never used this app before this week.
My mum is the registered keeper and her details are up to date.
-
On GSV the car park board and instructions seem clear, as does the location number. Perhaps you could confirm with photos when you visit.
On the map on the parking app it showed that she was in the other car park, not the one she was parked in so she didn't realise the car park was not the correct one.
As I understand it, you were not in the vehicle and do not have first-hand knowledge, so this is your mother's recollection.
I'm no expert on these apps, but how could it locate her car without some user input? If she already had the app and was 'registered' or whatever, then presumably she has used this before. Any previous problems?
Just thinking ahead to the nest stage(a NTO), who is the registered keeper and are their DVLA details current?
-
Or thinking about it what may be a better idea is if my mum's phone does it again in showing the wrong car park, is to hold her phone up against the board showing the code in the car park and taking a picture with my phone.
-
Thanks. What I'll try doing later is driving to the car park with my mum's phone to see if it does the same thing and then I can take a screen shot.
-
OK. I have to say that that is a substantial distance apart, for a wrong selection. I don't know how the MiPermit app works, but reviews on Trustpilot are 90% unfavourable ! Here in Cheshire East council car parks, Ringo is the app.
All I can say is that you need to investigate how the app placed the phone at one car park when it was physically at another one. These apps use GSV to position the phone, then normally tell you the car park name and then one selects a car to park, as one can have more than one on the app.
I suggest you submit reps on the basis that the app placed the car at the wrong car park, but despite this, the correct payment was made so the council did not lose any money, and clearly there was no intention to avoid payment.
-
Please tell us where the other car park is in relation to the Ipswich Street one. The PbP apps use GSB_V to position the car in relation to car parks. We have seen them cause confusion where there are two numbers for a car park site for some reason.
The other car park is in Union street about half a mile away.
Here is Google maps showing the 2 car parks
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6RgZX5VRmeH6FRpf8
-
Please tell us where the other car park is in relation to the Ipswich Street one. The PbP apps use GSB_V to position the car in relation to car parks. We have seen them cause confusion where there are two numbers for a car park site for some reason.
-
delete
-
Hopefully this works this time. For some reason if I share using add image it doesn't work so I can only copy the links straight into here. The app was MiPermit
https://imgpile.com/p/RbatreQ#QbGmm4P
Rear,
https://imgpile.com/p/RbatreQ#TdxGc1W
Other car park
https://maps.app.goo.gl/9kHrGavUtosW7pPd6
-
Sorry, but we do insist on a minimum of documentation to support a thread, one being the PCN. So please post up all sides of the PCN. Do not redact anything other than name and address.
Also please have a read here and update your thread if necessary:-
https://www.ftla.uk/civil-penalty-charge-notices-(councils-tfl-and-so-on)/read-this-first-before-posting-your-case!-this-section-is-for-council-tfl-dartme/
What is the PbP app your mother used ?
Your GSV link only shows one car park, so where is the other one ?
Hi, thanks for your reply. I did share the links to the photos of the PCN using imgpile as per the instructions, but the links seem to have disappeared for some reason. I'll give it another try.
-
Sorry, but we do insist on a minimum of documentation to support a thread, one being the PCN. So please post up all sides of the PCN. Do not redact anything other than name and address.
Also please have a read here and update your thread if necessary:-
https://www.ftla.uk/civil-penalty-charge-notices-(councils-tfl-and-so-on)/read-this-first-before-posting-your-case!-this-section-is-for-council-tfl-dartme/
What is the PbP app your mother used ?
Your GSV link only shows one car park, so where is the other one ?
-
My Mum received a PCN today even though she had paid for parking using the app. She used the nearest location option on the app on her phone and paid the correct amount. However, she realised when she returned home that she had paid for the car park with the code 747206; the correct code for the car park she parked in is 747205.
On the map on the parking app it showed that she was in the other car park, not the one she was parked in so she didn't realise the car park was not the correct one.
(https://imgpile.com/p/K4fHQuH#JIm0WSj)
(https://imgpile.com/p/K4fHQuH#4gfz50G)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/yh7CZCnSBQcrb7xQ6