Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: JackieDaytona on January 06, 2026, 01:05:54 pm
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I thought that would be the case. Basically, pressuring people who are hard up for cash to pay early and not take it further. Guess I have a decision to make. £80 now or potentially £160 later.
Only new thing i would mention is that after looking on google map, there is this sign https://maps.app.goo.gl/kxxWDRbzM9qkUp4M7.
I didn't see it and even if i saw it now, it wouldn't be clear to me that the streets i drove down are in that specific zone.
Edit: After reading back, this isn't new and was pointed out in this thread.
I've disputed it again and mentioned that sign. Lets see what they come back with but at this point, if the 50% discount expires and they reject again, i might as well take it as far as i can
Yes, there is that sign on the far side of the street right next to a bus stop, so stupidly, (nay, bovinely stupidly) placed. Why is it not repeated on the near side ?
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delete
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I thought that would be the case. Basically, pressuring people who are hard up for cash to pay early and not take it further. Guess I have a decision to make. £80 now or potentially £160 later.
Only new thing i would mention is that after looking on google map, there is this sign https://maps.app.goo.gl/kxxWDRbzM9qkUp4M7.
I didn't see it and even if i saw it now, it wouldn't be clear to me that the streets i drove down are in that specific zone.
Edit: After reading back, this isn't new and was pointed out in this thread.
I've disputed it again and mentioned that sign. Lets see what they come back with but at this point, if the 50% discount expires and they reject again, i might as well take it as far as i can
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can you pay at the 50% discount and still appeal by any chance?
No. That's why they offer the discount. Paying closes the case although you can write to them if exceptional circumstances later come to light.
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can you pay at the 50% discount and still appeal by any chance?
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I thought that but I'm also still able to appeal again it seems.
If you have any further information/comments to make regarding this PCN, please submit them on-line using the challenge form on the following web page www.lbhf.gov.uk/pcn
and the website is allowing another.
I am the registered owener and v5 is up to date. Although I'm moving in March
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Their reply (rejection), is to your informal challenge to the PCN. It is almost certain that they will tell you to wait for the Notice to Owner and submit a formal representation; are you the owner holding the V5C Registration Certificate for the vehicle, and is it up-to-date ?
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I'm going to challenge it again with the below reply. Please let me know your thoughts.
Dear x,
It is disappointing to see that you have rejected my claim without giving consideration to the points I made.
As mentioned, the signs (including the one you attached) are not clear as the parking restrictions say Mon-Fri and the event days sign says nothing about operating outside of these days.
Furthermore, the CPZ T are inadequate, with the only event days sign for this CPZ being in an area that I did not pass. My direction of travel was north up Fulham Palace road, then a left turn onto Nella Road. Nowhere during this journey was there a CPZ visible with the event day dates displayed.
In regards to the point about me having to check the website. This isn't consistent with the law. Adjudicators apply the law and that law is that the signs must reflect the traffic order.
Lastly, after doing some research into this issue, it seems this is a common issue in the area and that appeals have been accepted for these exact reasons. Please see below:
Case reference 2250294640
Appellant Jonathan Brenner
Authority London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
VRM HN63 OVL
PCN Details
PCN HZ78122708
Contravention date 16 Mar 2025
Contravention time 10:29:00
Contravention location Winslow Road
Penalty amount N/A
Contravention Parked resident/shared use without a valid permit
Referral date -
Decision Date 15 Sep 2025
Adjudicator Carl Teper
Appeal decision Appeal allowed
Direction
cancel the Penalty Charge Notice and the Notice to Owner.
Reasons
The Appellant has attended his appeal by video link, the Authority is not represented.
The Authority's case is that the Appellant's vehicle was parked in a residents' or shared use parking place or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit or voucher or pay and display ticket issued for that place where required, or without payment of the parking charge when in Winslow Road on Sunday, 16 March 2025 at 10:29.
The Appellant's case is that there was nothing to indicate that this particular Sunday was an Event/March day with additional restrictions.
I have considered the evidence in this case and I find that this contravention is not proved.
Sunday, 16 March 2025 may well have been an Event/Match day, however, there is a requirement for this to be indicated on the Controlled Parking signage when entering a particular Zone - in this case the Zone that surrounds the football ground of the local football team.
This Authority has failed to provide a map indicating the extent of the Zone, where the CPZ signage is located and at least an example of a CPZ sign recording that Sunday, 16 March 2025 was an Event/Match day.
In the absence of such evidence I am not satisfied that the Authority has proved this particular contravention.
The appeal is allowed.
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They have deliberately ignored the point about signs with the event days because they know the signs for CPZ T are inadequate. They have also given you another point to make, by saying you should check their website. Appeals have been won on this, because adjudicators apply the law and that law is that the signs must reflect the traffic order.
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14 day discount period ends 14 days from yesterday. So I have time. I agree on the signs being confusing. I also used that in my initial argument.
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OK I didn't realise you'd already challenged.
When does the discount offer end. If you decide to try formal reps they will probably again reoffer the discount on rejection but you can try stronger reps.
If it goes to the tribunal they sometimes fail to provide proper evidence for the adjudicator.
Here in my view it's not just the entry signs but the parking place sign as it provides no clue that an event day is not Mon-Fri and no info plate saying how you'd find out about event days, and does the 2 hours apply to permit holders too?
Other councils are better at event day signage although none is perfect.
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Keep it simple and say that the CPZ sign you saw shortly before you turned left into Nella Road had no information on it about Event Days at all. Let them shoot themselves in the foot by saying the one on the right by the bus stop, (so likely to be hidden most times by buses), is the sign.
This is essentially what I said, and asked for them to show evidence of where the event day signs were. Which you can see from my response, they didn't actually state.
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This is the initial response I got when I challenged it for that reason. The bothersome bit is the discount period. £160 is an absolutely ridiculous amount for a parking ticket which, right now i cant afford.
But my next step is it going to the environment and traffic adjudicator.
Why the PCN was issued?
This PCN was issued because the vehicle was parked in a shared use parking place or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit or voucher or pay and display ticket issued for that place where required or without a telephone parking session for that place.
Your challenge
You have stated
I wish to challenge the above Penalty Charge Notice due to inadequate and unclear signage, and the absence of any indication that an event day restriction was in force.
No “Event Day Today” signs were displayed at the entry to the zone
I approached Colwith Road and did not see any “Event Day Today” signs at the Controlled Parking Zone entry points. These signs are a mandatory requirement for event-day enforcement, as they are the only means by which a motorist can know that additional restrictions apply.
If the council asserts that such signs were displayed, I request the following:
The exact locations of all event-day signs
Photographs showing they were visible and not obscured
Confirmation of the time at which they were switched to “Event Today”
Without these signs being clearly and prominently displayed, the event-day restriction cannot be enforced. This principle is well established in multiple London Tribunals decisions.
There is no way for a person who doesn't follow football to know that "event day" refers to a football match and there were absolutely no signs on that road to say that there was an event day
My findings
The vehicle was in controlled parking zone T. A ‘match day’ restriction scheme operates in zones T, X & Y (the area surrounding Fulham Football Club ground at Craven Cottage).
On the day of scheduled weekday evening fixtures as well as weekends, the hours of controlled parking are extended to 22:00 and 21:30. The parking bays in this area also have a two hour maximum stay for pay and display ticket holders & telephone parking on match days (At all other times the restrictions apply 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday; with an 8 hour pay and display & telephone parking session limit).
The PCN was issued on the date and at the time above in a shared parking permit/pay and display bay restricted until 22:00 due to resident priority football match restrictions. During a period of 8 minutes no activity was seen at the vehicle.
There are signs in each street which show the parking restrictions. Drivers have a responsibility to check for parking signs and markings and to park in accordance with them.
Please see the image below of the signage which was taken by the Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) at the time of issuing the PCN.
The match dates on which these extended restrictions will apply are also advertised on the Council’s website.
Please refer to the following links on the Council’s website:
https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/parking/pay-and-display/parking-zone-times-and-charges
https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/parking/pay-and-display/match-day-parking-craven-cottage
The onus is on the driver to ensure their vehicle is parked in compliance at all times, including any temporary amendments that may apply, particularly when parking in an area where event days are common.
The CEO has a legal obligation to issue a PCN to any vehicle seen parking in contravention; regrettably, as the above vehicle was parked in contravention, this Council cannot find any valid reason to waive the Charge. I am therefore satisfied that the PCN was correctly issued.
My decision
I have considered what you have said and all the available evidence, but I do not agree that we should cancel your liability for this PCN.
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Don't rush this - draft something here. I think the parking signs are not adequate as per the other thread.
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Keep it simple and say that the CPZ sign you saw shortly before you turned left into Nella Road had no information on it about Event Days at all. Let them shoot themselves in the foot by saying the one on the right by the bus stop, (so likely to be hidden most times by buses), is the sign.
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I did drive North. That first sign you posted is facing south i believe, i also would have turned left before that point too. I believe I turned left before the hospital.
As for the other sign. I didnt see that when driving, with it being the other side of the road but yeah I see the argument. I guess my strongest argument is that there wasnt an event sign in the actual CPZ i parked in, with as you mentioned the only event days sign being in the CPZ prior?
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OK, so I assume you drove north up Fulham Palace Road, (been along there quite a few times on a trolleybus back in the day, but anyway...).
So here is the completely barmy sign they have put up to tell you you are entering CPZ T :-
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KYj1qbLxmjzEVFx49
Would you notice that driving along ? No, thought not. You will see through the foliage that it has a slot at the bottom for event days. However, a bit further south near Fulham Cemetery, the signs are far, far, better: -
https://maps.app.goo.gl/YzjoQz4oWD1xDaGf6
and you would have passed these too. Whilst you parked in the next CPZ along, (this one is for Zone X), the event days are common to all the CPZs along here that have event day restrictions. Looking at their map of CPZ, the ones with event day restrictions are those on the west side of the Fulham Palace Road.
https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/parking/pay-and-display/map-controlled-parking-zones
So, have the council met their statutory duty under Regulation 18 of The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 ? My view is that it is arguable, because you did pass a sign giving the event days, but really the signs when you pass into Zone T, where you parked, are totally inadequate.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/2489/regulation/18
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Thanks for that reply. Seems interesting. So two cases where one was accepted and one was rejected. I already had one for this rejected but it just seemed like an auto reply. There were definitely no traditional CPZ signs on my way to where I parked, and there were definitely no event day signs. I also parked just two steets down from the appeal that got accepted.
Would I be able to use that every appeal in my appeal, if that makes sense?
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I looked at this zone in this case.
https://www.ftla.uk/civil-penalty-charge-notices-(councils-tfl-and-so-on)/lb-hf-parking-fine
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As for the PCN itself, i cant upload it but happy to provide any details you need. It was one that was placed on my screen by a warden.
Have a look at this post which will assist you in posting a link to the PCN.
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/
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I'm unsure if the below link works, but hopefully it does. It was on Colwith Road, Hammersmith.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4855322,-0.2228768,3a,75y,72.25h,91.5t/data=!3m10!1e1!3m8!1sgcpWIZs5VIwS4vbAmVyYYA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-1.497115338182283%26panoid%3DgcpWIZs5VIwS4vbAmVyYYA%26yaw%3D72.25313803643621!7i16384!8i8192!9m2!1b1!2i40?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTIwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Having a hard time figuring out how to upload an image here. But the way i got to this road was by turning left onto Nella Road from Fulham Palace road, then right onto Rannoch Road, then right onto Colwith Road. I don't remember seeing any CPZ signs. Just the monday - saturday parking sign, with the event times below (again, i had no idea there was an event).
As for the PCN itself, i cant upload it but happy to provide any details you need. It was one that was placed on my screen by a warden.
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Please post the PCN and a GSV link to the exact location. Normally for these event restrictions, there are signs at the entrance to a zone, usually a CPZ. There have been loads of cases like yours, and some appeals won at London Tribunals, but you must be prepared to stand your ground and take them all the way to London Tribunals, and risk the full PCN penalty if you lose. Nothing to pay, of course, if you win. No additional costs either.
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I parked on a street a few Sundays ago when there was a match on. I had no idea there was a match on, I dont follow football. The sign had a mon-sat parking restriction, but then did mention event day restrictions of like 9am-10pm. I didn't see a single sign at any point mentioning there being an event day. I used this in my dispute that has been rejected and the reply was, in short, saying the onus is on me to check their website to see whether its an event day or not. I've used chatgpt for this and this is the counter argument, which i'm hoping someone can tell me if there's actually any basis for argument here.
1. I did not see any CPZ entry signs stating “Event Today”.
2. The council has produced no evidence that such signs were displayed on that date.
3. A bay sign stating “event days only” does not tell a motorist whether today is an event day.
4. Drivers are not required to check council websites to determine whether parking restrictions apply.
5. The signage therefore failed to adequately convey the restriction in force, and the contravention did not occur.