Free Traffic Legal Advice

So my appeal was rejected, how should i proceed with this ? we do not know who was driving at the time as the vehicle is used for my elderly mother for mobility reasons along with her blue badge, myself and my brother share taking her to appointments using this vehicle which i am the registered keeper of.

PCN REFERENCE NUMBER: 50915926
 
PAYMENT DUE DATE: 21st April 2026                     
TOTAL AMOUNT DUE: £100.00                 
       
Dear,   
                                                                 
Thank you for your appeal against the above Parking Charge Notice.
 
At UK CPM we consider all appeals on a case-by-case basis. We take each appeal very seriously and thoroughly investigate any evidence that has been provided. We appreciate your circumstances and understand this is not a situation anyone would like to find themselves in; however, these parking conditions have been put in place to ensure fair usage for all motorists and support the needs of our client. After careful consideration, it is unfortunate that I am writing to you today to advise that on this occasion, your appeal has been unsuccessful.
 
The decision to uphold your parking charge notice has been made on the following basis.
 
Whilst we note your comments and reason for appeal, we can confirm that you were parked in an electric vehicle only bay. Therefore, as your vehicle was parked in contravention of the terms and conditions as advertised on the signage displayed on site, this PCN has been issued to you correctly.
 
Either due to the reason for issue and/or the insufficient evidence provided to support the details of your appeal, we have considered this PCN and found that it does not fall under the category of Annex F the Appeals Charter of the Single Code of Practice. Therefore, if no further evidence is provided, we will deem this to be our final decision. 
 
You have now reached the end of our internal appeals procedure and therefore you now have two options; either pay or appeal to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) - you cannot do both.
 
To make payment of the total amount due as shown above, please use one of the following payment options;
 
Online: www.paymyticket.co.uk
Telephone: 0345 463 4040 (24hr)
Post: Payments & Collections, PO Box 3114, Lancing, BN15 5BR
 
Alternatively, if you do not agree with your internal appeal outcome and you wish to dispute the matter further, as you have complied with our internal appeals procedure you may use, and we will engage with, the IAS Standard Appeals Service providing you lodge an appeal to them within 28 days of this rejection.
 
The Independent Appeals Service (www.theIAS.org) provides an Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme for disputes of this type. If you decide to appeal to the IAS, you will need to visit their website and use your PCN reference and corresponding vehicle registration. All PCN's will be uploaded to the IAS website by the end of this working day.
 
If you decide to engage with the Independent Appeals Service, any offer of a discount for early payment (if applicable) will be withdrawn. Should your appeal be unsuccessful or you chose to settle the parking charge prior to the appeal being determined, the full amount of the PCN will be payable. Please note that should you pay the parking charge prior to adjudication concluding, the appeal will be closed, and you will not be given a further opportunity to contest the charge.
 
If you do not wish to dispute the matter further and payment is not received within 28 days of the date of this correspondence then additional charges may be incurred, for which you may be liable. If the charge continues to remain outstanding, the matter may be later referred for litigation in the County Court which could result in a County Court Judgment being made against you; this may impact on your ability to obtain credit in the future.
 

It depends, it's always worth appealing, you might be lucky, at the least it indicates you're going to challenge them and shows you acted in good faith should it get to court.

However most appeals we see here do get rejected, mainly because people generally have relatively weak grounds to appeal. Most people who have strong grounds, frustration of contract, car breakdown, medical emergency, genuine customer will often just naively appeal and depending on the private parking company have a reasonable chance of it getting cancelled.

For example getting into a detailed argument over whether the wording on the PCN is or isn't fully POFA compliant isn't going to win any appeals. Challenging the PPC regarding sufficiency of signage (with evidence) or not providing a consideration period are stronger grounds less open to interpretation. Unfortunately you are dealing with an IPC affiliated operator and the fact they've issued a PCN without a stated period of parking would suggest they see the rules as guidelines at best.

Could i ask what you would do constructing an appeal ? i have seen some other appeals but dont think i can just copy and paste them, i need to get one in and i am going in blind right now, any help would be greatly appreciated, is there a general template knocking around for these crooks ?

just received this from them today, can anyone advise how i should structure an appeal, do i say i dont know who was driving at time or just not mention any driver ?

https://cloud.chipchopmod.uk/s/55qQ2CGE2LFPDt8

https://cloud.chipchopmod.uk/s/mWycFi7Fg4BCZr7

It's an invoice but we would not recommend ignoring it as it can still have serious consequences, ultimately the keeper of the vehicle could get a CCJ which would seriously screw up their credit rating for 7 years.

You can lodge an appeal but you need good grounds for that to be successful. In this case there may be a number.

Was there a ticket on the windscreen or was this the first you've been notified of the PCN?

The immediate issue I can see with this is there is no period of parking stipulated, they needed to observe the vehicle for at least 5 minutes for a contract to have been formed, the driver could have legitimately left the vehicle to read the signs before realising they should not be parking there and driving off within the mandatory consideration period.

Second avenue may be signage but as there's a sign above the vehicle in the picture on the PCN we'd need to see an image of it to be able to advise if that is an avenue for appeal. Could also do with seeing the reverse of the PCN  letter.

The downside here is CPM are IPC members and the (not) Independent Appeals Service is the second stage appeal. Neither are likely to grant an appeal however well founded.

No, there wasnt a PCN issued to the actual vehicle, i will get a picture of the signage in a day or two. The reverse of the PCN is there now, it was inserted as an image.

Sounds like from what you say, it matters not if i make an appeal, they will just say no and then i have no recourse  ?

So here it is... the NOR, its a joke. i would rather the pay the money to someone that could overturn it than give them my hard earned cash.

NOR HERE

This is pretty much all they will allow me to say, guess ill have to get the big guns out when they refuse the appeal.

I wish to explain the circumstances of this alleged contravention. I have not driven through this area for some time and, due to heavy congestion on surrounding roads, I inadvertently entered the new Low Traffic Neighbourhood restriction. I had previously used this road as a cut-through. The long-standing width restriction remains in place and the new “No Motor Vehicles” signs are not obvious when approaching around the corner. At that point, a driver’s attention is on safely navigating the width restriction rather than looking for additional signage. This gives the impression that access is still permitted. I understand and support the Council’s aims in reducing traffic, but in this case I believe the signage is inadequate. Now that I am aware of the change, I will avoid the road in future. This was a genuine mistake, and I respectfully request that the Council exercise its discretion to cancel the PCN.

Going to go in with this...

I write to formally challenge the above PCN.

The PCN alleges “failure to comply with a prohibition on certain types of vehicle.” However, I submit that the restriction has not been lawfully conveyed to motorists for the following reasons:

Non-compliant signage

The “No Motor Vehicles” signs at the location do not comply with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD).

TSRGD Schedule 3, Part 2, Item 12 specifies permitted variants, and the wording “Except authorised vehicles” is not among them. Unless Merton Council has obtained special authorisation from the Department for Transport (which I doubt given the recent installation), the signage is unlawful and cannot give rise to a penalty charge.

In addition, the accompanying blue information signs in place also appear non-compliant with TSRGD.

Inadequate and unclear visibility

As a driver approaching the location, one must negotiate the long-standing width restriction. The newly added prohibition signs are not visible until a driver is committed to passing through the width restriction. At that moment, the driver’s full attention is on safely manoeuvring through the narrow gap, not scanning for new signage.

The continuing presence of the physical width restriction reinforces the impression that motor vehicles are still permitted, as was the case historically. This creates a misleading and confusing situation for motorists.

Good faith and genuine mistake

I have not driven through this area for some time, and on this occasion traffic congestion in surrounding roads led me inadvertently to the restriction.

I understand and respect the Council’s aims in reducing traffic under the Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme, and I will not use this road again now that I am aware of the change.

Given the above, I respectfully request that the PCN be cancelled. If the Council wishes to continue enforcement, it must first demonstrate either that the signs are TSRGD-compliant or that specific DfT authorisation has been obtained.

In any event, I believe cancellation is appropriate here due to the inadequate signage, the misleading road layout, and the genuine nature of this first contravention.

Yours faithfully,

Any advice on this before i put in a rep ? i can only hope for some procedural incompetence at this stage ? i have four days left in which to do so.

looking into it a bit more deeply, they have put a sign next to the original width restriction warning signs stating 'no through road' that doesnt really indicate clearly that they have put a trap in place at that point, the no through road could be at the furtherest end of the road past the old width restriction where they are trapping drivers.?