Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hello,

I was issued a PCN today for "Unauthorised Parking" by UK Car Park Management at Joslin Avenue NW9 on 26th October 2023 at 20:38.

On the evening in question, I was visiting a friend's flat and arrived at the parking space at 20:34 (according to my Google Maps history). I walked from the car to the door of the flat, was buzzed in and went up to the 2nd floor to my friend's flat. Once I entered, I filled out the scratch-off guest parking ticket, headed back downstairs and placed the ticket in the car. There was no ticket on the car and I didn't see a parking warden present. I was probably away from the car for about 5 minutes in total while doing this.

The PCN I received today has 7 pictures, taken between 20:36:35 and 20:37:21. As there was no physical ticket, I presume that the parking warden took the pictures quickly and immediately left the area where I was parked as they didn't need to fill out any physical ticket. I've attached the PCN letter to this post.

I don't understand how I could be penalised for parking my car without a ticket in the short amount of time it took me to retrieve the the permit for my car. I couldn't have arrived already with the permit in my car so I'm not sure what else I was supposed to do.

Is there anything I can do here?

Thanks

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The first thing you should note is that CPM are a stubborn bunch, and can be litigious, so if you plan to fight this, be prepared to potentially defend the matter in civil court.

It would be helpful to see photos of the signage at the site - 'Unauthorised Parking' would indeed suggest the charge was issued due to the lack of a visible permit. Do you have a copy/photo of the scratch-card permit as evidence?

It of course seems entirely logical that a visitor wishing to make use of a permit must be given some time to obtain one - they're hardly likely to arrive with one already in their possession, although CPM will almost certainly reject an appeal made on this basis.