Tried to pay in council car park, broken machine - appealed and appeal rejected!

PrincessEssex

Hi, 

I sent the following appeal letter (slightly edited below) to the council but it got rejected 

''I wish to appeal against my PCN as 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 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 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.''

The council response was the following:

''Yes the civil enforcement officer agreed there was a problem with the machine but they did not report any errors with the payment by phone or online (though I should have mentioned there was limited / no internet reception).

Therefore, as you did not pay, the PCN will not be cancelled''.

They then discuss the Notice to Owner after 28 days.

Question: when the NtO arrives, do I just repeat what I said in my earlier response, as I can not provide any additional evidence ?

Is there anything else I can add or do?

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Yes you do but add that there was limited / no internet reception. Ask for the CEO's pocket book notes as evidence.

PrincessEssex

Thanks to everyone that has commented so far - I now have the 'official letter' (notice to owner)  from the council.

A few (hopefully) final questions before I send back my reply.

1) Is it better to respond by post or is email fine?

2) Do I change my comments previously to 'The Owner' rather than I?

3) If I send it by post,it says  I have to sign to say my representations are accurate and give my name - do I have to do this - ie isn't it contradicting 'The Owner' from above?

4) I have to tick a box regarding the specified grounds for appeal - just wondering which I should tick

i) The alleged contrvention did not occur -  technically it did as I was unable to payy, therefore did not pay

ii) The penalty charge exceeeded the amount applicable in the circumstances

iii) There has been a procedural impropriety by the Enforcement Authority

Thanks again

Umkomaas

As we major on private parking tickets here, Free Traffic Legal Advice (FTLA) forum will be your best bet for council penalty charges. Register there but please note that a Hotmail address may not work - try using a throwaway Gmail account instead if you do have trouble registering, and post a new thread; here's your link:

https://www.ftla.uk/index.php?board=3.0

Read the sticky 'Read this first before posting your case' as well as reading through some of the other threads there ahead of posting your own details, to get the hang of what information they need from you in your opening post - but as a minimum you will need to post redacted photos/scans of all correspondence you've received from the council (both sides, if appropriate), as they need to see all the small print.