Bereavement — Attending Funeral, Evidence Acceptable to Most Tribunals
Attending a funeral is a widely recognised compassionate ground for cancellation of parking charges by both councils and private operators. Most authorities have explicit policies allowing discretionary cancellation where the driver was attending a funeral and the parking contravention arose directly from doing so. Evidence such as an order of service, funeral home documentation, or a letter from the funeral director greatly assists the appeal.
Legal basis
Discretionary cancellation policies (most councils); BPA/IPC Code of Practice compassionate cancellation; POPLA and IAS guidance on exceptional circumstances
How to identify this in your case
You received a parking charge while attending a funeral, wake, or burial. The contravention occurred at or near the funeral venue, place of worship, crematorium, or cemetery. The timing of the contravention coincides with the funeral service.
Sample appeal wording
I am writing to appeal parking charge/PCN [reference] on compassionate grounds. On [date], I was attending the funeral of [first name / 'a close family member'] at [venue/church/crematorium/cemetery] when this parking contravention occurred. The circumstances are as follows: [Brief description — e.g. 'The funeral service ran longer than expected and I was unable to return to my vehicle within the permitted time. I was inside the chapel of rest and it was not possible to leave during the service.'] Supporting Documentation: - [Order of service enclosed] - [Letter from [funeral director name] confirming the funeral took place on [date] at [time]] This is a distressing situation. I respectfully request compassionate cancellation of this charge. Both [BPA/IPC/council] policies recognise bereavement as grounds for discretionary cancellation and I trust this request will be treated with the appropriate sensitivity.
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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Scan my ticketSources
- BPA Code of Practice compassionate cancellation
- POPLA guidance
- Council discretionary cancellation policies