Conflicting or Ambiguous Sign Terms — Read in Your Favour (CRA s.69)
Where the signs on a site contradict each other or are genuinely ambiguous — e.g. one sign says 2 hours free and another says 90 minutes, tariff boards conflict with the terms sign, a bay's status is unclear, adjoining plots with different rules are not delineated, or the restriction's hours/scope can be read two ways — the law resolves the ambiguity in the consumer's favour. Section 69(1) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides: 'If a term in a consumer contract, or a consumer notice, could have different meanings, the meaning that is most favourable to the consumer is to prevail.' The industry Single Code of Practice separately requires signs to be 'clear, unambiguous' (clause 3.1.3(i)), to 'indicate clearly in shared-use land whether and where different terms and conditions apply' (clause 3.1.3(l)), to keep multiple signs consistent (clause 3.1.6 NOTE 2), and to delineate adjoining premises with different terms (clause 3.2). If, on the reading most favourable to the driver, no breach occurred, the charge fails. This is distinct from signs being absent, not prominent, or obscured: here the signs are readable but say inconsistent or two-meaning things.
Legal basis
Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.69(1) (ambiguous term or consumer notice — 'the meaning that is most favourable to the consumer is to prevail'); common law contra proferentem; Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice v1.1 (17 Feb 2025) clauses 3.1.3(i) (signs must be 'clear, unambiguous'), 3.1.3(l) (shared-use land delineation), 3.1.6 NOTE 2 (consistency across signs), 3.2 (adjoining premises with different terms must be clearly delineated).
How to identify this in your case
Only use where the customer identifies a specific inconsistency or ambiguity: two signs stating different time limits or tariffs, a permit area not distinguished from a pay area, restriction hours written ambiguously, entrance sign promising terms that differ from the in-site terms sign, or bays governed by a neighbouring site's signs. Ask the customer what the signs actually said and whether any two of them disagreed; photos of both signs are the ideal evidence.
Sample appeal wording
formal
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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