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Minor keying error — you paid but mistyped one character of your reg: the charge must not be pursued

If you paid for parking at a machine or app but typed your registration slightly wrong — one character out, a 0 for an O, an I for an L, or the right characters in the wrong order — the parking industry's own binding rulebook says the operator must not pursue the charge at all. The Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice (in force for BPA and IPC operators since October 2024) lists exactly this in its Annex F: a driver who paid the tariff but made a minor keying error must have the charge cancelled. Operators are also required to run systems that avoid issuing charges for accidental keying errors in the first place. POPLA's own published case studies allow appeals where the operator failed to follow this framework. (Bigger errors — a completely different reg, or only part of it — fall under the separate "major keying error" rule, which caps what you pay at £20 rather than cancelling — and that route requires all four of the Annex F.3 conditions, including that no independent appeal has been lodged.)

Legal basis

Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice v1.1 (BPA/IPC, operator compliance expected from 1 Oct 2024): Annex F, clause F.1(h) — charges "must not be pursued" where the driver paid but made a minor keying error (examples given: 0 instead of o; I instead of L; 1 instead of I); s.6.3 — operators must have and follow a documented policy to avoid issuing or enforcing charges for accidental keying errors. BPA Code of Practice v9 s.17.4: for minor keying errors "the PCN must be cancelled at the first stage of appeal". POPLA published case studies (Keying error, Scenarios 1 and 2) allowed appeals where the framework was not followed.

How to identify this in your case

The customer paid (bank/app record or receipt exists for the right time and place) but the operator says no payment was found for the reg: compare the reg as ENTERED (on the receipt/app history) with the true plate — a single wrong, swapped or look-alike character (0/O, I/L, 1/I) with payment made is the minor-keying case. A wholly different reg or a partial entry is the MAJOR keying case (£20 cap), not this ground.

Sample appeal wording

Before you send this

Deadline. A late submission can be turned down without your argument being read. Check your notice for the deadline and how it is counted.
Paying may end it. Paying can count as accepting the notice and can close a challenge already under way. Part-paying or acknowledging an old debt can also revive a time limit that had expired.
The amount can change. Check what happens to the sum if you challenge — it may be held, re-offered lower, or keep rising, and fees or enforcement can continue meanwhile.
Use the official route. Use the method, recipient and form your notice specifies, with any reference, evidence and signature it asks for. Sent elsewhere, it may not count.
Only say what is true. Do not copy any statement of fact unless it is true for you, and check the legal point still applies. Delete what does not fit. It may be treated as your statement.
Careful what you volunteer. Avoid unnecessary admissions — naming the driver or accepting responsibility can remove arguments. But answer anything you are legally required to answer, and do include the evidence your ground needs.
Keep the record. Keep what you sent, the attachments, any receipt, and the reply. Note the next deadline.

Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at. Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details; leave any case citation as it is.

The driver paid the applicable parking tariff for the vehicle's stay, as the enclosed payment evidence shows, but made a minor keying error when entering the vehicle registration ([entered value] for [correct value]). Under Annex F.1(h) of the Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice, a parking charge must not be pursued in these circumstances, and under section 6.3 the operator must maintain and follow a documented procedure to avoid enforcing accidental keying errors; under s.17.4 of the BPA Code of Practice the PCN must be cancelled at the first stage of appeal. I therefore require cancellation of the charge.

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Scan your PCN — our AI checks if this ground applies to your specific ticket, drafts a properly-cited appeal letter, and sends it for you where the council takes email — guiding you through their own online form where they use one, so you press submit. The win fee is only charged if you win.

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Minor keying error — you paid but mistyped one character of your reg: the charge must not be pursued

Legal basis

How to identify this in your case

Sample appeal wording

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Sources

Related appeal grounds

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