Pay & Display Machine Out of Order — No Working Alternative
Where the pay-and-display machine(s) serving the bay were broken, jammed, offline or rejecting payment AND no working alternative means of payment was reasonably available (no working second machine, no functioning pay-by-phone), a driver cannot reasonably be expected to pay and the penalty should not stand. This is a reasonableness/mitigation defence supported by consumer-rights principles where payment was attempted in good faith.
Legal basis
Principle of reasonableness in civil enforcement (Moses v London Borough of Barnet [2006] EWCA Civ 1240); Consumer Rights Act 2015 ss 49-50; Statutory Guidance on civil parking enforcement (England).
How to identify this in your case
Did you try to pay and the machine was broken/offline/rejecting cards or cash? Was there a second working machine or a working pay-by-phone option? Photograph the fault/error screen and note the time. Strongest where ALL payment routes were unavailable.
Sample appeal wording
formal
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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