Payment machine was broken when you tried to pay
When you're accused of not paying for parking, the council's starting position is that the meter or machine was working fine. But you can challenge that. If you have evidence the machine was faulty — for example, it denied your card or coins, the screen was frozen or blank, the app failed to confirm your payment, or you have a photo of an error message — that evidence can knock down the council's assumption. If the only machine serving your bay was out of order and there was no other way to pay, the accusation that you didn't pay cannot fairly stand.
Legal basis
Road Traffic Act 1994 s.36(12) (rebuttable presumption that meter was accurate and in good working order).
How to identify this in your case
Is this you? You tried to pay but the machine would not accept your card or coins. Or you tried to pay through the app and got an error — and you have a screenshot or a bank record showing the failed attempt. There was no other machine nearby you could reasonably have used instead. Ideally, you took a photo of the machine and its error message at the time.
Sample appeal wording
Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at.
The s.36(12) presumption is rebutted: the payment machine serving the location was defective, as evidenced.
Beat It writes this argument automatically
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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