PCN Shows the Wrong Number Plate

A parking charge notice sent to you as keeper has to specify the vehicle. That is a statutory requirement, not a formality — paragraph 9(2)(a) of Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 says the notice must "specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates". If the registration on the notice is not yours, the notice does not specify your vehicle and the keeper liability route does not reach you. Be realistic about the size of the error, because that is what decides it. A registration that belongs to a different vehicle, or one that identifies nothing at all, is a strong point. A single transposed character on a notice whose photographs plainly show your car is a weaker one, and an operator will answer it with the images. Say what the notice records, say what your registration actually is, and ask the operator to explain how the notice specifies your vehicle. If it cannot, keeper liability fails at paragraph 9(2)(a).

Legal basis

POFA 2012 Schedule 4 Paragraph 9(2)(a) - notice must 'specify the vehicle'.

How to identify this in your case

Compare the VRM on the PCN with your actual registration. Even a single character error is material.

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.

I note that the Parking Charge Notice specifies the vehicle registration as [WRONG REG]. My vehicle's registration is [CORRECT REG]. This is not a minor clerical error - it is a different vehicle. I am not the keeper of the vehicle specified in the notice and therefore have no liability under POFA 2012.

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.

PCN Shows the Wrong Number Plate

Legal basis

How to identify this in your case

Sample appeal wording

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Sources

Related appeal grounds

Next steps