Your electric vehicle was actively charging when ticketed
A ticket for parking in an electric vehicle bay without charging can only stand if your car was not plugged in and drawing power at the time. If your vehicle was connected and actually charging, the offence was not committed. Data from the charging network that ran the bay is the strongest evidence you can use.
Legal basis
Traffic Management Act 2004 s.78 and Schedule 7; Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/71); contravention code 14 (parked in an EV-charging bay without being connected to a charge point or while not actually charging) – defence: vehicle was actively charging.
How to identify this in your case
Contact the company that runs the charger you used — for example BP Pulse, Pod Point, ChargePoint, or Ubitricity — and ask for a charging session report. This should show when the session started and ended, how much electricity was delivered, and when the charge was authorised. If that session was running at the exact time the enforcement officer noted your car, the ticket should not stand.
Sample appeal wording
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.
Dear Sir/Madam, Re: PCN [NUMBER] — Vehicle [REG] — Code 14 / EV Bay — [DATE/TIME] I challenge this PCN. The contravention code requires that the vehicle be parked in an EV charging bay during restricted hours WITHOUT charging. My vehicle was actively charging at the time observed. Attached is the charging session record from [CPO NAME], showing: - Session start: [TIME] - Session end: [TIME] - Energy delivered: [kWh] - Authorisation reference: [REF] The PCN was issued at [TIME], which falls inside the charging session window. The contravention is not made out. The DfT Statutory Guidance on Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions makes clear Code 14 is reserved for non-charging use of a charging bay. Please cancel the PCN. Yours faithfully, [NAME]
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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