How screwed am I - multiple parking tickets
Discussion
Hi all
I discovered today that whilst I thought I'd had been paying to park in a carpark owned by RCP car parks via the paybyphone app , I have actually been paying a different company for the car park across the street with the same name but a different location number. Essentially paying for once place but parking in another. I only realised when the first ticket arrived. Frustratingly both are the same price .
Obviously this is a pretty stupid mistake and presume I have just used the 'nearby' suggested car parks in the app and selected the wrong one .
The issue is I have been doing this everyday for about 2 weeks without realising I was parking in place and paying for another. This is obviously pretty stupid but I guess I got it wrong once and never realised my mistake. With ten tickets , I'm looking at a bill of 600quid !
Do I have any recourse here if I can prove I'd been paying for a car park on the same app with same car park name (but different location) or do I just have to suck this up and a monumentally dumb life mistake
I'm nearly ready to laugh about it but it's an amount of money that would certainly impact me considerably
Cheers
I discovered today that whilst I thought I'd had been paying to park in a carpark owned by RCP car parks via the paybyphone app , I have actually been paying a different company for the car park across the street with the same name but a different location number. Essentially paying for once place but parking in another. I only realised when the first ticket arrived. Frustratingly both are the same price .
Obviously this is a pretty stupid mistake and presume I have just used the 'nearby' suggested car parks in the app and selected the wrong one .
The issue is I have been doing this everyday for about 2 weeks without realising I was parking in place and paying for another. This is obviously pretty stupid but I guess I got it wrong once and never realised my mistake. With ten tickets , I'm looking at a bill of 600quid !
Do I have any recourse here if I can prove I'd been paying for a car park on the same app with same car park name (but different location) or do I just have to suck this up and a monumentally dumb life mistake
I'm nearly ready to laugh about it but it's an amount of money that would certainly impact me considerably
Cheers
rexwexford. said:
Hi all
I discovered today that whilst I thought I'd had been paying to park in a carpark owned by RCP car parks via the paybyphone app , I have actually been paying a different company for the car park across the street with the same name but a different location number. Essentially paying for once place but parking in another. I only realised when the first ticket arrived. Frustratingly both are the same price .
Obviously this is a pretty stupid mistake and presume I have just used the 'nearby' suggested car parks in the app and selected the wrong one .
The issue is I have been doing this everyday for about 2 weeks without realising I was parking in place and paying for another. This is obviously pretty stupid but I guess I got it wrong once and never realised my mistake. With ten tickets , I'm looking at a bill of 600quid !
Do I have any recourse here if I can prove I'd been paying for a car park on the same app with same car park name (but different location) or do I just have to suck this up and a monumentally dumb life mistake
I'm nearly ready to laugh about it but it's an amount of money that would certainly impact me considerably
Cheers
One might wonder if such a confusing setup is deliberate...I discovered today that whilst I thought I'd had been paying to park in a carpark owned by RCP car parks via the paybyphone app , I have actually been paying a different company for the car park across the street with the same name but a different location number. Essentially paying for once place but parking in another. I only realised when the first ticket arrived. Frustratingly both are the same price .
Obviously this is a pretty stupid mistake and presume I have just used the 'nearby' suggested car parks in the app and selected the wrong one .
The issue is I have been doing this everyday for about 2 weeks without realising I was parking in place and paying for another. This is obviously pretty stupid but I guess I got it wrong once and never realised my mistake. With ten tickets , I'm looking at a bill of 600quid !
Do I have any recourse here if I can prove I'd been paying for a car park on the same app with same car park name (but different location) or do I just have to suck this up and a monumentally dumb life mistake
I'm nearly ready to laugh about it but it's an amount of money that would certainly impact me considerably
Cheers
Are the companies owned by the same person(s) in Companies House records?
Online suggests this as a first step;-
Subject: Appeal – Paid Parking / Location Error – PCN Reference [XXXXXXX]
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to appeal the above Parking Charge Notice.
At the time of the alleged contravention, I had paid in full for parking via the PayByPhone app, for the same time period and tariff, but for a nearby car park with the same name and the same pricing, operated through the same app. This was a genuine and unintentional location selection error, not an attempt to avoid payment.
I enclose evidence of my PayByPhone payment(s), which clearly show:
- Payment was made for the relevant date(s) and time(s)
- The tariff paid matches the car park used
- Payment was made consistently and in good faith
This error arose because the PayByPhone app lists multiple car parks with the same name in close proximity, and I mistakenly selected the incorrect location number on my initial visit and repeated this error without realising. At no point did I fail to pay for parking.
I would also ask that you take into account that:
- I paid for parking every day during the relevant period
- There was no financial loss to the operator
- This was a single honest mistake repeated unknowingly
- Issuing multiple charges for what was effectively the same error is disproportionate
In light of the above, I respectfully request that this charge be cancelled. Alternatively, if you do not feel cancellation is appropriate, I ask that you exercise discretion and consider consolidating the charges arising from this genuine mistake.
I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
[Your full name]
[Vehicle registration]
A few important tips (this matters)
- Do not say “I accept I broke the terms”
- Do not say “I was careless” or “this was my fault”
- Do not mention stress, money worries, or anger
- Keep it boring, factual, and reasonable — that’s what works
What usually happens next
- If accepted → cancelled or reduced
- If rejected → you’ll get a POPLA code (which is not the end of the road)
You’ve got a real argument here — this isn’t a lost cause.
Subject: Appeal – Paid Parking / Location Error – PCN Reference [XXXXXXX]
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to appeal the above Parking Charge Notice.
At the time of the alleged contravention, I had paid in full for parking via the PayByPhone app, for the same time period and tariff, but for a nearby car park with the same name and the same pricing, operated through the same app. This was a genuine and unintentional location selection error, not an attempt to avoid payment.
I enclose evidence of my PayByPhone payment(s), which clearly show:
- Payment was made for the relevant date(s) and time(s)
- The tariff paid matches the car park used
- Payment was made consistently and in good faith
This error arose because the PayByPhone app lists multiple car parks with the same name in close proximity, and I mistakenly selected the incorrect location number on my initial visit and repeated this error without realising. At no point did I fail to pay for parking.
I would also ask that you take into account that:
- I paid for parking every day during the relevant period
- There was no financial loss to the operator
- This was a single honest mistake repeated unknowingly
- Issuing multiple charges for what was effectively the same error is disproportionate
In light of the above, I respectfully request that this charge be cancelled. Alternatively, if you do not feel cancellation is appropriate, I ask that you exercise discretion and consider consolidating the charges arising from this genuine mistake.
I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
[Your full name]
[Vehicle registration]
A few important tips (this matters)
- Do not say “I accept I broke the terms”
- Do not say “I was careless” or “this was my fault”
- Do not mention stress, money worries, or anger
- Keep it boring, factual, and reasonable — that’s what works
What usually happens next
- If accepted → cancelled or reduced
- If rejected → you’ll get a POPLA code (which is not the end of the road)
You’ve got a real argument here — this isn’t a lost cause.
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