I parked outside my office in south-east London as usual in November and paid the parking charge via Southwark council’s online service. I was driving my husband’s car that day so I had to change my “saved” car registration details on the website.
My husband’s registration contains the letter O and a zero, but I entered both as letters. The website allowed the transaction and accepted my payment. However, I was issued with a penalty notice and the council rejected my appeal since I had entered two letter Os.
I have paid the £80 charge to avoid hassle and, in doing so, forfeited my right to appeal to an independent parking tribunal. It seems that the draw of making huge profits from parking penalty charges is overshadowing common sense here. LW London
Communities secretary Eric Pickles said the government was putting common sense back into parking when he announced new rules to stop councils profiteering from motorists.
Your case is a dismaying example of bureaucratic pig-headedness. Os and 0s are almost indistinguishable on car number plates and since the website accepted your interpretation without question the human face of Southwark parking services should have too. Luckily, after a fair bit of chasing, Southwark council agrees.
“I would like to apologise for this mistake and for the inconvenience caused,” says a spokesman. “When this ticket was appealed common sense should have prevailed and it should have been cancelled. I am disappointed this wasn’t the case. We have now cancelled the parking ticket and will make a full refund.”
