Example Cases

When it comes to evidence submitted to appeals, Adjudicators have to be wary of appellants  as well as respondent councils who fabricate or falsify evidence.

Lack of PCN and contradictory evidence (EL05011M)
The appellant, issued with a PCN for parking without displaying a valid pay-and-display ticket, appealed on the ground that a ticket had been displayed and no contravention had taken place or PCN served. The Adjudicator found that the council had been incompetent in preparing the appeal evidence, identifying the bylaw that had been breached or completing the case summary. The evidence pointing to a contravention was contradictory: the Parking Attendant's note recorded: "AWC", to indicate that all windows had been checked, while the Notice Details document stated: "All windows checked - No". Furthermore, the appellant said that he returned to the vehicle to find an empty PCN envelope attached, yet the council did not address the question of whether a PCN had been served.
The appeal was allowed. 

Re-used photographic evidence from a previous occasion (SS05278)
The appellant was issued with a PCN for parking in a car park without displaying a valid permit in the required way and challenged it on the ground that they had properly displayed a valid permit. The council contested the appellant's challenge, relying on photographs of the vehicle taken on a previous occasion when a PCN had been issued. In their Notice of Rejection of Representations, the council claimed that the photographs demonstrated that the permit was not displayed in the required way. The Adjudicator ruled that only evidence obtained in relation to the alleged contravention could be used to prove it and that all Adjudicators would reject any attempt by a council to bolster its case by evidence pertaining to a previous alleged contravention.
The appeal was allowed.