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#Post#: 116705--------------------------------------------------
Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: Hardwired7223
Date: April 22, 2026, 10:23 am
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My wife received this as the keeper of the car for an alleged
contravention on 20/02/2026 (MC04774743). The last digit of the
reg was entered as a 0 instead of an O. She had previously
received a PCN for the same issue on 10/12/2025 (MC04614190) and
it was cancelled after an informal appeal with the council's
response stating,
"On this occasion, I am satisfied that you had paid for your
parking time and your (PCN) has now been cancelled. Please be
aware should you receive another ticket for the same reason we
may not be able to cancel it."
The informal appeal (on two attempts) on the second PCN was
rejected with them saying,
"We wrote to you to advise you that future PCNs may not be
cancelled, as such this PCN will not be cancelled. I have
carefully considered your case and I am satisfied that your PCN
was issued correctly, and as such, I have taken the decision not
to cancel it."
We both think it's outrageous to get a fine when there's been no
attempt to avoid paying for parking and it's only been triggered
due to honest manual error. We decided not to pay the discounted
rate and wait for the NTO to arrive so we can challenge it
formally. This arrived a couple of weeks ago. I've seen that
there has been at least one other case
HTML https://www.ftla.uk/the-flame-pit/nasty-review-of-0o-mistake-on-vrm/msg74126/#msg74126<br
/>where the appeal was rejected by an adjudicator for a similar
issue so I'm just coming here (admittedly quite late on in the
process as I didn't know about the forum before yesterday), for
some advice on how best to proceed.
Here are the docs thus far:
The latest PCN (MC04774743):
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/VpFH8cg_xl.jpg
The first informal appeal rejection letter:
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/r7xJVib_xl.jpg
The second informal appeal rejection letter (which was also sent
to us in the post):
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/rSpzCcF_xl.jpg
NTO:
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/pQaomnO_xl.jpg
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/eIggpZp_xl.jpg
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/tZ5gEMu_xl.jpg
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/m6N4Cam_xl.jpg
For background, the acceptance of the first informal appeal
letter:
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/JU7RzCo_xl.jpg
Apologies for not coming here first before challenging the
ticket informally and also not coming here until I have a
reduced number of days to submit my formal appeal (I believe I
have 28 days from the issuing of the NTO to do so, so by 11th
May 2026).
Any guidance you can provide here would be appreciated about the
best action to take.
#Post#: 116723--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: stamfordman
Date: April 22, 2026, 12:16 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
There is a duty not to fetter discretion - applying a rule not
to consider a subsequent PCN afresh - but they did put you on
notice of probably not cancelling for the same error and this
may be in a policy.
In fact we see councils increasingly not even letting people off
with a first time trivial error.
That said, the earlier cancellation says they were satisfied you
paid, and the contravention is not paying, but you did so the
contravention did not occur although they may well have a
traffic order saying payment must be for a specific vehicle.
How was the mistake made? Was the car wrongly set up on a pay by
phone app or was it at a machine.
#Post#: 116726--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: Hardwired7223
Date: April 22, 2026, 12:49 pm
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The reg was entered in a machine at the site, so is prone to
error since not in an app, but even so it's a simple mistake to
make (in my mind). I'd even go as far as suggesting the machine
should be smart enough to validate whether the right character
format (i.e. number or letter) has been entered, but this is
just in my pre-problem-solving head.
#Post#: 117804--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: Hardwired7223
Date: May 5, 2026, 6:46 am
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Ok, so I'm planning to send my appeal in today, stating
something around the following (drafted with the help of an AI
LLM):
Parking Services – Manchester City Council
Reference:
- MC04774743 (issued 20 Feb 2026)
Formal Appeal – Cancellation of MC04774743
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to formally appeal against MC04774743, issued to
the vehicle registered FL15NFO on 20 February 2026
at the Arndale Car Park. I respectfully request that this notice
be cancelled on the following grounds.
Grounds for Appeal
- Previous Cancellation for an Identical Error – The same
registration‑entry mistake (0 vs O) led to an
earlier PCN, which was cancelled after an informal appeal with
the council’s written confirmation: “I am satisfied that you had
paid for your parking time and your PCN has now been cancelled.”
- No Loss to the Council – Regulations allows for cancellation
if the contravention was not committed. Here, the vehicle paid
for the allotted parking period, so no contravention occurred.
- Payment for Parking was Completed – Attached receipt shows
full payment for the 20 Feb 2026 session was made at
the Arndale Car Park machine on 20 Feb 2026 at
10:12 am, within the allotted time. The council requires a
PCN only when the vehicle has not paid or has exceeded the paid
period; neither condition applies.
- Reasonable and Honest Mistake – The mistake—substituting the
digit “0” for the letter “O” is a common, foreseeable error when
entering registration details manually. Under the [i]reasonable
person_ test and the principle of _fairness_ detailed in the
Local Government Regulations, such a mistake should not attract
a financial penalty.
- Council’s Own Precedent – The council has already demonstrated
that, in cases of a simple registration entry error coupled with
payment, a PCN can be cancelled. Refusing to honour this
precedent in the current case contradicts the council’s stated
practice and undermines consistency in enforcement.
- Alignment with Council’s Enforcement Policy – The Manchester
City Council Parking Services Annual Report 2024–25 (p. 8)
emphasises that enforcement must be “reasonable and
proportionate”, support safe and sustainable transport
solutions, and deliver an equitable, neighbourhood‑focused
service. Imposing a fine for a non‑contravention would
conflict with these commitments.
Evidence Provided
- Proof of payment for the 20 Feb 2026 session
(receipt/online confirmation).
Request
Given the abovw, I respectfully request that:
1. MC04774743 be cancelled in its entirety.
2. No penalty fee, late‑payment fee, or any other charge
be applied.
I am prepared to provide any further documentation or attend an
adjudication hearing if required. Please acknowledge receipt of
this appeal and advise of the next steps.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Yours faithfully,
[Name]
Attachments
1. Copy of the earlier PCN and its cancellation letter.
2. Proof of payment for 20 Feb 2026.
[/i]
Any help/guidance would be gratefully received.
#Post#: 118695--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: Hardwired7223
Date: May 14, 2026, 10:39 am
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So, today I received a rejection letter. I'm thinking to go for
the appeal to an independent adjudicator. Thoughts?<br><br>
Here is the letter:<br><br>
Here are the docs:<br>
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/thiBk4l_xl.jpg<br>
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/EOjoXMX_xl.jpg<br>
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/YJjalfp_xl.jpg<br>
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/Tn3aDVb_xl.jpg<br>
HTML https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/EnN05Ul_xl.jpg<br>
#Post#: 118705--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: fraser.mitchell
Date: May 14, 2026, 1:26 pm
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The official font for number plates has no character for '0'
(zero), the letter 'O' is used instead, so I would take them to
TPT, but be aware the full PCN penalty will be in play.
#Post#: 118780--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: stamfordman
Date: May 15, 2026, 11:28 am
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The discount is gone so you may as well appeal.
I think you may lose if they contest as you were on notice but
as I said they have a duty not to fetter discretion.
If so the adjudicator may consider it trivial.
--------
Case reference
Appellant
Authority
VRM
PCN Details
PCN
Contravention date
Contravention time
Contravention location
Penalty amount
Contravention
Referral date
Decision Date
Adjudicator
Appeal decision
Direction
Reasons
hearing. The Council did not attend and was not represented.
Mrs Keating’s written appeal stated’ My son the driver of the
vehicle at the time suffers from ADHD and has very mild learning
disabilities. And takes various important documents with him .
Like for example the V11 tax reminder form . It shows clearly on
this government form the difference between a O and 0 .
When you look at this form the number plate clearly shows an O ,
not a 0 (zero) this is what my son uses to put his registration
in . This is massive error on the DVLA part . That is the reason
for this appeal on both tickets , my son did not do anything
wrong .’
I could not discern the difference on the V11 document.
The Council evidence, including the photographs and notes of the
civil enforcement officer , establishes that the car
registration plate reads ‘LG09 RVK’.
The Council submitted ‘ although a payment for parking was made
through RingGo, this was for vehicle registration LGO9RVK
(letter O) and not for LG09RVK (number 0). It is the
responsibility of the driver to ensure they make payment for the
correct vehicle registration. Whilst we appreciate that payment
for parking had been made at the time of the contravention, as
this parking session was allocated the wrong VRM, the parked
vehicle did not have a valid parking session, thus the
contravention is deemed to have occurred.’
The Ringgo text issued to Mr Keating junior’s phone read ‘LG09
RVK’.
There is no realistic prospect that another car was parked ,
that Mr Keating gained any unfair benefit or that the Council
lost money or suffered any real inconvenience.
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary page 984 reads:
‘O.. the fifteenth letter in the alphabet……….. also zero (in a
series of numerals, especially when spoken’
The Council relies on a blurred distinction without a real
difference.
This is a trifling matter. The law is not concerned with a
trifle
------------
Case reference
Appellant
Authority
VRM
PCN Details
PCN
Contravention date
Contravention time
Contravention location
Penalty amount
Contravention
Referral date
Decision Date
Adjudicator
Appeal decision
Direction
Owner.
Reasons
being parked in a resident's or shared use parking bay or zone
in Grange Park Road without a valid virtual permit or without
clearly displaying a valid physical permit or voucher or pay and
display ticket where required or without payment of the parking
charge.
I have looked at the CEO's photographs and these show that Dr
Eslami's car was parked in a permit holder only parking bay
during controlled hours. Dr Eslami has explained that he was
given a courtesy car while his own vehicle was being repaired
and that he had changed the registration on the permit. It is
not in dispute that Dr Eslami has a resident's permit. The
Council says that the incorrect vehicle registration had been
entered for the courtesy car because the registration was
entered as KF23 OHX instead of KF23 0HX. The “O” and the “0”
were interchanged.
The keyboard entry 0 may denote a zero but it may, in my
judgement, properly be read in the alternative as a letter and
the same applies the other way round. If someone wrote 0, it
could properly be read as a zero or as the letter of the
alphabet. I find that the alleged contravention did not occur.
#Post#: 118797--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: NorthernUpholder
Date: May 15, 2026, 3:03 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Manchester is not the only council that lets people off for
making an error once.
I think the principle is that if you make the mistake once, they
let you off and you should treat it as a warning to be more
careful in future, and a prompt to learn from their mistake and
be less careless in future.
#Post#: 120505--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: Hardwired7223
Date: June 3, 2026, 3:49 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the responses. I'm going to submit the appeal today.
I've come up with the below:
[BR]
• At 09:15 on 20/02/26, my wife successfully made the required
parking payment via the parking payment machine in the Arndale
Car Park
• The payment was successful, and I have attached a photo of the
Visa payment receipt for the transaction that was issued by the
machine at the time
• Despite the payment being made at 09:15, she was issued the
PCN at 09:52, claiming non-payment of the parking charge.
• According to the Council the registration that was entered was
FL15 NF0 instead of FL15 NFO. The “O” and the “0” were
interchanged.
• The keyboard entry 0 may denote a zero but it may properly be
read in the alternative as a letter and the same applies the
other way round. If someone wrote 0, it could properly be read
as a zero or as the letter of the alphabet, so I believe it to
be unfair to penalise someone for a valid entry that anyone
could honestly use at any time
• If the zero entry is not allowed, it should not be available
as a button to press on the parking machine or it should be
adjusted such that pressing a zero adds the correct 'O'
character to avoid such situations and confusion
• My wife did not gain any unfair benefit from parking here as
the payment was made in good faith and so the Council lost no
money or suffered any real inconvenience
Do you think it's worth me mentioning that they let us off in
the first instance, to show that if it's ok once, it should be
each time after that? in my mind I think it unfair but the
adjudicator might see that point differently.
#Post#: 120516--------------------------------------------------
Re: Manchester Council, PCN code 73, Wrong Registration Entered
(0/O) in Arndale Car Park
DIR By: stamfordman
Date: June 3, 2026, 4:44 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Yes you should mention the previous PCN as it's in their
rejection.
I would just say:
Regarding the previous PCN, I understand you have a duty not to
fetter discretion and must look at each case afresh. On our part
we will take steps to ensure this error with the identical
character won't happen again.
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