Mitigating circumstances

Mitigating circumstances may include:

• Getting a ticket while broken down.
• Tending to an emergency or clearing an obstruction from the road.
• Dropping an ill patient off at hospital.
• You were too ill to move your car.
• You've had a recent bereavement.
• You were at a funeral (needed to park to attend the funeral or were unable to move your car because you were attending a funeral).
• You were on holiday when the bay you were in became suspended and the warning was erected while you were away.
• You bought a ticket/had a permit but it fell off the window or was not visible to the warden (although technically, it is your responsibility to display the ticket/permit correctly, so prepare for possible defeat, but it is still worth appealing).
• It is a first offence in that council boundary (note: councils do not have access to other council records, so even if you've got a ticket in another area it doesn't matter). Councils do say this in itself is not a valid reason to waive the charge but it is worth a go. A council may consider an appeal if it is a first offence and you are new to an area where parking regulations are particularly harsh in comparison to your old residence. A classic example is someone moving from the country to an urban area.
• You are a law abiding citizen and you made an honest mistake and you are now fully aware of the parking restrictions. Again, councils do not have to refund you on that basis but there is no harm in asking.