PARKING APP DISPUTES

Parking apps are not foolproof. Accessing an app with a reliable mobile phone signal is not guaranteed, and apps often glitch. When you use a parking app, you enter into a digital content contract. A faulty app that prevents you from paying does not comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires digital content to be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. 

You can appeal on that basis. The key words in an appeal would be ‘breach of contract’ and ‘contract was frustrated by impossibility’ (meaning you were prevented from paying through no fault of your own).

The parking operator would likely say they cannot be held responsible for a malfunctioning app, but they have engaged the app provider to supply the service. Your contract is with the parking operator, not the app provider they have chosen to use.

Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill. 

App or machine failure

When a payment fault occurs, the app provider should automatically notify the parking operator that the system is unavailable, and payment machines should flag when they are offline. Enforcement should be suspended until at least one payment method is restored.

In reality, this rarely happens. Many operators don’t monitor or log system downtime accurately, which means motorists’ photos and screenshots are usually the only record of a genuine system failure. 

This explains why so many unfair invoices are issued in these circumstances and why evidence is critical for appeals.