Zoe Bread published a series of videos highlighting errors with parking signs
Zoe Bread fell foul of regulations on Bixteth Street in the city centre(Image: Getty Images)
A TikTok user has won her parking battle against Liverpool Council and now set her sights on getting thousands of other tickets cancelled. In August, creator Zoe Bread fell foul of regulations on Bixteth Street when she parked her car in the city council car park.
After being hit with a fine, Zoe found a sign in the car park which indicated charges were only in operation until 7.30pm, not 11pm. The machine contradicted this though with its notice saying fees now working at the times adopted by Liverpool Council in July.
In her post, a warden can be heard telling Zoe “we go off the big sign” on Dale Street. This prompted an apology from the local authority.
Now, her fine has been cancelled by the city’s parking enforcement team and Zoe hopes thousands of others hit with fines since the new rules came in will also have theirs overturned.
Zoe’s case was debated by city councillors last month with Liberal Democrat chief Cllr Carl Cashman asking Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, to explain how this had happened. In a written response, Cllr Robinson said one of Zoe’s videos highlighted that the times on the signs of one of the city centre car parks was different from that shown on the pay and display machines itself.
TikTok user Zoe Bread has challenged Liverpool Council over its parking charges
He wrote: “This is accepted, however, this was already identified and changed before the video was published on TikTok. Continuing checks are being undertaken to ensure that the signs are correct.”
In a letter to Zoe, seen by the ECHO, the local authority explained it had decided to cancel the ticket. It said: “After careful consideration of the content of your representation the City Council has decided to exercise its discretion on this occasion and cancel the penalty charge notice (PCN).
“However, this decision does not set a precedent for any further penalty charge notices you may receive.” A freedom of information request submitted by Zoe has revealed just how many people had been caught out by the new timings.
In the first month of operation of the post 6pm charging scheme in the city centre, the local authority has handed out 3,275 penalty charge notices.
A further 4,154 fines have been issued between September 4 and October 14.
Speaking to the ECHO, the TikTok user said she hoped her case might lead to an even bigger number of cancellations. She said: “They’ve said their decision doesn’t set a precedent for any future PCNs I may receive, but it doesn’t say anything about the 7,428 other people who’ve received similar fines.
“Presumably it does set a precedent for them and all their PCNs will be cancelled too.”