Man wins parking ticket dispute using ChatGPT as legal aid

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 12 Oct, 13:20 · Archive

A man has won a three-year battle against a £100 parking fine by using ChatGPT to help mount his legal case.

Rafal Goral used a pay-and-display car park in Newquay, Cornwall, in August 2023. He said the payment machine had a long queue and was only accepting cash, so he downloaded the RingGo app to pay by phone. Two weeks later he received a £100 penalty notice from Smart Parking Limited, stating he had paid 16 minutes after driving through the entrance.

Goral appealed the decision, submitting his first challenge a month after receiving the notice. However, he heard nothing until January 2024, when he received a debt collection letter with the fine increased to £170. He continued appealing, telling The Independent: 'They were trying to make me scared. You have to give people the time. I told them exactly what my problems were. They could see on the cameras that I was trying to sort it out'.

After four months of back-and-forth appeals, the case was put on hold. Goral heard nothing for around eighteen months before being informed the case would go to court in October 2026. At the end of December, however, he finally received an email confirming his ticket had been cancelled. Goral said the dispute was about principle: 'This is kind of a David and Goliath battle. They have lawyers and they are a big company and they just gave up in the end.'

How it is being reported

• Man uses ChatGPT to win three-year parking ticket disputeChatGPT came in handy for this man when he asked it for legal advice, and won a three-year parking fine dispute.TechRadar · 12 Oct, 12:59
• Man wins three-year battle over £100 parking ticket using ChatGPT as his lawyerRafal Goral said he was handed the £100 penalty for not paying quickly enoughThe Mirror · 12 Oct, 07:21

In this story: Rafal Goral · Smart Parking Limited · Newquay · ChatGPT · Chelmsford · Cornwall

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem