of PCN appeals against Torbay Council are won

Name: Penalty charge appeal outcomes for Torbay Council, 2013/14 to 2024/25
Creator: Traffic Penalty Tribunal

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal recorded 1,542 outcomes for appeals against Torbay Council from 2013/14 to 2024/25, and 824 of them ended with the driver paying nothing. That is close to the 54.4% tribunal average.

1,542appeals with an outcome

824won — nothing to pay

702refused

262 of those 824 wins were uncontested. In 31.8% of the appeals Torbay Council lost, it put up no defence at the tribunal at all. That is a small share, so expect Torbay Council to defend most cases and put your argument in front of an adjudicator rather than fold early. Those tickets were not close calls. The authority had already given up on them, and the appeal was the only thing standing between the driver and a cancelled charge.

Is it getting easier or harder?

In 2013/14 to 2015/16, drivers won 46.5% of appeals against Torbay Council, from 589 outcomes. In 2022/23 to 2024/25 it was 41.9%, from 320. The rate has held broadly steady across the decade.

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Year by year

Year	Allowed	Not contested	Refused	Won
2013/14	59	33	132	41%
2014/15	76	31	94	53%
2015/16	52	23	87	46%
2016/17	49	26	55	58%
2017/18	41	16	42	57%
2018/19	43	13	29	65%
2019/20	52	23	27	71%
2020/21	55	20	26	71%
2021/22	44	34	27	73%
2022/23	44	22	43	59%
2023/24	28	10	83	31%
2024/25	19	11	57	34%
All years	562	262	702	53.4%

Busiest year: 2013/14, with 224 appeals decided. A further 16 appeals were closed by consent order across the period, which the tribunal counts separately because it can mean the driver agreeing to pay the original charge.

What this does and does not tell you

These are appeals that reached an independent adjudicator, which is the last stage. They leave out every ticket cancelled earlier, when you first challenge it or make formal representations, and that is where most successful challenges actually end. So your real chance of getting a ticket cancelled somewhere in the process is higher than 53.4%, not lower. Among the 204 authorities in England outside London and in Wales with enough appeals to compare, Torbay Council ranks 111th for how often drivers win.

Two details worth knowing before you read too much into the number. The refused column includes appeals made after the deadline and appeals the driver withdrew, so it is not purely a record of arguments that lost on the evidence. And a small number of appeals each year finish with no outcome recorded against any of these categories, so the totals here are of appeals that reached a recorded outcome rather than of every appeal lodged.

Before you write

Find your contravention code. Every PCN carries a two digit code that says exactly what they claim you did, and what they have to prove. Look yours up.
Check the deadline. Discounts and rights both expire. Work out your dates.
Know how appeals work outside London. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal route, step by step.
Do not just ignore it. What actually happens if you do.

How similar authorities compare

Authority	Appeals won
Dorset County Council	53.6% of 416
Worcester City Council	53.6% of 265
Caerphilly County Council	53.5% of 142
Torbay Council (this page)	53.4% of 1,542
Swindon Borough Council	53.4% of 899
Swale Borough Council	53.1% of 335
Medway Council	53% of 1,490

Every authority we hold figures for, with sources →

Source: Traffic Penalty Tribunal, appeals data by authority, covering 2013/14 to 2024/25. The tribunal decides appeals for England outside London and for Wales, across parking, bus lane, moving traffic, clean air zone, river crossing and littering penalties. Only parking penalties appear in its record. A tribunal outcome depends on the evidence in that particular case, so nothing here predicts yours.