MAN USES CHATGPT TO OVERTURN THREE-YEAR PARKING FINE

A man from Chelmsford, Essex, has described using the chatbot ChatGPT to help him overturn a parking fine after a three-year dispute with debt collectors. He has been named in reports as both Rafal Gorfal and Rafal Goral. He said he fed the chatbot every letter he received and asked it what to do. The chatbot told him what to say and where to go, and prepared the defence he submitted to court. He said the fine was eventually cancelled, though reports differ on exactly when.

The dispute began in August 2023, when he used a pay-and-display car park on Tower Road in Newquay, Cornwall. He said the payment machine had a long queue and turned out to be cash-only, so he had to download the RingGo app to pay. Smart Parking Limited issued a penalty notice on 25 August 2023, fining him £100 for paying 16 minutes after entering the car park. He appealed the next month but heard nothing until January 2024, when debt collectors demanded £170. He appealed again, and the case was put on hold before falling silent for around a year and a half.

He said the dispute resumed when he received a letter stating the case would go to court in October 2026, prompting him to turn to ChatGPT. He said the fight was about principle rather than money, and that he could have afforded to pay the fine. He described it as a David and Goliath battle, saying Smart Parking Limited had lawyers and eventually gave up. He said the firm had tried to make him scared into paying, and that car park cameras showed him trying to resolve the payment.