Man Uses ChatGPT as His Lawyer to Fight £100 Parking Fine for 3 Years: Wins Without Going to Court

Rafal Goral, a 45-year-old refinery worker from Chelmsford, Essex, has won a three-year dispute over a £100 parking fine after using ChatGPT to help prepare his replies and legal defense. Goral received the penalty in August 2023 after parking at Tower Road car park in Newquay, Cornwall, and was told the case could go to court in Oct. 2026.

On Sept. 25, 2026, just weeks before the scheduled court date, he received an email confirming that the legal claim had been dropped and the parking charge canceled. Goral says ChatGPT helped him work through correspondence with Smart Parking Limited and debt collection companies.

Who Is Rafal Goral, and Why Was He Fined?

Goral is a 45-year-old refinery worker who lives in Chelmsford, Essex, in England. He says he visited the coastal town of Newquay on Aug. 4, 2023, for a day out and entered Tower Road car park at about 10:12 a.m.

According to Goral, a long queue formed at the payment machine, which was accepting only cash. He decided to pay through the RingGo parking app instead, but poor mobile signal made downloading the app and setting up an account take longer than expected.

Goral says he eventually paid for parking and continued with his day. However, Smart Parking Limited issued a parking charge notice on Aug. 25, 2023, stating that he had not paid for enough time. The notice demanded £100 because the payment was recorded 16 minutes after he entered the car park.

Goral appealed in Sept. 2023 but says he received no response before a debt collection letter arrived in Jan. 2024 demanding £170.

He said he believed the parking charge was unfair because he had attempted to pay. Speaking about his decision to challenge the penalty, Goral told The Independent: “From start to finish it was not about the money, I could pay it, but it is about the principle.”

How ChatGPT Helped Him Fight the Parking Charge

Goral says he uploaded letters and emails from the parking company and debt collectors to ChatGPT for help drafting responses and preparing his defense ahead of the planned court proceedings.

After contacting debt collectors, he says the dispute continued for about four months before the case was put on hold. He then heard nothing for around a year and a half before receiving another letter in Nov. 2025 from a different debt collection company.

Goral was subsequently told that the case was due to go to court in Oct. 2026. During efforts to resolve the dispute, Smart Parking Limited allegedly offered to reduce the charge to £60, but he refused the offer.

By then, he says, the amount had increased to about £300. He also contacted Citizens Advice for assistance, although he felt the service was less helpful than the AI guidance he received.

Explaining how he used the chatbot, Goral told The Independent: “From start to finish I was asking ChatGPT every time I got a letter what to do. It was telling me what to say, where to go, and everything.”

He added: “They even prepared my defense, which I sent to the court.”

Why the Case Was Dropped Before Reaching the Court

On Sept. 25, 2026, Goral received an email confirming that the case and the parking charge had been dropped, ending the dispute before the planned October hearing. The source report does not establish why Smart Parking Limited decided to withdraw the case.

Goral said the outcome brought relief after years of dealing with letters and threats of legal action. He told The Independent: “I won the war without the final battle.”

He also encouraged other people who believe a charge is unfair to consider challenging it rather than paying immediately. “People don’t want to go through the hassle, so they just pay, but it is wrong. It is shocking,” he said.

Goral’s experience illustrates how AI tools can help people draft responses and organize information for a legal dispute. It does not establish that AI-generated legal guidance will produce similar outcomes in other cases. People facing legal claims still need to check the accuracy of AI-generated information, preserve relevant evidence, and seek appropriate legal advice when necessary.