Sydney startup AppealMe helps Australians get their parking fines dismissed

The fastest and easiest way to appeal a parking ticket in Australia.

^{Founder : Matthew Malcolm}

On a sunny Sydney afternoon Matthew Malcolm and Annie Gunn received a parking ticket. They had unknowingly parked in a pay and display zone which was missing parking signs. Not knowing they were committing an offence they returned to their car and found a ticket.

Unsure of how to appeal a parking ticket, they spent that weekend researching, drafting and submitting their appeal. The appeal was a success, the ticket was dropped, and they had an idea.

Talking with friends and family it seemed this was more common than first thought.

What started as a simple side project, quickly turned into a idea to develop a platform to help all Australians contest their parking fines. With the goal of reducing the time spent researching, drafting and creating an appeal, AppealMe wanted to make it easier to contest a parking fine and to improve the chances of a successful appeal.

Video – https://vimeo.com/156070535

How AppealMe Works from AppealMe on Vimeo.

The service is free and helps you draft a professionally written appeal by analysing your circumstance, combining your details with the relevant State laws and providing recommendations to increase your chance of a successful appeal.

AppealMe covers numerous appeal situations such as a lack of parking signs, faulty ticket machines, medical emergencies, locking your keys in your vehicle and many more.

Of the services launch, AppealMe’s Founder Matthew Malcolm said, ‘For the women and men who use AppealMe, the platform represents a new and convenient way to access the law in Australia.’

With over 1.2 million tickets issued in NSW alone in FY14/15 (Source: http://www.osr.nsw.gov.au/info/statistics) the service aims to help Australians avoid paying for incorrectly issued parking tickets and to provide local councils clearer and more accurate appeals in hopes of reducing time spent on their review process.

AppealMe is now working on helping Australians contest speeding, red light and stop fines. Get special access to this new feature by visiting appealme.com.au and using the social buttons.