Should i I appeal this parking ticket?

[junkfoodaddict]

I attend a church group on Monday mornings that is 3 hours long. As far as I am aware, using the car park behind the building the church group is located is fine whilst using the group as I have been using the car park to attend the group on and off for two years whilst I have been working and more recently every week since 13th October when I haven't been working.
I understand that it is my responsibility to check the signage and feel cross with myself but friends who use the group say that you are allowed to use the car park when at the group and they thenselves have never been given a parking ticket so I am perplexed as to why I have and why that particular date but other dates I haven't.
My husband said a lot has been in the news recently about companies unable to enforce a fine for car parks and therefore illegal but wanted an opinion about whether I have a chance of not paying.
I have emailed the church group to see if they can help me appeal or get the ticket to be made void as I was using their services and needed to use the car park.
I am in a right fluster about it. Fair enough if I delibrately breeched the terms and conditions but I parked there under good faith to use a group that occupies the building who owns the car park.

Why did you get a ticket, what type of car park was it? Was it a pay and display and you didn't, a private car park or one with free parking for a limited amount of time and you went over?

companies unable to enforce a fine for car parks and therefore illegal

That is not true.

It used to be the case that the parking company could only take action against the driver. As they often had no way of proving who was driving that made it impossible for them to enforce their fines. Even if the identity of the driver was known parking companies often lost on the grounds that signage was inadequate. Even if they won they frequently only got a small proportion of the amount they were requesting.

The law has now changed. Parking companies can take action against the registered keeper of the vehicle to recover any unpaid parking charges. They can still lose on the basis of inadequate signage. Also the amount they claim may be reduced if it is excessive.

Parking companies frequently give up if you ignore them. Provided enough people pay they don't need to pursue the ones that don't, especially given that taking you to court could well cost more in legal fees than the amount they want to claim.

The first thing to do is to find out if you were entitled to park there free of charge on the basis that you were attending a meeting in the church.

I went to see the church group today. They don't own the car park but they must have the ability to overturn the charge because they told me to bring the charge notice in on Monday and they will get it removed. Result! They will also take my details and pass them onto the parking company so that I don't get fined again.
Yes plenty notices saying 90 minutes and have no idea why I thought it was two hours but it isn't a pay and display car park, simply free to park up to 90 minutes so the owners are not losing any business, they simply make money from issuing charges. I only ever use the car park one day a week for the two hours I attend the church group (playgroup for babies and toddlers).