Parking Ticket Appeals article discussion

Pokka

BLT wrote: »

If I were on the panel judging this complaint I would reject it out of hand. The OPs case is based on the fact that she says she checked her watch and she wasn't late back. If the council upheld cases like this and it was advertised they would never get a parking fine paid again :-)

From their perspective it is the OP who is bluffing.

Thats said I hope she or he wins. 50 pound is somewhat excessive for overstaying your welcome by 3 or 4 minutes. This is why I always park in pay as you leave car parks where possible, or set the alarm on my phone to go off 30 minutes before my ticket runs out.

Hi, I know its an impossible situation - I am fully aware of how impossible it is to prove , get the council to hear or even consider-, but, I wonder, if this happened to you what would you do?

My husband said that he "would pay it rather than bother with Parking people who probably don't read the letters or just interpret them in ways that suit them."

I was and still am stumped. I have written to the council so many times, only asking them for proof that I have been issued a PCN correctly. They haven't been able provide this and I have seen that my watch wasn't so far out that I could have been late for my p&d ticket.

The Council have provided CEO notes that don't contain time check detail & have sent me CEO procedures for time sync & checks of p&d machines etc, but nothing to show that these were done in relation to my pcn... They are asking me to trust their procedures and i definitely dont. What to do? Peepipoo members have advised to wait for the notice letter... so thats what i'm doing at the moment.

I just wondered what others would do in this situation. I expected the council to have actual records of time according to the P&D machine I bought my ticket from... I thought that they would see they'd made a mistake and was really surprised when I got the reply from them footing around the points I made in my letters rather than responding to them. Its odd how the smallest thing could just drive us crazy!

BLT_2

Pokka wrote: »

Hi, I know its an impossible situation - I am fully aware of how impossible it is to prove , get the council to hear or even consider-, but, I wonder, if this happened to you what would you do?

My husband said that he "would pay it rather than bother with Parking people who probably don't read the letters or just interpret them in ways that suit them."

I was and still am stumped. I have written to the council so many times, only asking them for proof that I have been issued a PCN correctly. They haven't been able provide this and I have seen that my watch wasn't so far out that I could have been late for my p&d ticket.

The Council have provided CEO notes that don't contain time check detail & have sent me CEO procedures for time sync & checks of p&d machines etc, but nothing to show that these were done in relation to my pcn... They are asking me to trust their procedures and i definitely dont. What to do? Peepipoo members have advised to wait for the notice letter... so thats what i'm doing at the moment.

I just wondered what others would do in this situation. I expected the council to have actual records of time according to the P&D machine I bought my ticket from... I thought that they would see they'd made a mistake and was really surprised when I got the reply from them footing around the points I made in my letters rather than responding to them. Its odd how the smallest thing could just drive us crazy!

Personally I would pay the 25 quid, you are onto a loser and by the time you have bounced back and forth it would be double that. Regardless of whether the council can retrieve actual times of tickets purchased they have no guarantee that the ticket concerned was purchased by you, you could have just retrieved it from another motorist.

The stress and strain is not worth it in my own humble opinion. I would just take it as a warning not to cut it so close next time.

Pokka

BLT wrote: »

Personally I would pay the 25 quid, you are onto a loser and by the time you have bounced back and forth it would be double that. Regardless of whether the council can retrieve actual times of tickets purchased they have no guarantee that the ticket concerned was purchased by you, you could have just retrieved it from another motorist.

The stress and strain is not worth it in my own humble opinion. I would just take it as a warning not to cut it so close next time.

Thank you for giving me your honest opinion, I am starting to think the same thing you know. I usually always purchase 30mins to 1hr extra time, but in this instance had to use the extra time as the cafe i went to only had 1 staff member serving on that day and it took 10mins just to get the bill. I wish i had got up to pay. I just felt bad for her, so waited as I thought i had enough time as i paid for extra parking time... you're right though, if i had got there i little earlier i could have asked the CEO what he was doing and not have had any of this bother.

sgsmith

I got a pcn but the wrong colour of the vehicle was put down, can i fight this ticket?

peter_the_piper

If its a ppc one then the colour makes no difference you just ignore anyway. If its a council one the colour is not material (we all see colours differently, well men do) however councils get lines, signs and wording of tickets wrong so all is not lost. If a council one please start your own thread as it will get lost in a big one like this.

sgsmith

thanks for that, only joined yesterday so not too sure how this works but i will sort it out

peter_the_piper

welcome to the forum. We aim to help where possible, if we can't we know a man who can.

Andrewk

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Your chances of getting to the stage of wanting to appeal to PATAS are 100% because everyone has the statutory right to take a Council PCN to an adjudicator.

But most Councils fold before that stage with an appeal that has substance - so not everyone even needs to go to that meeting. GEt your formal appeal worded well and even if the Council reject it they may well throw in the towel rather than want to argue against you in fornt of an adjudicator. Most cases which go that far are allowed anyway and those that lose only have to pay the full (non discounted) fine, no costs or anything.

I often say on here I would honestly appeal ANY Council PCN to the end of the process even if I felt I was up shht creek without a paddle. The important thing is to meet deadlines and get the appeal right. Never ignore any letters.

Pepipoo are the experts, start a NEW thread over there.

The pepipoo link I gave before takes you straight to the right forum to post a new parking ticket query thread on. Read the FAQs and sticky threads at the top first and make sure you attach pictures of BOTH sides of the PCN (with your car ID and PCN number blanked off). Also pics of where you parked, lines and signs, are helpful too.

Andrewk, pepipoo posters have seen cases like yours before. Here's one where a favourable adjudication with a case number is cited (where the details scratched off on a permit were substantially complete enough to communicate a particular day of parking only):

[I can't post the link, as a new user]

Read post number 5 by emanresu which gives a Brighton & Hove successful appeal case number with circumstances broadly comparable to your own. If you cite successful adjudications like that in your appeal that makes your case stronger.

Good luck and keep appealing is my advice.

I have written back to Camden with details of the Chief Adjudicator's decision in the case you cited above. They wrote back, telling me they're enforcing the penalty (although original fine still applies for 14 days - £40 not £80).

I don't understand their reason, which is:

"I note your inclusion of a Parking and Traffic Appeals Service decision. However, I regret to inform you that Camden Council enforces Visitors Permit contraventions consistently. As such, I am satisfied that the Penaly Charge was issued correctly."

Does this mean that they will consistently seek to enforce a Penalty until PATAS say it's wrong? I think I should write back and ask them this question, perhaps insisting that they haven't iven any reason why my case differs substantially?

taffy056

They are hoping you will cave in and pay, you should now take it to the adjudicator and ask them to judge it, coupon will tell you the best course of action, I suspect you need to post this on https://www.pepipoo.com and they will run you through your appeal.

Andrewk

Yes, thanks for that. Their grounds for enforcement certainly seem weak. I have posted on Pepipoo too.