Suspended Parking Bay

pongo505

Hi everyone, hopefully someone can help.

I legally parked in a residents parking bay and then didn't use my car for a long time (2 weeks) and came back to 3 tickets. The council had suspended the bay for 3 days whilst I hadn't been driving. The bay was 200 meters from my house so I couldn't see the suspension had happened. I was parked in a 6 car bay and gas works had taken place at one end of the bay, the opposite end to where my car was parked. Not only did I not know of the suspension but my car wasn't obstructing the work anyway, hence, I guess, why it wasn't towed away. No attempt was made to contact me, even though i'm part of the residence scheme. It seems grossly unfair to me. The council has turened down my first appeal. Does anyone know if this is worth contesting? it will coat me £150 to pay now, or £300 if I lose. Seems like blackmail to me.

many thanks

Neil_B

Hmmm. Well you're not going to like the first couple of bits of what I say.

on the 'effective' blackmail element - welcome to the world of CPE! just how it works.

On the suspension - oooops. Unfortunately, Council attitudes to these are that we should check our vehicles daily - and supported by past Adjudications - quite shockingly.
Personally I find it gobsmacking, especially when we are supposed to be trying to be greener. Those Adjudications are not legally binding precedent though. Other Adjudicators or those cases presented well may get a different result. The fact that they did not actually need to move your car is notable from a common sense point.

things you can check >>

Was the suspension on the correct days?

Was an application made for temp suspension in good time - 7 days i think.

Did warning notices go up at least 24 hours ahead (past adjudications).

Were those signs clear and sufficient for the location?

Was the requisite temp Order drawn up correctly for this suspension - also gives you the correct dates above.

The rejection would be interesting to see. Whilst Councils do not have to exercise discretion - i.e. in this case enforcing only one PCN maybe - they do at least have to show they have considered dicretionary matters.

-
Now i wonder what input the numpties on here will come up with to tell you why you should not park 'illegally' sic, when there was clearly no fault on your part!

pongo505

Thanks for your reply Neil.

I don't know how long before the suspension the notices went up. I commute on the train to work and my girlfriend lives the other side of London so sometimes I don't even drive at weekends. It's so unjust what happened, I thought they could've least posted a warning or even contacted me after the first ticket. They've told me that it's not their duty to do that. What I really wanted to know, you've answered, and that is what they believe is reasonable notice and how often you should check your car. They claim they put up notices 5 days in advance and yet there is no way I can verify that. I did notice that the gas works didn't even affect the bay and that's added to my frustration. But what can I do? Not much I guess excet pay up. I feel like paying and shouting a load of obscenities doen the phone but that wont help either. I don't want to risk another £150 just prove that theve been totally unfair when fairness has no bearing. I could get a guy who says, you should've checked your car more regularly and here's a bill for £300 thank you very much.

I think i'll just pay. But thank you very much for your advice.

Colin

Neil_B

If time - show me the rejection. Why have they not cancelled two- two you would not have got had they taken the option to relocate your car! (for free incidentally).

Neil_B

- and why are you taking everything they say at face value???

Ok, it's risky - but if you pressed to adjudication eventually - you watch how oddly difficult it is for them to substantiate the dates, times signs put up, the temp order, etc. - even if all correct they sometimes simply can't be arsed!
-

obejoeone

Hello all,

Just yesterday I had my car with a residence permit towed outside my house as there were restrictions on my residence bay. They did not notify the residence by post, phone or in person, neither did they give the residence any significant notice (probably about 24 hours and I believe by law it should be 14 days)!

This morning I had woke up to take photos as evidence of the signs and, they had removed the ones that were previously up there the night before and replaced them with new signs for a different part of the street (ie restricted from number 23 to 26 on the 21st April). This is proof that they DO NOT give any form of notice!

It was only when a neighbor knocked on our to tell us our car was towed away that we knew. If she had not of witness this then we would not have known until the weekend as we don’t use our car in the week. This would of encountered an extra £50 per day charge amounting to over £500!

The council should not be allowed to do this and it should be against the law exploit the public in this way!

Not a very happy resident permit holder!