Informal appeal to Haringey Council rejected

oatastemur

I always knew that Haringey council was one of the worst in the UK when it came to parking tickets, but I'm quite surprised that my informal appeal was rejected.

At the end of October I parked, unknowingly, in a resident's only parking bay. The reason I didn't know that this bay was for residents only is because the sign was covered by leaves, and to this day the issue still hasn't been dealt with by the council. I will attach some pictures to make it very clear just how ridiculous it is that I was given a parking ticket.

I then went through the informal appeals process, sending the council an email with several photographs attached showing the problem. A couple of days ago I got a letter stating that my appeal had been rejected, and that I must pay £110 to the council, or a reduced fine of £55 within two weeks. On this letter there is no information about what course of action I could take to appeal further, so I was hoping for some advice on these forums.

Furthermore, I must add that attached to their letter were several pictures, some of which showed my car parked in the bay. Amongst these pictures was one of a residents only parking sign on the other side of the road in front of a different parking bay, just showing the sign and nothing else. This was their justification for rejecting my appeal, so I was wondering whether they're at all justified in this.

Firstly, is it worth appealing further in this scenario and risking paying the full fine of £110? The photos speak for themselves but this is Haringey council, after all. Would there be any merit in paying the reduced fine before appealing? Is this possible?

I would appreciate any help because I feel like they're stealing my hard earned money from me.

Thanks

Here are the photos:


This shows the parking bay (that's not my car but it's clear that that was where I was parked if you compare their photos to mine). Note the parking sign at the end of the bay, and also the bottom half of the residents only sign which is the only part of it that can be seen.


This is a little bit blurry but it shows that the sign is covered by leaves making it very difficult to see, and impossible to read.

Trebor16

That is a well camouflaged sign!!

This would be an ideal case for the guys and gals over at www.pepipoo.com. Post in their council tickets section and follow their instructions if they ask you to scan any documents.

oatastemur

Trebor16 wrote: »

That is a well camouflaged sign!!

This would be an ideal case for the guys and gals over at www.pepipoo.com. Post in their council tickets section and follow their instructions if they ask you to scan any documents.

Thanks, I've just done as you suggested. Do you think I'd have a decent chance of winning a formal appeal?

Trebor16

I wouldn't like to say one way or the other, as it might be a case of going to the tribunal as haringey will stick to their guns. But Pepipoo helped me beat a tiocket for going in a bus lane a couple of years ago.

Coupon-mad

Right!

No there is no merit AT ALL in paying the reduced fine if you want to appeal further. Once you pay that's it, game over.

That sign is soooo obscured that it is invisible so I would DEFINITELY appeal all the way to adjudication. The majority of people win who bother to taker it that far, or Councils just give up when they see the owner is serious. That means waiting for the Notice to Owner which they will send, and appealing formally. Then if they reject again, appealing to an independent adjudicator.

Here is the direct link to the pepipoo forum you need to start a new thread on:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=30

You will need to make your pics a bit smaller and also show them the front & back of the PCN (all small print, just cover the PCN number and car reg). See their FAQs 'how to post pictures'.

Good luck.

Sirdan

As said they may behave like total shi&ts and force you to go to the adjudicator ..they have nothing to lose as there are no offical sanctions for them behaving in such a wholly unreasonable manner (sadly)

On the face of it (I'm not an expert ) I fail to see how you could lose at an independent tribunal ..best check with pepipoo though.