"Brown Badge" PCN...??? Is Hillingdon Council scheme legal?

kconsumer

Hi there, new to the forum!

I have been a resident of Hillingdon for many years and unknown to me they introduced a 'Brown Badge' (BR) scheme to provide reserved spaces for BR-registered only residents a year or so ago. 3 weeks ago they made a single pay & display bay (in a line of standard pay & display) a 'BR' space with very unclear signage about 8ft up and no road markings at all - so I got a PCN. At the time, a second passing traffic warden tipped me off that the council has not signed the spot correctly and I should appeal as many others are. I want to appeal as I really feel the sign is not at all clear, and my pay & display ticket clearly shows my 'resident' status.

£110 fine, £55 if I pay now... what are the chances of successful appeal?

Thanks in advance!
K

Coupon-mad

If the PCN is like the one shown on this thread (only for a higher amount of £110) :

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=76487

...then one aspect of your appeal can be that the ticket does not state the discounted amount. Is it similar? I am SchoolRunMum on pepipoo and posted on that thread about the wording flaw which I recalled from previous Hillingdon threads. Does yours even say £55 at all (not just 50%)?

Yes you should win if the signage is bad as well as the PCN.

Register and post a new topic on pepipoo like that poster did. Do not reply on his/her thread.

kconsumer

Thanks very much for the quick reply!
The PCN clearly states the reduced amount payable if I settle now.
I guess my issue is that 1) Hillingdon seems to be the only council with a 'BR' scheme, so is it legal and 2) if the signage is not clear but they can argue it, is it worth fighting, or just worth chalking it up to experience

Coupon-mad

Always, always, always worth showing a PCN to pepipoo and getting advice.

Always, always, always worth trying the informal challenge and seeing what reply you get back, and showing the rejection letter to pepipoo on your thread, bumping for a reply. Then you can make an informed decision on whether to pay at the re-offered discount (see the back of the PCN) or to continue to appeal using the next stage of the process (waving byebye to the discount bribe but moving forward to the point in the process where most people win).

Even without pepipoo most people win at adjudication, it's a fact that the Council don't want you to know. Sadly most people just pay or give up when they get the first standard rejection (almost everyone gets that!).

So I say go to pepipoo and make that first appeal and find out more. Not sure about the BR scheme but I bet the experts there can help you to pick holes in the wording of the scheme. It's that sort of wording technicality that can win appeals at adjudication, but you also have unclear signs and lines as well and a CEO agreeing that it's unclear.

Buzby

I'm not clear from your description whether this is a new zonal system for residents parking - where previously any resident could park in an designated area, and now can only benefit when in bays designated with this code.

This is pretty common in my area - and fully legal. To add o the confusion, we additionally have Car Club spaces where any non CC vehicle in the space gets ticketed, including those paying for a residents permit.

Most appeals are rejected as a misunderstanding is not a defence!

Coupon-mad

Buzby wrote: »

Most appeals are rejected as Councils always do at first, then they dangle the carrot of the discounted penalty so lots of gullible people just fold and pay...

Corrected that for you...:D

Trebor16

Buzby wrote: »

This is pretty common in my area - and fully legal. To add o the confusion, we additionally have Car Club spaces where any non CC vehicle in the space gets ticketed, including those paying for a residents permit.

Most appeals are rejected as a misunderstanding is not a defence!

If the signage is defective then it is not fully legal. And do you have the figures available to back up your claim that most appeals are rejected?

peter_the_piper

Lets face it, councils generally reject appeals from the outset.

footiemum

The hillingdon council website says that any resident motorist over 65 is eligible to apply for a brown badge permit which allows them to park in these nominated bays and can be used with blue badge scheme. They say they are currently the only council offering this parking scheme. Full details are available on their website.