Parking Fines (Penalty Charge Notices) - Redressing sharp practice by Local Authority

[EddieK]

In Sept 2012 I attempted to pay for street parking in London but the machine failed to issue a ticket.(It kept my money)
I put a notice in my windcsreen with the time, amount paid and why I did not have a ticket.

When I returned to the car I had been issued with a Penalty Charge Notice and I could see the civil enforcement officer by the ticket machine.
He was testing it by and of course it was working for him. I explained the situation so he suggested I appeal.

I appealed in September by letter sent recorded mail and heard nothing until a letter arrived from the local authority in January 2013.
This gave me a further 28 days to pay the fine and no mention was made of my original appeal.

So I appealed again using the email address supplied.
I did not get any acknowledgment that they had received the email (apart from an automated email) so I sent the appeal again by recorded delivery.

I have just received a letter (Feb 20 2013) to say I was right ..... to quote the letter

' ...... I can confirm that the machine in question was faulty at the time you used it ........... I have cancelled the Penalty Charge Notice.'

There was a caveat that I should have found an alternative machine as instructed on the machine.
Well my answer to that is .. 1. they already had my money .. and 2. although it did give me a street name where another machine could be found
I did not know the area.

I think this is sharp practice. When I first appealed in September they would have known the machine was faulty and could have cancelled the PCN then
rather than bombarding me in January with a letter a loads of photos.

I think they should have acknowledged by a personal email to say they had received my email when I appealed the second time, saving me time and expense of a second recorded delivery.

IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN GET REDRESS FOR THIS ?

[labman]

Re: Parking Fines (Penalty Charge Notices) - Redressing sharp practice by Local Autho

A straight answer unfortunately is no.

You parked there; you were aware you were not displaying a valid parking ticket so thus left yourself liable for the PCN which you received.

The council have acted reasonably in cancelling the PCN, so I see no real cause for redress. OK, correct procedure did not work smoothly for you, but sadly that's councils. You'd waste far more money trying to pursue it than you have lost so far. I would let it go, and put it in the past. :beagle:

[EddieK]

Re: Parking Fines (Penalty Charge Notices) - Redressing sharp practice by Local Autho

A straight answer unfortunately is no.

You parked there; you were aware you were not displaying a valid parking ticket so thus left yourself liable for the PCN which you received.

The council have acted reasonably in cancelling the PCN, so I see no real cause for redress. OK, correct procedure did not work smoothly for you, but sadly that's councils. You'd waste far more money trying to pursue it than you have lost so far. I would let it go, and put it in the past. :beagle:

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Thanks for your thoughts. The aspect I wanted to clarify is that the council still pursued me to pay the fine when they knew the machine was faulty.
It was only when I appealed for the second time that they backed down.
By the way, they already had my parking fee of £1-20.
The thought also struck me that other motorists may have had to pay a fine when they knew the machine was faulty.
Anyway I am pleased I stuck to my guns.

[labman]

Re: Parking Fines (Penalty Charge Notices) - Redressing sharp practice by Local Autho

And good on you for doing so! I agree entirely, I wonder how many motorists lost their money to that machine - I know it happened to me in Cardiff. I applaud your efforts, and it shows local government up for what it is - again!