Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi!
I thought I qualified for free parking because my Borough allows Electic Vehicles to park for free in Pay By Phone bays (but not, I didn't realise, in Shared Pay by Phone Bays) https://new.haringey.gov.uk/streets-roads-travel/travel/electric-vehicles/parking-electric-vehicles.


Didn't realise there was this distinction so broke the rules.

Can they impose rules from their web page on their website? Rules that they can change at any time and are not easy to find when parking unless you have internet access in your car?

Also, the PCN is not signed, does that make a difference?
Thanks in advance for any help.


Google maps location
Gallery of PCN images

OP, the standard position is whatever is conveyed by the sign.

If a council chooses to relax their enforcement or if there is a legal exception in the designating order then that's their choice. You cannot superimpose one council's order exemptions or enforcement protocols on another.

You've posted the Haringey website which states clearly:

Parking bays

Electric vehicles (not hybrids or plug-in hybrids) can park for free only in dedicated pay-by-phone bays in Haringey, but the maximum stay and no return rules still apply.

Electric vehicles cannot park for free in shared-use bays (these are pay-by-phone bays that permit holders can park in).

As regards shared use, IMO the level of penalty is correct. The bay has complementary but not overlapping restrictions and you parked when only the payment requirement was in force.

OP, the standard position is whatever is conveyed by the sign.

If a council chooses to relax their enforcement or if there is a legal exception in the designating order then that's their choice. You cannot superimpose one council's order exemptions or enforcement protocols on another.

You've posted the Haringey website which states clearly:

Parking bays

Electric vehicles (not hybrids or plug-in hybrids) can park for free only in dedicated pay-by-phone bays in Haringey, but the maximum stay and no return rules still apply.

Electric vehicles cannot park for free in shared-use bays (these are pay-by-phone bays that permit holders can park in).

As regards shared use, IMO the level of penalty is correct. The bay has complementary but not overlapping restrictions and you parked when only the payment requirement was in force.

This is not a shared use bay as we know it, Jim. I would have thought the separate P&D time stands alone and the OP is entitled to park his EV there for free during this time.

See what others say but I do think this falls outside what London councils usually say is a shared use bay, which is mixed use during the same time. At least it is open to misinterpretation by EV drivers. If the intent is to restrict use to accommodate residents, then it falls because residents have to pay to park when you did.

I'm assuming the permit time 7-10pm means 7pm-10pm - which is an odd time by the way any idea why? - and not 7am-10pm.

What time did you park there - although the contravention is not paying not overstaying.

What time did you park there - not when the PCN was given. Just trying to cover all bases.

Staffordman (above) is very clear:
Parking bays

Electric vehicles (not hybrids or plug-in hybrids) can park for free only in dedicated pay-by-phone bays in Haringey, but the maximum stay and no return rules still apply.

Electric vehicles cannot park for free in shared-use bays (these are pay-by-phone bays that permit holders can park in).

As regards shared use, IMO the level of penalty is correct. The bay has complementary but not overlapping restrictions and you parked when only the payment requirement was in force.

To me it seemed that a shared-use bay is not a shared-use bay unless the parking hours overlap. When is there sharing?
I wrote to them:
"This is not a shared bay because the parking hours are not shared"

Received this back today (No mention at all of my point about my car being an EV and EV parking being free in non-shared spaces):
----------------------------
We have carefully considered what you say but we have decided not to cancel your Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
You were issued a PCN for not paying to park. You were parked in a bay for people paying to park by phone or online; however, the Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO)'s handheld computer showed no payment to park.
You were parked at a time when paying to park by telephone or online was in operation.
Please be advised the onus lies with the motorist to ensure that they purchase time to park
immediately after parking (RingGo) by telephone or online to cover the vehicle for the entire period it is parked.
I am satisfied that the signage in this location is sufficient to warn motorists of the restriction in place.
The onus lies with the motorist to check all signage, and park correctly before leaving their vehicle unattended.
-----------------------------
So I guess I have to pay up?

I would go on with this. See what others say.

But post your challenge and their rejection in full.

Thanks! Surely they will say, a shared bay does not need overlapping hours, just as a shared guitar can be played by different people at different times and still be considered shared?

That above is the full text of my challenge and their response - the other part of the letter details how I can pay and is not specific to my issue:
--------------
You have these choices:
• You can pay the discount charge of £40.00 if your payment reaches us within 14 days of the date of service of this letter.
• You can pay £80.00 within 28 days of the date your PCN was issued.
• You can formally challenge your PCN by using a Notice to Owner form. The vehicle's owner will automatically receive the form if the PCN has not been paid within 28 days of being issued. The form offers you the chance to formally challenge your PCN or pay the full £80.00. If you decide to formally challenge your PCN, please do not write to us again but wait until the Notice to Owner form arrives.
How to pay:
• By internet: Go to http://www.haringey.gov.uk/payments and follow the online instructions.
• By telephone: At any time (Credit/Debit Cards only) on 0300 456 0520 - Please have your credit/debit card and Penalty Charge Number to hand when you make the call.
• In person: Take your PCN and payment to Haringey Vehicle Pound, Unit 1, 1 Waltham Park Way, London, E17 5DU between Monday to Saturday 7am to 10pm and Sunday 8am to 8pm.
Please ensure you obtain a receipt.
Yours sincerely
xxxx xxxxxxx
Parking Process Case Officer
-----------

Irrespective of my initial views, the authority have now given theirs.


You were parked in a bay for people paying to park by phone or online;...
You were parked at a time when paying to park by telephone or online was in operation.

I interpreted the sign as meaning that at ** the bay was restricted and therefore dedicated only to vehicles paying and that permit holders were not permitted to park for free simply because they displayed a permit.

If this view was correct then the council's published policy applies i.e. 'Electric vehicles (not hybrids or plug-in hybrids) can park for free only in dedicated pay-by-phone bays in Haringey'

The authority's rejection of your challenge states:

You were parked in a bay for people paying to park by phone or online;...
You were parked at a time when paying to park by telephone or online was in operation. which is consistent with this bay being dedicated to vehicles paying as the authority does not suggest or claim that the bay was shared use at the relevant time.

I submit that my interpretation of the published policy was consistent with the wording of the sign and therefore the contravention did not occur. Alternatively, the wording of the policy is ambiguous and there are legal precedents which require that the matter should be resolved in favour of otherwise disadvantaged party i.e. the driver.