Free Traffic Legal Advice

OP, as I said..evaluate.

The CEO's notes state that the PCN was served. They explain why only one photo was taken. Nothing to do with PIs and reg. 10 IF their account is correct.

Your father didn't tell you that the CEO was at the vehicle, did they? If they had then all the effort about only one photo would have been explained ages ago.

Yes, there are inconsistencies BOTH as between your father's account and the CEO's and the authority's processes and successive comments.

So, who will the adjudicator believe?



 

Update:

Just got back from the tribunal.

Success!!

I had 3 pages of defence ready, but the adjudicator took only 5 minutes to review the council's bundle and cancel the PCN immediately.

The adjudicator agreed that the PCN was full of inconsistencies and errors. Due to these multiple errors, the council had no credibility. The final ruling was that the PCN was not served.

I now want to explore compensation. It's ridiculous that a CEO can hand out fines with just a registration number. This means they could technically fine cars at will without needing any photographic proof.

CEOs are motivated by financial incentives.
Police officers are motivated by a commitment to public safety and protecting the vulnerable.
The credibility of a police officer cannot be equated to that of a civil enforcement officer. Yet, here we are so willing to accept the words of a CEO without any proof to back it up.

The case caused significant stress to my father, who is disabled with nervous system problems and high blood pressure. He now fears that upsetting anyone who knows a CEO could result in more fines. Additionally, we've spent countless hours dealing with this issue. My appeal to the NtO was clear, and the PCN should have been cancelled at that stage instead of dragging us through this process.

So my question is, does anyone know how to take further action?

And big thank you to all for spending your free time looking into this with me. It's incredible that a bunch of strangers online could be so willing to help.

When I asked the adjudicator rewarding costs and compensation, he made a remark "If this is the worst thing that's happened to you in your life, count yourself lucky" And "Well I've cancelled the PCN, that should be enough". Personally, that's ridiculous. How many people does this happen to? How much stress, and time goes into defending a PCN when the enforcement is unlawful? Why should we tolerate the council's misuse of their authority and their willingness to inconvenience everyday people to such an extent? I absolutely want to make Hounslow council pay; this was extremely unfair.

Well done for sticking with it. Most people pay-up before they get to the Adjudicator.

As to the costs and compensation. In essence:
the Adjudicator has no power to award compensation for stress or anxiety to either party,

costs and expenses may only be awarded by the adjudicator in very rare circumstances if the adjudicator determines that you or the enforcing authority has acted ‘frivolously’, ‘vexatiously’ or ‘wholly unreasonably’ in bringing or contesting the appeal.

You can read the guidelines for yourself here.

For the financial year ending March 2023 (the last year for which figures are available) awards of costs against Hounslow were £0. Most councils are £0. So it's highly unlikely you will succeed in getting a costs award.

I'd sit back and relax. You won your case. It was a learning experience that you will benefit from going forward. And believe me it is certain that you will get more PCNs in the future as Councils get more and more desperate for cash.