Location: MAGDALEN ROAD, SW18 (D5. I have a permit for this road, but I live about a five-minute walk from here and I never go past the car unless using it or checking on it
Hoping for some help on this case please - timeline as follows:
01/10/2025 - I checked on the car in the bay, no notice of suspension.
02/10/2025 - The council claims that notice of suspension was issued.
03/10/2025 - I left my flat, stayed overnight with a friend in London, didnt check the car this day.
04/10/2025 - My friend drove me to Bristol, so I have no proof of travel
06/10/2025 - The day of the suspension; PCN is issued, I returned from Bristol late evening
07/10/2025 - I found the PCN and submitted a challenge on the grounds I was not here to see the notice
15/12/2025 - informal challenge rejected, claiming I did not supply evidence that I was away.
TLDR; notice of bay suspension was issued on 02/10, but I was out of my flat from 03/10 - 06/10 so didnt see it, however I dont have proof I wasnt there apart from a return ticket on 06/10.
My questions:
1. How likely am I to win a further challenge based on the grounds that it is unreasonable to expect me to have checked the car between 02/10 and 03/10?
2. Something I have wondered: so many people don't park on streets they live near now in London. Should the council be required to notify us via email - is it reasonable to expect us to check our vehicles every two days?
3. Am I right in thinking that if I now want to challenge this further and supply evidence, I have to wait for the Notice to Owner to be issued, which takes so long that my right to pay the lower charge will have passed and it will cost £140 not £70? i.e., if I challenge and lose, it will definitely be a £140 fine not £70?
4. The council took longer than 56 days to respond to my informal challenge - is this grounds to not pay?
