Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi everyone

Thank you for taking the time to help with this. Here's a summary of my case:

1. I parked in a suspended bay late at night and didn't see the sign.
2. I left my car there whilst I was looking after my parents, and then I went abroad.
3. When I returned from abroad, my car had been moved and had been issued 4 PCNs for parking in the suspended bay. Two were past the 14 days for 50% discount.
4. I appealed to Islington Council. They have offered all 4 PCNs at the 50% discounted rate, so 4 x £80.

I'd like to know if I have a strong case or there are any precedents to take this further. £640 would be very painful if I lose.

I have provided a link for my full appeal further down. A summary of my appeal is as follows:

-I believe the council are being unfair and excessive by enforcing all 4 tickets.
-I think the sign is badly positioned and not very visible at night.
-The sign is not located on the part of the bay which is suspended.
-You cannot see the house numbers from the parking bay (or even directly outside the properties at night)

The PCNs are here:






I mistakenly obscured my reg and PCN numbers in the other documents I've uploaded for this post, but left them intact on the PCNs photographed above.

Here's a photo of the suspended bay signage:



This is the location:

Here are photos of my car parked in the suspended bay, taken by the CEOs:




This is the appeal that I sent to the council:

The photographs taken by the CEOs show the sign more visible than my photos do, due to angle, lighting, etc. There was also a car slightly outside the bay when I went to take photos (Photo 1 below).

Here are the photos that I referencing in my appeal:

Photo 1:


Photo 2:


Photo 3:


Photo 4:


Photo 5:


This is the council's response to my appeal:

This is a photo of the street showing the rough position of where my car was parked relative to the suspended bay sign.

It's clear that the sign is not outside 129 - 131 Liverpool Road. It's between 127 and 125 Liverpool Road.



Thank you again for your time and help.

Hi Incandescent

Thank you for taking the time to read everything and provide your thoughts.

Yes I have a residents permit. But I should have seen the sign. From my appeal, you may have seen I've got a lot going on at the moment and my mind was elsewhere when I left my car in that spot.

What are your thoughts on the fact that you cannot see the house numbers from the parking bay (or even directly outside the property boundaries at night)? And that the sign itself is outside 125-127 and not 129-131, which is where the bay is suspended?

Is it reasonable that drivers need to walk the red path below, into the front garden of 131 Liverpool Road and pretty much up to their front door, just to determine whether you're allowed to park there?

The plain fact is that a suspension sign should be placed on the sign(s) for the bay and nowhere else, because a motorist is entitled to rely on the sign for the bay as to whether he can park there or not. In your case, they only put up a single sign, whereas they really should have put up two, one for each sign for the bay. As I said before, if you run with this argument, an adjudicator will just think " OK, but the sign nearest to where you parked has the suspension sign on it".

Is it reasonable that drivers need to walk the red path below, into the front garden of 131 Liverpool Road and pretty much up to their front door, just to determine whether you're allowed to park there?

Maybe, but how else does the council indicate the length of the suspended part of the bay ?

The only thing I think you might get a response on, is to wait for the Notice to Owner, and with non-confrontational reps, give the circumstances, and say that having to pay £320, (£80 x 4), is disproportionate, and ask that three be cancelled and you will pay the first PCN. I can't see a win here at London Tribunals, sorry to have to say it.  You didn't read the parking sign and the suspension sign was erected in October.

Hi Incandescent, thank you for another reply.

Maybe, but how else does the council indicate the length of the suspended part of the bay ?

Perhaps they could have indicated the length using signs on the handrails on the actual suspended area, instead of putting the sign on a lamp post/part of the bay that isn't suspended?

Shouldn't the fact that the house numbers are not readable from the parking spaces be the council's problem to solve, as opposed to the driver's problem to deal with after parking?

Is it reasonable for the council to expect all drivers, including blue badge holders for example, to walk probably 30-40 meters (I can measure accurately if needed!) to determine whether a bay is suspended?

The only thing I think you might get a response on, is to wait for the Notice to Owner, and with non-confrontational reps, give the circumstances, and say that having to pay £320, (£80 x 4), is disproportionate, and ask that three be cancelled and you will pay the first PCN. I can't see a win here at London Tribunals, sorry to have to say it.  You didn't read the parking sign and the suspension sign was erected in October.

If I wait for the Notice to Owner, submit a formal appeal to the council and they reject it again, will I lose the 50% discount and be liable to pay £640?

Thanks again

Thank you Incandescent

It sounds like I would probably lose at formal appeal, and as you said, there's no legal right to a discount.

I've looked through Islington's TMO and the council can suspend a bay for as long as is "reasonably necessary".

It doesn't explicitly state waste collection as a reason to suspend a bay, but it states the following:

(ii) the removal of any obstruction to traffic in the street;
(iii) the maintenance, improvement, reconstruction, cleaning or
lighting of any street;

I assume the council that the above would qualify?

I'm going to write to my local councillor with the below. Is there anything else you would add or that I should focus on? I've tried to keep it short.

Dear .....,

I’m seeking your assistance regarding four Parking Charge Notices (PCNs IZ38051908, IZ38368256, IZ38339746, IZ3845615A) issued to my vehicle (NU59 CCD) on Liverpool Road.

I parked on Liverpool Road around 11pm on 10th January. I acknowledge I did not see the suspension sign, but it was positioned outside the part of the bay that was suspended, so I reasonably believed it was fine to park there.

After parking, I stayed with my parents to provide care. My mother is recovering from spinal surgery and my father is undergoing treatment for glioblastoma. I was then abroad from 16th to 28th January, only discovering the PCNs on my return.

The council has rejected my appeal, stating my vehicle was in a suspended bay in each occasion. I admit that I made a mistake, but enforcing all four PCNs for the same oversight seems disproportionate and unfair, particularly given my personal circumstances.

I would be very grateful for your support in having them reviewed or reduced.

Yours sincerely,

Hi Incandescent

I wrote to my local councillors yesterday (there are three in my ward in Islington). Two of them replied within an hour. They agreed that four PCNs for the same oversight was excessive, especially given my personal circumstances, and they would try to help.

I received an email from the "Notice Processing & Operations Manager" in the council this morning and as a gesture of goodwill they have cancelled two of the PCNs!

Thank you very much for your help and your advice to write to my councillors. Can I buy you some beers?