Thanks to
@Hippocrates for sharing the links — I’ve now read through all three cases and found them really helpful, though admittedly a bit dense!
In the first case, the claimant tried to argue that the “No U-turn” sign (diagram 614) didn’t apply because they performed a 3-point turn rather than a classic U-turn. The court ultimately rejected that argument, ruling that the sign prohibits any kind of manoeuvre that results in reversing direction, regardless of how it's done. In my case, however, I turned onto Wandsworth Bridge Road rather than going back on myself, so it might still be arguable that what I did wasn’t technically a U-turn in the prohibited sense.
The second case (with LemonTootski) seems to focus on a technical defect in the PCN, specifically missing mandatory information. After checking, it looks like the same error may apply to my PCN as well, so that might be worth raising.
The third case really struck a chord — it shows how difficult and drawn-out this whole process can be, even when logic seems to favour the motorist. It reflects what Hippocrates mentioned in the other post: that councils bank on most people just giving up and paying because the time and research involved isn't worth it. Sadly, that’s probably true.
To be completely honest, this isn’t my area of expertise. My gut feeling is that Fulham Council will reject any informal or formal challenge, which means I’ll have to take it to the London Tribunal if I want to fight it. I’m currently thinking of appealing on two main grounds:
The PCN is invalid due to missing mandatory information (as seen in LemonTootski’s case).
It wasn’t a U-turn, since I didn’t turn back in the opposite direction — I turned onto a different road.
Not sure how strong either point is, so any thoughts or suggestions would be really appreciated.
Also — if it does end up going to the London Tribunal, I’m honestly not sure how well I’ll hold up in there. It feels a bit daunting, especially not being experienced in this kind of thing.
Thanks again to everyone who contributes — it really helps those of us trying to make sense of this stuff.
