Free Traffic Legal Advice

Key photos:





Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5MvH3iMnGH4inTBd8

Looks like a perfect replica of Abdi Saeed v London Borough of Croydon (2200415426, 2 December 2020), which also happens to illustrate why appeals on the papers should be avoided. The decision in Kandiah Gajendra v London Borough of Croydon (2200057235, 5 March 2020) is also relevant.

Here's what I would send:


Send this online and keep a screenshot of the confirmation page.

Sadly the appeal got rejected yesterday. Here is the council reply

Thank you for writing to us about the above Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
Why the PCN was issued?
The PCN was issued because the vehicle was parked in a suspended parking bay during
controlled hours.
Your challenge
You have stated that:
At the time of parking I walked towards the regulatory sign for the bay and I did not see
any suspension sign attached, therefore I had no reason to conduct any further searches
for signage attaches to trees, railings or elsewhere.
I therefore challenge liability because the alleged contravention did not occur. This is
because the authority appears to have attached the suspension sign to a tree, and the
legal duty on motorists is to check the regulatory sign for the bay. There is no legal duty to
conduct a random inspection of the local flora, especially when parking at night and it is
not illuminated so is not obvious.
If the suspension sign had been where it should have been then I would have parked
elsewhere.

My findings
Council officers can suspend the use of parking bays for reasons such as:
• to provide access for people moving house
• to provide access for utility companies who need to do street works
• to provide access for Council contractors (drain clearing, tree pruning, etc)
• to provide access for funeral cars
When we suspend parking, we place yellow warning signs in the area at least seven days
in advance, these warn motorists that a suspension is (or will be) in force. No vehicle may
park in a suspended area while the suspension is in force, unless the space was
suspended for that particular vehicle.
The Civil Enforcement Officer’s (CEO) notes state that; following a period of 5 minutes'
observation, over which no activity involving the vehicle was seen, the PCN was issued.
I have noted your comments in regards to not seeing the suspension signage, however
after viewing the image provided by the issuing CEO the signage is placed near where the
vehicle was parked.
It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that they are aware of and comply with the
restrictions in force, reading and understanding all relevant signage. If the restrictions are
not known, or cannot be complied with, alternative parking arrangements must be sought.
Please view the images below.

Drivers have the responsibility of checking signs and markings, and must act in
accordance with them. I am therefore satisfied that the PCN was correctly issued.
My decision
I have considered what you have said and all the available evidence, but I do not agree
that we should cancel your liability for this PCN.
What happens next
Your options are detailed below.
If you wish to pay at the discounted rate of £65.00, you may still do so, provided we
receive your £65.00 payment within 14 days of the date of this letter. THIS OFFER WILL
NOT BE REPEATED. Once these 14 days have expired, the full charge of £130.00 will
become due.

How to pay:
By MASTERCARD, VISA CREDIT, VISA DEBIT, or MAESTRO:
Online: at www.lbhf.gov.uk
By Phone: by calling us on (020) 7371 5678. We have an automated payment system
that you can use at any time.
By Post: please make all cheques and postal orders payable to the `London Borough of
Hammersmith & Fulham`, writing your registration number and PCN number on the back,
cross your cheque or postal order `a/c payee` and send it to: LBHF Parking Services, PO
Box 4666, Worthing BN11 9FY - (PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH BY POST).
How to take the case further:
1 If you do not pay, we will send a `Notice to Owner` to the keeper. This form offers the
keeper the chance to formally challenge the PCN, or to pay the full charge (by this time it
will be too late to take advantage of the discount). If you are not the registered keeper, let
them know what you decide to do and that a Notice to Owner will be issued to them in due
course.
2 If we still disagree with you, the keeper can take the case to the Environment and Traffic
Adjudicators; they are independent and their decision is binding on both sides.

Yours sincerely

E Martin
Correspondence Officer


Is it worth taking the case to the tribunal?

Thanks for the advice. I will see if cp8759 says anything about my chances at the tribunal.
Any advice on preparing a case to go to the tribunal? 

Yes I do and it is up to date

Thank you so much!

Hi everyone,
I got my notice to keeper. From the looks of it again it is saying to challenge it, to do it via their website. Is that another informal appeal to the council or will this be what goes to the tribunal?

It will be the Notice to Owner (NtO). Please to post up all sides here, redacting only your name & address.

I will PM you some links to put in the representation, they will redirect to here and here but if you give them the links I'll PM you, we can use the click count to confirm whether they've looked at them or not (obviously do not click on the links I PM you as we want the click count to remain at zero). If they don't click on them, we can then prove they've failed to consider all of the evidence. If they say in the rejection that they've considered all the evidence, we've got them for lying as well.



Make the representations on the council website and keep a screenshot of the confirmation page.

Many thanks for all the support and especially cp8759 for drafting a response. I really appreciate all the support in this matter