Hi, below is the summary of my case
- I went abroad on holiday for two weeks from 27/02/24-13/03/24. When I returned, it wasn't until 18/03/24 that I went to drive my car which is when I discovered that there was a parking fine on my windscreen. I have a valid resident parking permit for the zone I was parked in.
- The PCN was issued on 05/03/24 which was essentially in the middle of my holiday. It was for parking in a suspended bay. I immediately contested the PCN online, providing evidence for my flights and explaining therefore that I could not possibly have been able to move my car from the suspended bay. I also explained that I lived alone and recently moved to the area and therefore did not have anyone who could've moved the car for me whilst I was away. Furthermore I noted that it seemed the planned work had still managed to go ahead with my car being parked (I noticed newly painted white parking bay lines on the floor).
- See attached some of the photos provided online by Wandsworth as supporting evidence for the PCN (images: pcn1, pcn3, pcn4). I cannot find the hard copy version of the PCN unfortunately.
- I have at last received a reply from the council this evening (see below, 'council reply.pdf') rejecting my contesting of the PCN and telling me I have the option of either paying now or proceeding with further appeals (noting that I forfeit the reduced fine amount if I am unsuccessful).
- The letter recognises that I was away on holiday and claims that the sign warning of a suspended bay was erected 72 hrs prior to the suspension, on the 28/02/24 which they state was indeed a day after my outbound flight. All good so far...
- However they then go on to claim that my vehicle was not parked in the area to be suspended when the signage was initially erected which indicates that my vehicle was later parked there when the signage was in place. This is of course completely false as I parked it in that bay before I left for my holiday when there was no such sign and the car could not have been moved out of and back into that bay whilst I was away.
- They provide no evidence to support this claim that my car was not parked in the bay when the warning sign was suspended on the 28/02/24 (again this would of course be impossible as it was definitely parked there the whole time for two weeks!).
- I read somewhere that they have 56 days to reply to an appeal (which it has been over) however I think this may only be in response to formal written appeals so not sure this will help me.
Any advice/thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Is it worth going down the legal/further appeal process based on the argument that I couldn't have done anything to avoid being in that suspended bay and that I was already out of the country when the warning sign was erected?
Many thanks!
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