Free Traffic Legal Advice

Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: student.223 on August 03, 2023, 12:27:51 pm

Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: DancingDad on September 29, 2023, 09:50:18 am
Yay !!!!
I'm a really happy bunny now.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on September 29, 2023, 06:59:01 am
It's important to remember that a document must be read as a whole. The overall meaning and intent of the letter is crystal clear, and is really no different to the Draft Charge PCNs that say the PCN is cancelled if you pay the £2.50 crossing fee.

@student.223 you can rest assured that they will not let you off so lightly again in the future, so make sure to check your route every time you're driving anywhere near the zone.

I didn't remember driving into the CAZ but didn't ponder over it too much.

After they accepted my appeal I had a look at the evidence. In the pictures it's just my husband in the car.

On the day I had driven into Birmingham. Then I stopped off at the hospital and my husband went in my car to look for food. It was during this time that he drove into the CAZ.

So it wasn't even me!

Anyway, we share the same bank account so me or him doesn't make any difference.

Thank you once again and for your advice.

I've received a further email confirming the case is closed.

[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: Incandescent on September 28, 2023, 10:48:20 pm
It's important to remember that a document must be read as a whole. The overall meaning and intent of the letter is crystal clear, and is really no different to the Draft Charge PCNs that say the PCN is cancelled if you pay the £2.50 crossing fee.

@student.223 you can rest assured that they will not let you off so lightly again in the future, so make sure to check your route every time you're driving anywhere near the zone.
DART charge !
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: cp8759 on September 28, 2023, 09:54:52 pm
It's important to remember that a document must be read as a whole. The overall meaning and intent of the letter is crystal clear, and is really no different to the Dart Charge PCNs that say the PCN is cancelled if you pay the £2.50 crossing fee.

@student.223 you can rest assured that they will not let you off so lightly again in the future, so make sure to check your route every time you're driving anywhere near the zone.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: DancingDad on September 26, 2023, 11:58:13 pm
@DD........
I think the last sentence clinches it?

Not so much the bit you showed.
But the end of page 2 is very clear that the £8 is all that is needed.
I'm a happy bunny now.

I never like a situation where an NOR is left hanging conditional on the recipient doing something not usually covered in the process.
If only cos people sometimes get confused or mis read.

This is clear and as Student has paid, all should be well.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on September 26, 2023, 11:41:32 pm
@DD
[img width=639.9992065429688 height=920.9995727539062]https://i.ibb.co/n7BtVnV/IMG-20230926-211201.jpg[/img] (https://ibb.co/k4Jvr9r)

I think the last sentence clinches it?

I think page 2 is quite clear on the situation.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: John U.K. on September 26, 2023, 09:33:56 pm
@DD
(https://i.ibb.co/n7BtVnV/IMG-20230926-211201.jpg) (https://ibb.co/k4Jvr9r)

I think the last sentence clinches it?
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on September 26, 2023, 09:24:57 pm
Well done - Birmingham not known for being understanding.

Thank you  :)
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on September 26, 2023, 09:23:53 pm
Well Done... I think?
You have a Notice of Rejection with what seems like a conditional offer to cancel against £8 zone charge.
If so, fair enough.
We haven't seen the rest of the paragraph to be sure.

Make sure you keep receipt for payment and the NOR.
I will be happy if/when Birmingham send acknowlegement and cancel the PCN

Thank you  :)

I've edited my post above to include all pages/parts of the notice.

Thank you for your advice. I've got the receipt and am saving the notice.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: DancingDad on September 26, 2023, 09:00:50 pm
Well Done... I think?
You have a Notice of Rejection with what seems like a conditional offer to cancel against £8 zone charge.
If so, fair enough.
We haven't seen the rest of the paragraph to be sure.

Make sure you keep receipt for payment and the NOR.
I will be happy if/when Birmingham send acknowlegement and cancel the PCN
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: John U.K. on September 26, 2023, 04:19:15 pm
Well done - Birmingham not known for being understanding.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on September 26, 2023, 03:36:58 pm
That's an excellent draft, but scrap this:

I have the hospital discharge notes for my mum and sister if required.

Instead, upload all the paperwork you have and change that line to:

I attach the hospital discharge notes for my mum and my sister.

The reason being that it's up to you to put your best case forwards, it's not up to the authority to come back to you asking for more.

I just received an email letter advising they have rejected my appeal (really they have accepted it) but have applied discretion and that I now have a chance to pay the initial CAZ fee of £8, which I have now paid.

I just wanted to say thank you very very much for giving me the confidence to appeal, for checking my appeal and for advising me to attach the hospital documents. I feel like if I hadn't, they would have just rejected my appeal completely.

All in all I felt very supported by you and much more confident appealing knowing you had my back.

I truly appreciate it.

Notice of Rejection
Page 1: https://ibb.co/qnbFZCD
Page 2: https://ibb.co/52cJLZW
Page 3: https://ibb.co/LNSFHd3
Page 4: https://ibb.co/k4Jvr9r
Page 5: https://ibb.co/3csSjqP
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on August 07, 2023, 08:43:49 pm
That's an excellent draft, but scrap this:

I have the hospital discharge notes for my mum and sister if required.

Instead, upload all the paperwork you have and change that line to:

I attach the hospital discharge notes for my mum and my sister.

The reason being that it's up to you to put your best case forwards, it's not up to the authority to come back to you asking for more.

Thank you very much. Will do that and submit.

Thanks for your help

Will update 👍
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: cp8759 on August 07, 2023, 07:42:19 pm
That's an excellent draft, but scrap this:

I have the hospital discharge notes for my mum and sister if required.

Instead, upload all the paperwork you have and change that line to:

I attach the hospital discharge notes for my mum and my sister.

The reason being that it's up to you to put your best case forwards, it's not up to the authority to come back to you asking for more.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on August 07, 2023, 01:41:54 pm
Put your draft on here and we'll check it over for you.

Thank you. Please see below. I know its quite long-winded so I would be grateful for the guidance on it.

I live in Manchester. I am a student (I study in Bolton), a teacher (I work in Manchester), and a mum to two children (they go to school in Bolton).

Since February this year my sister (who lives in Birmingham) began developing symptoms which only became worrying when they persisted.

After many doctor visits over 5 months, she was referred for a chest x-ray.

On Saturday 8th July, when my sister went for the x-ray, she was sent straight to A&E.

That same evening my mum (who lives in Blackburn) became suddenly quite ill with signs of sepsis. When I took her to A&E, they kept her in.

I returned home to Manchester on Sunday evening due to my heavy commitments, but I continued going to Blackburn to look after my mum.

Those days were a crazy mad haze of travel, fatigue, distress, hunger, and complete madness. I was feeling overwhelmed.

On the Birmingham side my sister had a CT scan, MRI, and other tests; all of which proved inconclusive.

On Monday 10th July, the consultant looking after my sister advised there was a possibility of lung cancer, and also the possibility of TB.

After getting this news, my sister became very distressed (as did we) because of the possibility of cancer, so I went to visit her the next day (Tuesday 11th July). I spent one hour with her and then went to Bolton to collect my children from school. I then returned to Manchester for work, and then spent the evening trying to catch up on everything.

In all of the chaos and running around that week, I completely forgot to pay the CAZ charge. And because the CAZ is not a part of my day-to-day life, it is something unusual and different for me, so it did not automatically come to mind - as it would have if I was regularly encountering a CAZ.

And those days with both members of my family in hospital, and my sister potentially having lung cancer, was a time of sheer madness and complete chaos. It was an extremely distressing and unusual time for us all and I was barely coping.

Additionally, due to my mum’s condition, she had to wear nappies, and due to the hospital being so busy, my mum was going without a change for many hours. Therefore, I was fitting hospital visits into my day to help my mum.

My normal routine is crazy but this hit a totally different level of crazy. And in all of that, I truly and genuinely forgot to pay. Otherwise, I am not a fare dodger and I have no issue paying my dues.

Therefore, I humbly request you to please re-consider your decision, and for you to cancel the PCN.

I have the hospital discharge notes for my mum and sister if required.

Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on August 07, 2023, 11:08:51 am
Put your draft on here and we'll check it over for you.

Thank you. Please see below. I know its quite long-winded so I would be grateful for the guidance on it.

I live in Manchester. I am a student (I study in Bolton), a teacher (I work in Manchester), and a mum to two children (they go to school in Bolton).

Since February this year my sister (who lives in Birmingham) began developing symptoms which only became worrying when they persisted.

After many doctor visits over 5 months, she was referred for a chest x-ray.

On Saturday 8th July, when my sister went for the x-ray, she was sent straight to A&E.

That same evening my mum (who lives in Blackburn) became suddenly quite ill with signs of sepsis. When I took her to A&E, they kept her in.

I returned home to Manchester on Sunday evening due to my heavy commitments, but I continued going to Blackburn to look after my mum.

Those days were a crazy mad haze of travel, fatigue, distress, hunger, and complete madness. I was feeling overwhelmed.

On the Birmingham side my sister had a CT scan, MRI, and other tests; all of which proved inconclusive.

On Monday 10th July, the consultant looking after my sister advised there was a possibility of lung cancer, and also the possibility of TB.

After getting this news, my sister became very distressed (as did we) because of the possibility of cancer, so I went to visit her the next day (Tuesday 11th July). I spent one hour with her and then went to Bolton to collect my children from school. I then returned to Manchester for work, and then spent the evening trying to catch up on everything.

In all of the chaos and running around that week, I completely forgot to pay the CAZ charge. And because the CAZ is not a part of my day-to-day life, it is something unusual and different for me, so it did not automatically come to mind - as it would have if I was regularly encountering a CAZ.

And those days with both members of my family in hospital, and my sister potentially having lung cancer, was a time of sheer madness and complete chaos. It was an extremely distressing and unusual time for us all and I was barely coping.

Additionally, due to my mum’s condition, she had to wear nappies, and due to the hospital being so busy, my mum was going without a change for many hours. Therefore, I was fitting in hospital visits into my day to help my mum.

My normal routine is crazy but this hit a totally different level of crazy. And in all of that, I truly and genuinely forgot to pay. Otherwise, I am not a fare dodger and I have no issue paying my dues.

Therefore, I humbly request you to please re-consider your original decision, and for you to cancel the PCN.

I have the discharge notes for my mum and my sister if required.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: cp8759 on August 06, 2023, 02:54:16 pm
Put your draft on here and we'll check it over for you.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on August 05, 2023, 11:25:19 pm
Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it.  :)

I have begun to draft the appeal.

I can also get hold of the hospital discharge notes for my mum and my sister. Not sure if I should include or mention them in the appeal...

Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: cp8759 on August 05, 2023, 06:48:35 pm
It sounds like you have some reasonably compelling mitigation and I'm minded to say you should put it to the authority.

However we know Birmingham does not extend the discount for CAZ cases, meaning that if you make representations and they reject, they will demand the full penalty.

That being said if they do that, there is then no further cost to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, and to date Birmingham Council has not contested any of the appeals where I've acted as a representative.

If you want to challenge the PCN, I think we could put something reasonably compelling together.
Title: Re: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on August 04, 2023, 01:48:14 am
Images of the PCN

Front
https://ibb.co/YB5tB4n

Back
https://ibb.co/NVfVH0H
Title: PCN Birmingham Clean Air Zone Summer Hill Road (Inbound)
Post by: student.223 on August 03, 2023, 12:27:51 pm
Hello,

I have received a PCN for Birmingham's CAZ on Summer Hill Road.

I am hoping to appeal but just wanted to check here first if it is worth appealing or not.

The simple story is that my sister might have lung cancer. At that time she was in hospital (in Birmingham). We had been told on the Tuesday that she might have lung cancer, and I had gone to see her on Wednesday.

My mum was also in hospital at the same time (in Blackburn) and I was looking after her. I live in Manchester, study in Bolton, and have my own family too. So I was running around everywhere and not coping at all. It was an extremely unusual and difficult time for me.

So I completely forgot to check/pay.

Do I stand a chance? Is it worth appealing?

I would truly be grateful for the guidance. Thank you.

[attachment deleted by admin]