Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: dandelion on October 20, 2023, 07:57:55 pm
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Thank you for your input. I'll try my luck and see what happens.
No, put a draft on here first. We are very much against people going off and trying their luck on their own, as that defeats the purpose of a legal advice forum.
The traffic order is The Lewisham (Prescribed Routes) (School Streets) (No. 41) Experimental Traffic Order 2022 (https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1V_h6yrfo9TEmIq7tOUeSr2H9Xrxzzehd).
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Thank you for your input. I'll try my luck and see what happens.
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The fact that Leicester half-term starts a week after London is essentially irrelevant to your case, because you would have passed the signs. YOur PCN and the photos shows you passing them quite clearly, so the contravention is made out. Did you understand what the signs meant ?
GSV shows them closed when the GSV camera van passed in July 2023, so one has to assume that just before the relevant school hoidays, a council official comes along in a van and closes-off the signs.
Your problem is that most of your narrative is an argument based on mitigation, except for the one minute into the restriction. If you decide to stand your ground and take them to London Tribunals, this could be argued as de minimis, and has won appeals in the past. The tribunal is unable to consider mitigation, so your only appeal would be that one minute.
However, your narrative could warm their stone-cold hearts and get a result, but don't expect one, as London councils have "heard it all before". If they reject your reps, they will, in all likelihood, re-offer the discount. Whilst this is not a legal right, most London councils now do so, provided reps are received within the discount period.They do so to avoid having to prepare an evidence pack for an appeal, which for them is a PITA. This is because, for an appellant, if the discount is not re-offered, it is a no-brainer to take them to adjudication as the penalty remains the same and there are no additional costs.
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Hi there, I was wondering if you can help me challenge my PCN which I received. I am new here and will try to include all the information required.
I’ve received a PCN from the London Borough of Lewisham for failing to comply with a restriction on a vehicle entering a pedestrian zone (Camera enforcement). Alleged contravention 53j.
The vehicle was seen in: Bonfield Road junction with Clarendon Rise at 8.16 on: 16/10/2023 - https://maps.app.goo.gl/qtRbvZAPvYi7KiN16
Last Sunday (15th October) we drove up to London with my family to stay for a night and we booked a parking spot using JustPark.
Our plan was to keep the car at its dedicated parking spot, however we ended up moving the car on Sunday evening and dropping it back again on Monday morning as soon as the free parking at 8am was up in our area where we stayed - around 10 minutes from our booked parking spot.
Although the owner of the booked parking space had notified us about the below, we were under the impression that it was half term, aligning with our region in Leicestershire where half term commenced on 16th October.
“PLEASE NOTE IN TERM TIME ONLY: Bonfield road is a SCHOOL STREET between the hours of 8.15am and 9.15am, and from 2.45pm to 3.45pm Monday - Friday. Please do not arrive or leave at these times, or a penalty charge will apply. THIS DOES NOT APPLY IN SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.”
However Thursday morning this letter came through in our post and I was in shock to receive it. First, we were indeed during half term though now I found out that in London, half term only starts on 23rd October unlike in Leicestershire.
Second, the restriction applies from 8.15 and according to the PCN issued, we were caught at 8.16am, just one minute after the restriction time commenced at 8:15 AM. We hope there is room for a small grace period, considering the minimal time difference.
I was hoping that we could challenge the PCN on the grounds that the half term started on 16th October in Leicestershire, which was our understanding when we made the journey. It has come to our attention that this differs from the half term dates in London.
Or the fact that navigating unfamiliar roads while driving and simultaneously processing complex parking regulations proved challenging, contributing to this unintended violation.
I hope you can access all the documents and pictures here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-aEF51K4woRErRpeglXSH918klJ4tgmq?usp=sharing
If there is anything I missed, please let me know. Many thanks for your input in advance!