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Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: Coldhands on November 16, 2025, 06:28:18 pm

Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Hippocrates on July 25, 2026, 03:00:39 pm
@cp8759

Spot on.

7. I find that the first part of this passage cuts short a statutory period. I find that an enforcement authority cannot do that.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: cp8759 on July 25, 2026, 01:06:26 pm
The decision in Usmaan Hafiz v London Borough of Redbridge (2250638127, 1 June 2026) (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dZX3I-SSb058iI-oCk4HYrBOGKFkWCh-/view) is wrong in law because it is directly contradicted by section 4(8)(a)(iii) of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003, which states that:

(8)A penalty charge notice under this section must—
(a)state—
[...]
(iii) that the penalty charge must be paid before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the notice;

Any party appearing before a court and tribunal is under a duty to assist and not mislead, so this case cannot be relied upon and if ever raised, there is a duty to highlight that it is wrong.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Hippocrates on July 24, 2026, 04:30:21 pm
6. The PCN states as follows (my emphasis):

The Penalty Charge of £160.00 is now payable and must be paid before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date of this notice. If it is paid before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date of this notice, the amount payable is reduced by 50% to £80.00. Payment may be made using any of the options detailed at the bottom of this page, if you believe you have a good reason not to pay the penalty charge, you should write to us explaining why (see the 'Representations' section overleaf). Although there are specific legal grounds for making representations, we will consider exercising our discretion and may cancel the penalty charge notice if there are suitable mitigating circumstances (i.e. if we believe that there is a good enough reason). Please make sure the Penalty Charge Notice number is written on all correspondence. If you fail to pay the Penalty Charge or make representations before the end of a period of 28 days beginning with the date of service of this notice an increased charge of £240 may be payable. We may send you a Charge Certificate seeking payment of this increased amount.

7. I find that the first part of this passage cuts short a statutory period. I find that an enforcement authority cannot do that. It is not material that there is no suggestion of prejudice. I find that, whilst there was a contravention, the collateral challenge, and appeal, succeed on the basis that the penalty demanded exceeds the amount due in the circumstances of the case: no liability should have arisen at all.

8. I allow the appeal.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on July 24, 2026, 12:13:02 pm
Embarrassingly I forgot about the hearing and did not attend. I also forgot to submit a video I had taken later showing how the signs are not very visible as a driver. My appeal on the basis of sign height was rejected because the adjudicator said from the local authority's evidence the signage is visible. But luckily succeeded on the collateral appeal to do with the timeframes stated in the letter.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Hippocrates on December 10, 2025, 11:35:18 am
Let's see the NOR and the date please. Some days are better than others!
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Incandescent on December 08, 2025, 11:22:32 pm
All councils say that !

Signs can meet the standards for signs, but the signage can still be inadequate under Regulation 18 of the The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996

Good for you for holding their hand to the fire.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on December 08, 2025, 10:11:28 pm
Redbridge fobbed me off and said that their signage complies will all relevant statutory requirements :(

London Tribunals appeal hearing scheduled for June next year!
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on November 18, 2025, 10:16:38 am
Ah, I see, it's about date of notice vs date of service of the notice! Thank you.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Hippocrates on November 18, 2025, 09:56:25 am
I make this collateral challenge against the validity of the PCN as it is missing mandatory information as provided at Para. 4 (8 ) (v) of


https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2003/3/section/4/enacted

(v)that, if the penalty charge is not paid before the end of the 28 day period, an increased

charge may be payable.

Clearly, this refers to Para. 4 (8 ) (iii):

(iii)that the penalty charge must be paid before the end of the period of 28 days beginning

with the date of the notice;

Therefore, it follows that the statement: "If you fail to pay the Penalty Charge or make representations before the end of a period of 28 days beginning with the date of service of this notice an increased charge of £240 may be payable” adds to the lack of clarity by its omission. Even on its own, whether the required information was included or not, it is also arguable that it conflates the two periods using the word "or" which many would view as being conjunctive. Furthermore, even if the statement were to be interpreted disjunctively, there is still no clarity due to the missing information. So, it follows that it cannot possibly be interpreted disjunctively.


******************

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WSBVHktf6Yu3twJANacn8mmlTQKt1-t_/view


A third point is set out in the skeleton argument:

“The PCN - This fails to contain mandatory information at Part 2 Para. 4(8 )(v) provided at:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2003/3/section/4/enacted (v)that, if the penalty charge is not paid before the
end of the 28 day period, an increased charge may be payable This in turn refers to (iii)

(iii)that the penalty charge must be paid before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the notice; The
following statement does not clarify this: If after the last day of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on
which this PCN is served no such representations have been made, and the penalty charge has not been paid,
we may increase the penalty charge by 50% to £195.00 and may take steps to enforce payment of the
increased charge.”

The difference between date of the notice and the date of service is not necessarily the same. That could lead
to miscalculation of the relevant period that the recipient has in which to make payment or submit
representations, which could be crucial. The collateral challenge on this point succeeds and so I allow the
appeal.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on November 17, 2025, 12:31:13 pm
Quote from: Hippocrates on November 17, 2025, 10:13:56 am
I seriously advise using the information in my first link in my profile as the PCN is invalid since it is missing mandatory information.

Forgive me if I am being daft but I am struggling to see the issue with the PCN. Is it just the usage of 'or' in the sentence referencing the  potential for an increased charge?
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on November 17, 2025, 11:50:57 am
I went back to check this actually, there is an advance warning sign, placed equally high. You would not see it unless you were looking up for it. Got to also be 3-4m height.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Hippocrates on November 17, 2025, 11:50:57 am
Quote from: Coldhands on November 17, 2025, 10:43:10 am
I don't think so. Video is nothing special - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NKeCL0QaATups89_Jl-MaJaMKWoI7jUN/view?usp=drivesdk
As per usual, the signage is illegible.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: H C Andersen on November 17, 2025, 11:10:55 am
IMO, the adequacy of signage refers to the totality of signage, not just the entry signs. OP, are there any advance signs warning of this restriction?
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on November 17, 2025, 10:43:51 am
@Hippocrates I will take a look thank you!
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on November 17, 2025, 10:43:10 am
I don't think so. Video is nothing special - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NKeCL0QaATups89_Jl-MaJaMKWoI7jUN/view?usp=drivesdk
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Hippocrates on November 17, 2025, 10:13:56 am
I seriously advise using the information in my first link in my profile as the PCN is invalid since it is missing mandatory information.
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Incandescent on November 16, 2025, 11:46:33 pm
Quote from: Coldhands on November 16, 2025, 09:33:05 pm
Should I go with a very simple informal representation then, as follows?

'The height of the signs that I passed marking the start of the pedestrian zone are excessively high and the positioning irregular. It is highly unlikely that a motorist turning off the high road onto this street would be able to read them. This was the case for myself when I turned into the side street - I did not even notice the signs due to their excessive height. Thus, I would ask that you cancel this PCN and also conduct a full review into the height and positioning of these signs.'
Seems OK to me. Anything else we should be aware of ? Have you looked at their video ?
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on November 16, 2025, 09:33:05 pm
Should I go with a very simple informal representation then, as follows?

'The height of the signs that I passed marking the start of the pedestrian zone are excessively high and the positioning irregular. It is highly unlikely that a motorist turning off the high road onto this street would be able to read them. This was the case for myself when I turned into the side street - I did not even notice the signs due to their excessive height. Thus, I would ask that you cancel this PCN and also conduct a full review into the height and positioning of these signs.'
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Pastmybest on November 16, 2025, 07:22:21 pm
There is a fair chance of winning on the hight of the signage rendering it unreadable
Title: Re: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Incandescent on November 16, 2025, 07:14:38 pm
The height of these signs is really quite unbelievable. There has to be doubt whether a motorist can even read the text below the Flying Motorbike sign.  The text must be getting on for 3 metres above pavement level. This really needs to be presented to an adjudicator. For me these signs totally fail the adequacy test on height alone !
Title: Redbridge PCN - entered a pedestrian zone - Sydney Road
Post by: Coldhands on November 16, 2025, 06:28:18 pm
Same location as paulc156 and as previously appealed by shah123.

I turned left on this occasion into Sydney road. Completely missed the signage, realised later this was just because of the height and positioning.

PCN & images from council - https://imgchest.com/p/wl7lavg9oyx

Any advice appreciated. Thank you!