Free Traffic Legal Advice

Good evening,
I have received the below response from Haringey council. Sorry I couldn't find how to upload a pdf, and will try again if you require. They included a couple of photos that we have already seen. Please advise how I should proceed. Thank you very much for your help.


Dear *****

Penalty Charge Notice (parking ticket) number:ZN13555185
 Date of contravention: 29 August 2024
 Location: Wargrave Avenue, STH TOT (ST) CPZ
 Vehicle registration: MC51OFZ
 Thank you for writing to us.
 We have carefully considered what you say but we have decided not to cancel your Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
 There is a sign where you parked that explains that the bay you parked in is for people with a resident's permit.
 You were issued a PCN for parking without a valid resident's permit. The Civil Enforcement Officer
 (CEO) checked their handheld computer which showed no valid permit for your vehicle.
 I have noted your comments. While I appreciate your concerns, it is important to note that the presence of clear and visible signage in the area is required by law, but the photographs taken by the CEO are not required to include the vehicle and the sign at the same time. The purpose of the photographs is to document the vehicle's position and any relevant aspects of the contravention. Both CEO notes and photos indicate where the vehicle was parked. Having reviewed CEO photos of the sign it appears the sign was visible and not obstructed.
 Please be advised that it is the driver's responsibility to ensure that they read all signage and observe all road markings before parking to ensure they are in the intended location and that they adhere to the restrictions.
You can view photographic evidence of your case by using the Council’s Parking Ticket viewer
 which you will find online at https://www.haringey.gov.uk/parking
 You have these choices:
 • You can pay the discount charge of £65.00 if your payment reaches us within 14 days of the date of service of this letter.
 • You can pay £130.00 within 28 days of the date your PCN was issued.
 • You can formally challenge your PCN by using a Notice to Owner form. The vehicle's owner
 will automatically receive the form if the PCN has not been paid within 28 days of being issued.
 The form offers you the chance to formally challenge your PCN or pay the full £130.00. If you decide to formally challenge your PCN, please do not write to us again but wait until the Notice to Owner form arrives.
 How to pay:
 • By internet: Go to http://www.haringey.gov.uk/payments and follow the online instructions.
 • By telephone: At any time (Credit/Debit Cards only) on 0300 456 0520- Please have your
 credit/debit card and Penalty Charge Number to hand when you make the call.
 • In person: Take your PCN and payment to Haringey Vehicle Pound, Unit 1, 1 Waltham Park
 Way, London, E17 5DU between Monday to Saturday 7am to 10pm and Sunday 8am to 8pm.
 Please ensure you obtain a receipt.
 Yours sincerely
 Ms I Sosiuk
 Parking Process Case Office

Dear Sir/Madam
Re: PCN ZN13555185
I have received a PCN for parking in a residents permit bay without a valid permit. I would like to make a representation challenging the PCN on the grounds that the signage was obscured from view due to the council not placing correct signage and ensuring they are visible to drivers parking. This includes a post with no signage, an exceptionally overgrown tree that blocked the view of one sign, and a considerable distance - out of line of view - to the only other sign on the bay.
Please see the attached photo evidence in which it can be seen that in both directions of the parked car, there is no visible signage.
As it was impossible to see the signage due to lack of upkeep by the council, it is my opinion that the PCN was unfairly applied, and should be cancelled. I do not live in London, and therefore cannot be reasonably expected to infer parking restrictions from other areas in the borough.
Kind regards

Quote from: cp8759 on September 01, 2024, 07:17:28 pm

@Hippocrates just make up a bogus address, as long as you don't hit the "submit" button you can go through all the screens.

Haringey doesn't actually give you any grounds at all.

That's what I thought. Thanks.

Will be reading this all very carefully and updating you. Thanks so much.

I have posted the screenshots from the website. I hope they are what you have asked for.

I have noticed the PCN says that the car was observed from 11:20 to 11:26, but the first of the 18 attached photos is timed at 11:25am.

Thank you for your replies. I have double checked, and you are correct. There is one sign at the beginning, and one at the end, of the long bay. From the perspective of where I was parked, there was no visible sign looking forward or backward. There is a sign on entry to the road of the South Tottenham controlled parking. I had no idea that this was a controlled zone. I used to come here years ago, before it became a controlled zone. It seems it has been controlled for 3yrs. In  Manchester we don't have these things. In Manchester it is also very common to have road markings showing restricted bays, without there being any restrictions. I suppose it was dark and late, and after a long drive. Suppose it goes to court, would I have to come down to London, or could I ask for it to be in Manchester, and would the council send someone?
It is family, but they forgot to tell us.
Thanks for all your help.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/behXzyqnfSvJWgCq5
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WJNym4p97823TYUi8

Arrived 10pm at night for stop over for weekend. We were travelling from Holiday in France and had been travelling since 9.30am. I have not been at that address for at least a year. I live in Manchester.
I parked outside no 64. There is a 2ft yellow single line a few house back, then white dashed lines marking the restricted parking area. There are loads of signs before the house I parked at. Possibly at every parking space, as one is residents, next is disabled, next is residents. I parked after the signs, but there is a very bushy unkempt tree obscuring the signs behind. Across the road is a pole with no sign. In front of where I parked there are about 7 car spaces, with lots of trees, and only one post, which does not have any sign on it about parking, but does have a blue arrow on it.

My claim is that the sign is very small, it was dark when I parked, and was obscured by the tree which the council have not pruned. The tree branches blocked my tree from closing, and got caught in my boot as they are so bushy. We had come from France, and most of the family slept right in. Passed the 11:26am. The signs are tiny, fitting just two words on each line. There should have been a sign in front of the car and on the other side of the road. Both are missing.
(The car is registered as silver, not grey. There tear off line is not in the right place, therefore missing text from back of notice.) There are pictures at night which is when I parked, and photos from later after the PCN issued.

Thanking you in advance.