Free Traffic Legal Advice

On what you have shown so far, your best point is not really that the council were slow and awkward, although they plainly were, but whether the actual Notice of Rejection is legally defective, because if it misstated your appeal rights, the late-appeal position, or the council's power to increase the penalty, that is procedural impropriety and is a proper appeal point rather than just a fairness complaint.

If the documents do not prove that sort of defect, your next best course is to put in a short, tidy chronology with the key permit emails and explain that you were trying to renew, the same vehicle appears to have been treated inconsistently across permit years, and you bought the higher permit once the matter became impossible, but you should be realistic that this is more a discretion argument than a knockout legal defence.

So the practical answer is simple: get the actual documents in order, rely on any defect in the Notice of Rejection if it is there, attend the Teams hearing, and keep your explanation calm and factual, because adjudicators decide cases on evidence not indignation, however richly the council may have earned it.

Thanks for this reply - very good advice. My only question is how would I know whether I can get them on a technicality based on the rejection letters? So much time has passed, I don't think I still have those but they are almost always standard with all those points on there (from memory) so I would find it difficult to argue that myself.

I will attempt to show the email replies u got from the council both dismissing my claims for a correctly priced permit ad well as how slow they were - is this something I do on the day?

I understand it won't be based ona technicality and more discretion and that's the angle I always wanted to go with, based on principle that I wasn't trying to avoid getting a permit, I was in fact trying hard to get one, the correct one, but whilst trying to do so got fined twice.

I just got an email to say the hearing is now delayed until September! Is that not ridiculous?

Thank you for your help.

It looks like my tribunal hearing will go ahead end of April as I've not heard anything to the contrary. Does anyone have any advice on how to go about it?any thanks!

I have launched the tribunal appeal and received a hearing date in April next year. Does the council contest these generally or do they give up at this point sometimes?

I don't seem to be able to upload but letter is standard rejection and here is the text:

Penalty Charge Notice (parking ticket) number:HR77160681
Date of contravention: 03 Jun 2025
Location: WEST STREET
Vehicle registration: RF63ZNE
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 space you parked in is for people
with a permit.
You were issued a PCN for parking without a permit that was both valid and clearly
displayed. Even if you have a permit, you have to display it so that a Civil Enforcement
Officer (CEO) can see all its details.
I note your representations stating that you were in the process of trying to arrange
the correct permit for this vehicle, and that the Council's permits department were slow
to respond, but that did not authorise you to park in a permit holder's space until this
was resolved.
If you did not have a valid permit to display as required at the time this PCN was
incurred, you should have parked at an alternative location, as you were not exempt from
this restriction.
You have 28 days from the date of this letter being served to:
• pay £140.00; or
• appeal to the Parking Adjudicator using the enclosed form. The Adjudicator can ask one
side to pay costs if he or she believes, for example, that they have been wholly unreasonable. However, the Adjudicator rarely asks either side to pay costs. The
Adjudicator is independent and both sides must accept the Adjudicator's decision.
If you do nothing
If, after 28 days, you have taken no action, we may send you a Charge Certificate increasing
the charge from £140.00 to £210.00. You will then have 14 days to pay the increased
charge. If, after the 14 days, you have not paid the increased charge, we may apply to the
County Court to recover the money - plus court costs - from you.
How to pay:
• online at www.harrow.gov.uk/pcn and click 'Pay'.
• by phone on (020) 8424 1220
Yours sincerely
Parking Representations Officer

Obviously I know the difference in pounds is 70 pounds I was just asking if there was any difference in terms of the appeal process all the people who are going to be reading the appeal, and why would they treat it any differently to the first appeal?

Could someone please advise if the representation has to be made by post only? Can it be done online? Also what is the deadline if the notice letter says 18/08 (date of nto)? on it?

Many thanks!

I have already posted those...

Does anyone have any advice on how I should proceed?

I'm not sure one can haggle on payments with the council?

The second one says "on hold", not sure what that means.