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So we here we go another week, one in which my good friend Mr Mustard had to listen to a council officer say that the teething troubles in the parking contract were over. They don't seem to be!
In the week commencing Monday 29 October PATAS upheld 9 parking tickets and cancelled 26 so it was good week for the motorist. Of the 35 hearings, 15 of them were cancelled by Order of the Adjudicator which usually means that the evidence pack did not arrive from Barnet Council / NSL. They just throw in the towel if you test them hard.
How hard can it be to print out a few scanned documents, emails and traffic management orders and put them in an envelope to PATAS and the motorist?
The first case of interest this week was like last week another crossover, this time in Sebright Rd which is very narrow and short of space. It is outside a CPZ. In other boroughs dropped kerbs to residential properties are only enforced if there is a request by the resident i.e. a car they don't know is across their drive and they can't get in or out. In Barnet they take the opposite route and ticket every car even though it might belong to the owner and then put them through the administrative nightmare of appealing. The only reason I can think of is because it is more profitable that way. In this case the Adjudicator found that due to the layout the resident had given permission.
One resident appealed two tickets, the first on the grounds that he was never there and didn't get the ticket and the second on the grounds he was dropping off the kids but no credible evidence was produced. if you want your ticket to be overturned you have to put in a credible case with supporting paperwork and photos. A little effort could well be rewarded. Be consistent and tell the truth.
The Adjudicator was content to cancel a parking ticket in circumstances where he was satisfied that Verrus had incorrectly recorded the registration number. I mean, who knows your registration better, you, or someone in a call centre. Best to use the NATO phonetic alphabet, Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta etc.
Everything happened on a case in Kitchener Rd, East Finchley. The yellow line was not properly finished at the end, the termination mark was missing. The line was also very worn (so the ticket should not have been issued in the first place). The parking ticket went missing from the car (always assuming the traffic warden didn't photograph the ticket and then remove it afterwards as has been reported to have happened in the past). We don't know if the Adjudicator would have cancelled the parking ticket on the grounds of non-compliant lines, although he should have but the question was not considered as the Rejection Notice said that the parking ticket was for parking on a double yellow line when it was a single! That is a procedural impropriety and so the ticket has to be cancelled.
A motorist paid £3 by phone in the Lodge Lane car park and then another £5. He provided proof of payment. The council were invited to comment but there was no response so the parking ticket was cancelled on the assumption that was what the council wanted..
A motorist said he had not been handed the ticket. As the notes of the Civil Enforcement Officer (traffic warden) were minimal the ticket was cancelled as not served.
In one case the council / NSL requested a 2 week adjournment but still failed to produce the evidence and submitted a Do Not Contest notice on the day before the hearing. it is a good job that PATAS are better organised than NSL who can't deal with things with 14 days notice, never mind just one.
One motorist was given a parking ticket for not having completed the vehicle registration on a visitor voucher. As the motorist pointed out the latest visitor vouchers do not require a registration number so this seems to be rather a mean spirited ticket. The council / NSL were silent in response to enquires and so the parking ticket was cancelled.
I think you are getting the idea about what you have to do with a parking ticket. You have to take 3 actions.
1. an informal request to cancel the ticket.
2. a formal appeal.
3. send your case to PATAS as it is free and you still get to pay the ticket at the £60, £110 or £130 rate if the case goes against you.
You don't actually have to attend PATAS who are happy to decide appeals based upon the paperwork although if you have the time I am sure it would make for a fascinating day out. The appeals are held in an informal setting.
Keep those appeals coming.
Yours appealingly
Miss Feezance
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