Wednesday 23 October 2013

PATAS w/c 14 October 13 - obvious flaw in PayByPhone


Well what a busy week for the adjudicators at PATAS, with 91 hearings. 2 PCN were the subject of recommendations to cancel, 44 were upheld and 45 PCN were cancelled. So it was more or less a 50/50 week. Almost 3% of all tickets taken to the final stage appeal is a very good record though; well done to motorists everywhere for standing up for your rights as the Transport Select Committee recommend you do. Barnet must be getting near the top of the table when it comes to the percentage of appeals. Keep them coming.
 
The council really need to think about formal representations a little harder and allow claims of obvious merit. In this week they have paid out £3,640 in adjudication fees and won PCN worth about £4,230 and they won't all be paid. I am told that about 3 evidence packs a day is normal for one person, and they are rather bulky, so that is 30 days work by NSL which probably costs in excess of £100 a day so in effect PATAS cases are a big loser for the council & NSL.
 
Notable cases include
 
- a case brought back to life from May 11, but the PCN has been torn up now
- a case where the mobile phone was linked to another person's car due to reuse of the phone number. An obvious flaw and another PCN disconnected
- there was no evidence by the traffic warden of valve positions to show a vehicle had not moved for a certain time and so that PCN moved into the bin
- a voucher scratched out using a pen rather than a coin was found to be fine as it had been rendered unusable so that PCN bit the dust
- someone received 2 Notices of Rejection which led to 1 PCN being cancelled
- another old PCN from June 2011 didn't stand scrutiny
- a case that was lost where someone went for change for the meter; not a good argument in a cashless borough
- a flat tyre was viewed as a breakdown beyond the control of the motorist and they had a photo of the wheel being changed at the tyre fitting bay
- a blue badge was mysteriously missing from the partial windscreen photo taken by the traffic warden, end of PCN
- another old PCN from July 2011 - these really are being raked out and if old PCN are appealed to PATAS on age grounds they are cancelled
- a case with no photos and the wrong tax disc number was never likely to be a winner for the council, it wasn't
- the fact that the Army Day celebration was not in any sort of Traffic Order suspending parking or at least not proven meant that motorist marched off smartly without paying a penalty
- another PCN from June 11 was cancelled
- the Saracens Event Day Traffic Management Order didn't stand up to scrutiny
- the council's own photos showed that the motorist had left before the PCN was issued
- and another PCN from June 2011 was cancelled
 
It doesn't matter if your PCN was from 2011 or from 2013, you have at least a 50% chance of winning your appeal, and usually higher in Barnet, so in the long run there is nothing to lose by fighting every parking ticket and keeping NSL and the council busy. They started it!
 
Yours appealingly
 
Miss Feezance

No comments:

Post a Comment