London Tribunals - December 2019

In December 2019, 137 decisions were made at London Tribunals about Barnet Council PCNs.

The motorist won 47 times.
That is a lowly 34% win rate.

Out of the ordinary decisions follow:

Failing to see no left turn signs on multiple occasions (2190446838)

Missing signs once or twice, or maybel even three times, is possible. In this case they were missed 26 times and so you have to wonder if the driver was actually looking out of the windscreen at all.

 

Delay in sending out visitor vouchers (2190484655)

 

 

Could have exited the yellow box junction (2190489910)

 

Minor incursion into the bus lane (2190443228)

 

PCN not served (2190496086)

 

This looks like it was a case of the traffic warden saying he served the PCN whereas he should have sent it in the post afterwards.

 

Mitigation must be considered (2190491468)

 

Singling out one vehicle (2190463746)

 

Yours appealingly

 

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - November 2019

There were 199 Barnet Councils PCNs decided upon in this month.
Of those 55 went the way of the motorist.
That is 46% which is fairly normal.

Decisions worth noting:

Spanish blue badge (2190422636)

An EU leaflet makes me think the above decision was wrong.

Tree surgeon on school keep clear markings (2190432458)

School keep clear markings still apply in the holidays (2190443385)

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - October 2019

Another fairly quiet month in respect of Barnet Council PCNs at the tribunal. There were 142 decisions, the motorist won just 48 of them which is a mere 34%

Decisions with unusual features follow:

Barnet Council being a bit slippery here, if a bus lane is closed it surely isn't a bus lane so you can't commit a contravention by being in it?

The adjudicator's hands are tied, the wrong registration number has been paid for but pursuing such a PCN is miserable behaviour.

This is more like a village green but one really shouldn't park there even if there isn't a valid PCN for it.

Keep those appeals coming.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

London Tribunals - September 2019

There were decisions on 119 Barnet Council PCNs in September 2019.
Only 44 of those, 37%, went the way of the motorist.
There seems to be considerable apathy, resignation or lack of knowledge amongst motorists who aren't availing themselves of their democratic right to go to Appeal at the tribunal.

Decisions which were not run of the mill follow:

The PCN was for 'not paying' so didn't happen (219035953A)

 The Bank Holiday single yellow line in a CPZ trap (2190328015)

No right into Rodborough Rd not clearly signed (2190359245)

Yours appealingly

 

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - August 2019

Another quiet month at the tribunal when it came to Barnet Council PCNs.
There were a mere 115 Appeals.
Of those the motorist won a paltry 33.
That is only 29%
The council get a lot wrong, so there is hope, as the following decisions show.

Footway in Old Rectory Gardens (2190183921)

A bit awkward when you live opposite a school entrance (2190207768)

It would be sensible if this motorist reversed into their drive in future as more likely to be outside of the restricted times.

Sticking a wheel in a bus lane (2190299992)

Crash cam pays for itself (2190282300)

Traffic warden caught red handed pouncing on a motorist, oops.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - July 2019

Another quiet month, only 109 Appeals to the tribunal, we somehow need to encourage motorists to make more Appeals. 53 of them won, which is a typical 49%.

Out of the ordinary decisions as follows:

Misprinted PCN (2190145398)

'Disabled' road marking hidden under car when parked. (2190230012)

Don't be a clever dick and park there all the time is the hidden warning in this decision as next time you may lose.

Building site not a school, in Great Strand (2190232980)

A jerk on the chain for Barnet Council in this case which should never have reached the tribunal. 

Redundant dropped kerb (2190248095)
The council's justification for trying to get £110 from this motorist was pretty feeble.

Consistency is key (2190256719)

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - June 2019

In June 2019 there were 115 decisions on Barnet Council PCNs at the tribunal. The motorist won 63 of them a slightly above average 55%

There were some decisions which were not run-of-the-mill.

Pay & display meter alternatives? (2190157637)

Don't ignore a restriction you know about (2190192310)

Short observation time does not preclude loading (2190210332)

Ambulances must not turn where they shouldn't (2190217819)

The no left at Tilling Road, near Brent Cross, is very well signed. Ignoring the signs, not seeing them or following the satnav is an expensive error.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - May 19

In the month of May there were 117 Appeals to the tribunal in respect of Barnet Council PCNs. Of those the motorist won 59. There weren't any out of the ordinary decisions so let me remind you of the ways in which people end up at the tribunal and almost inevitably lose, so you don't become a victim.

 

Turn your sat nav off and look out the windscreen for new signs, especially part time no left and no right off the Finchley Road at Childs Hill (south of Godlers Green).

 

Do not enter a yellow box junction except when it is completely empty and there is a receiving space for your vehicle on the other side. That way you cannot get caught out and sent a camera originated PCN for £130. Ignore the hooting from behind.

 

Do not stop on the yellow zig zag markings outside schools even when the school is closed except outside of the times shown on the board.

 

Treat a bank holiday as being the day it actually is. In Barnet it is only pay bays that have a bank holiday exemption.

 

Unless you are in a bus do not stop in a bus stop, not even for a few seconds.

 

Watch out for blue badge bays which are for one specific blue badge and permit holder, usually to be found outside a residence.

 

Do not put a wheel on the footpath except where there is a marked bay.

 

Do not park in Wellside Close during the prohibited hours. This little cul-de-sac is inviting to park in as it is just below Barnet Hospital A&E and it is a 'part this point' restriction so has signs on entry and unlined areas.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - April 2019

Another quiet month. Motorists won 54 a very average 50% of the 107 hearings. Decisions of note as follows:

 

Stopped by security on school entrance markings (2190101235)

The £130 question (a bit like the million dollar question but cheaper) is why Barnet Council fought this appeal when the reason for the stop was clear. Did they expect the motorist to run over the security guard in order to save £130?

 

School entrance markings outside term time (2190106523)

 

There is no good reason for Barnet Council to enforce outside closed schools except to raise revenue, there is no traffic management purpose.

 

Posting a document is not the same as serving it (2190111975)

 

Barnet Council frequently parrot this line that missing documents are not their responsibility but once they have been told that a particular document has not been served they should not issue any subsequent document which relies on the earlier one having been delivered but they will ignore that inconvenience.

 

Notice of Rejection contains irrelevant information (2190072476)

 

Barnet Council do this all the time for Yellow Box Junctions challenges. You write one line and they send you back three pages, designed to put you off fighting any further.

 

Don't let it, keep making those Appeals.

 

Yours appealingly

 

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - March 2019

It is a wonder how the number of Appeals each month to the tribunal goes up and down so much. Only 92 Appeals in this month. In March 2018 there were 245.

 

Of the 92, motorists won 48 of them which is a pretty normal 52%

 

Most of the decisions were not of general import, only one, which is a set of circumstances which happens quite often.

 

Exceeding the blue badge 3 hours on a yellow line (2190087600)

 

The PCN was issued for code 05 'Parked for longer than permitted' which is a common traffic warden error probably made in the excitement of snagging another victim.

 

Yours appealingly

 

Miss Feezance.

London Tribunals - February 2019

February is a short month and as not many Appeals are registered at the end of the year it is usually March before numbers start to return to normal. There were 107 decisions in February of which 58, that is 54%, went the way of the motorist. A fairly typical outcome.

Out of the ordinary decisions follow:

A school coach on the school zig zags (2190010832)

A sensible decision. The council should write an exemption for school buses into the Traffic Order.

 

A thin basis on which to reject cloning (2190033995)

 

The lack of photographs made it impossible for the council to compare the real car to the cloned one but they were only interested in the revenue not in justice.

 

Hospitalised, that will be £110 for the council (2190031195)

 

Councils are institutionally heartless.

 

Yours appealingly

 

Miss Feezance

 

London Tribunals - January 2019

In the month of January 2019 there were 146 Appeals which were decided on Barnet Council issued PCNs at the tribunal. Motorists won 44% of the time, which is a little below the expected average of 50%

Interesting decisions include these:

St Albans Road into High Street is a right turn (21804669845)

Other adjudicators do not agree with this being a right turn.

Did not follow the vehicle in front as alleged (2180478521)

The council often write this and that you entered at 'significant speed' which is quite hard in a yellow box that you cannot exit.

Dog leg turn into Pattison Rd makes signs hard to spot (2180502637)

A central island has a kerb = the edge of the carriageway (2190000996)

It is always a risk to park in the middle of the road unless there is a marked out bay.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

London Tribunals - December 2018

December is a month when councils don't bother to fight a lot of Appeals as they want clear desks for the holidays. That is how motorists were able to win 66 out of 94 Appeals.

 

The part time no right and no left turns from Finchley Road into Pattison Road and Briardale Gardens were still snaring many unwary drivers as was the no left at Tilling Road which has been a no left since the 1960s.

 

Nothing else to tell you about this month so I'll get on with January.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - November 2018

Just when I thought I had seen the worst ever results for the motorist I read all of November 18's decisions, there were 183 of them relating to Barnet Council. The motorist only won 34 times which is a mere 19% The same part time banned turns off the Finchley Road at Childs Hill were still catching loads of drivers out. Decisions worth telling you about follow:

18 seconds before school zig zags expire (2180406349)

This decision is the exact opposite of the one taken in case 218015398A taken in May 18 where there was 42 seconds to go and that adjudicator said there had to be some common sense. Clearly, Barnet Council don't have any.

Firewall and technical problems with PayByPhone (2180338646)

Councils must provide systems that are fit for purpose when they do not offer parking meters as an alternative (well, not in many places).

Council admit their system had problems but still want your money (2180380664)

The council's attitude in this case was unfair and disgusting.

CPZ and Bank Holidays (2180418337)

An abuse of process: harsh words. To run this argument yourself you need to be able to say you consulted the council website before you parked.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

London Tribunals - October 2018

A busy month with 289 decisions on Barnet's PCNs and the worst outcome for motorists that I have seen (possibly) with only 101 PCNs cancelled, a parlous 35% - most of the losses being the time limited no left and no right turns into Pattison Road and Briardale Gardens which was only enforced from May 18 and the public hadn't yet got used to the change. Notable decision extracts follow:

 

Zero and letter O being muddled costs money (2180361047)

 

 

Councils mess up more often than you might expect (2180361047)

 

 

Yours appealingly

 

Miss Feezance

 

London Tribunals - September 2018

In September 2018 there were 248 PCNs decided upon at the tribunal and of these the motorist won 110 which is a low 44%. The reason was mostly to do with the new part time banned turns from the Finchley Road into Pattison Road or Briardale Gardens.

Not many decisions of note but here they are:

Disabled bay for one specific blue badge holder (2180242569)

School coach on school zig zags (2180288468)

Don't only pay once you have left the car park (218030281A)

What time is it? (2180335488)

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance