PATAS - w/c 28 July 14 - boring

There were 1,056 new Appeals registered at PATAS from across London. 

46 of them came from Barnet which is 4% and the "right" amount.

Only two were of any great interest.

The signs in Lodge Rd were held to be incompatible. I can't work out what they are incompatible with but any PCN there will be worth contesting.

A resident had dispensation and permit problems which are still ongoing now.

Those 2 cancelled PCN were 2 of the 33 cancelled out of the 46 hearings (coincidentally the same number of decisions as new Appeals although decisions are usually 4 weeks behind Appeals).

Thus, 72% of Appeals were won.

Make sure you Appeal all the way to PATAS if you get a PCN in Barnet.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

PATAS - w/c 21 July 14 - Yew Grove

Yew Grove (Leeds Castle)

In this week at PATAS there were 1,155 new Appeals registered. Of those, 55 came form Barnet which is 5% and 11 more than should be the norm.

There were 5 notable cases all of which led to the PCN being cancelled:

- a grace period was over-ridden and even then the PCN had to be sent in the post as the traffic warden could not produce it in time to stick it on the windscreen.

- a yellow line across a dropped kerb inside a CPZ was held to be confusing as it implied that you could park across the dropped kerb outside the CPZ hours and you can't (unless it is your personal access point to one residence).

- the lines in Yew Grove were held to be not clear enough.

- A motorist from Hastings had their scooter registration mark cloned. Why on earth that reached PATAS without the council comparing photographs of the cloned and real scooter is hard to say.

- a PCN was started on 6 seconds after seeing a car which had passengers alighting. Up to 2 minutes would be allowed for able bodied passengers by the adjudicator.

Of the appeals heard there were 55 (coincidentally) for Barnet and 36, that is 65%, were won. It is well worth appealing to PATAS.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

PATAS - w/c 14 July 14 - a maximum break

the maximum break in snooker is 147

There were 1,150 new Appeals lodged at PATAS in this particular week of which 55, that is 5%, emanated from Barnet which is 9 or 10 more than their ought to be given that the council issue 4% of all the PCN in London.

There were three cases of note.

- A traffic warden who claimed that a motorist drove away and then came back to collect his PCN was not credible. the PCN was cancelled.

- A carer who got a PCN whilst in the house collecting the free carer's permit (a person needing care may have more than one carer so the permit is left indoors) was allowed the requisite time and thus the PCN was cancelled. this is the trouble with not having a 5 minute observation period for many contraventions, traffic wardens work on the hit and run basis.

- An adjudicator decided to look at the record of a particular motorist and it turned out that they had got 147 Appeals registered on the PATAS computer (since September 2000) of which 57 had been refused. I think most of those appeals were in the last year or two. Partly for that reason his claim for costs failed. Now it seems that this motorist is very bad at parking but pretty good at making appeals and must be spending a lot of time doing so. You can't say that he is wrong to challenge as he has won 61% of his cases and thus he is better off than paying them all at the 50% rate. He spends his time but gets time to pay.

I suspect that he must be out in the car a lot and takes a chance when he nips in to shops or to see friends. Only he knows what the problem is. It might be that the motorist is anti authority, we don't know but someone ought to find out.

He is clearly costing the borough a small fortune in Appeals costs (about £6,000) and in the time to deal with his appeals.

The council parking manager should study his cases over the last 2 years, find out what the common themes are and then invite the motorist in for a chat or pop round their house for one, over a nice cup of tea. there are mutual benefits to be gained.

Do try and park properly all of you and avoid even one PCN.

There were Barnet 61 PCN that were decided upon in this week of which 41 led to PCN being cancelled, that is 67% or a 2 in 3 chance of winning. You can see it is worth the bother to appeal to the end.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

PATAS - w/c 7 July 14 - when not in Rome

parking like this is fine in Italy, just not in England

In this week at PATAS there were 1,166 new Appeals registered (the same as the previous week, which is some coincidence) of which 65 (that is 6%) were Barnet ones as against 55 the previous week and what should, other things being equal, only be 4%.

A PCN was upheld for parking a scooter on the pavement. To the many visitors form the continent it must be a terrible shock to be given a PCN for something which is quite normal at home. In barnet you can park your 2 wheeler for free in Residents and PayByPhone bays and in car parks and you are meant to park in a car space rather than hide in a quiet corner.

A PCN was cancelled as the council insisted on writing to the wrong address despite being asked in bold print to write to a different one.

In Egerton Gardens, bang opposite Hendon Town hall, there is a PayByPhone bay which operates Monday to Saturday inclusive. Someone parked in it on a Saturday having noticed they had driven into a Monday to Friday CPZ. This is illogical but possible and legal. Don't pay to park on a Saturday if the residents bays do not apply that day, park in the residents bays for free. Their PCN was upheld which was correct.

Someone who didn't get a permit reminder had their PCN cancelled. This is not a guaranteed outcome but should be. There are going to be lots more cases like this since Capita took over permit renewals in May 14 and it appears to be in a complete state.

Keep those appeals coming. 44 out of 68 were won. That is 65%

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

PATAS - w/c 30 june - ex gratia

Four dozen (48) roses

There were 1,166 new Appeals registered at PATAS in this week.

56 of them came from Barnet so that is 5% which is more than one should expect and is a sign that the motorist simply isn't going to roll over and pay when faced with a doubtful PCN.

There were 48 appeals heard and 32 of them went the way of the motorist which is a 67% success rate.

Only 3 appeals of note:

- in Brampton Grove the signs were not clear so the PCN was cancelled.

- a suspension sign was set at an uncommonly low level so that PCN was cancelled.

- A Notice of Rejection was sent out in an unstamped envelope, imagine having to pay the Royal Mail an extra £1 to find out that your PCN was not cancelled. This person didn't want the public purse to bear any further burden for expenses even though the adjudicator though the council's behaviour was borderline unreasonable. The adjudicator suggested the council should make an ex-gratia payment.

Keep those appeals coming.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

Patas - w/c 23 June 14 - bus lanes

Another quiet week at PATAS with 1,206 new cases filed of which 50, that is 4%, were the expected amount for Barnet.

65 Barnet appeals were heard and 50 finished up with cancelled PCN so you can see how worthwhile it can be to appeal.

Only 4 things of note:

- someone was loading (possibly a decorator) and a ladder was in a photo taken by the traffic warden which rather confirmed it

- 3 PCN in the Saracens Event Day Zone were cancelled

- a baby being collected was subject to the boarding exemption as they can't walk themselves from the house to the car

- two bus lanes that were 250m apart were treated as one by the adjudicator who did not agree with the council's argument that they had discrete 9i.e. separate) legal status. The adjudicator will only allow one PCN to stand if you go through 2 stretches of bus lane, which is very fair of them.

Have you got a PATAS form? Then fill it in. 

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance

PATAS - w/c 16 June 14 - Which flat?

a random block of flats in Finchley

In this week at PATAS there were 1,191 new Appeals lodged of which 61 or 5% came from Barnet so numbers are up slightly again. Of the 60 Barnet cases that were heard 37 were won which is 62% so keep them coming.

Five cases worth a mention:

- Gervase Road again so be careful where you park there. The PCN was upheld so has to be paid.

- The council in the case summary said that the traffic warden did not refer to the Blue Badge. The adjudicator, always a lawyer and very sharp, said that did not mean that the traffic warden had looked for one. PCN cancelled.

- A motorist denied swearing or spitting at the traffic warden and their PCN was cancelled. Please do not behave in this way to traffic wardens who get the miserable pay rate of £8.20 an hour and are probably put upon by management.

- A motorist was in the process of complying with the payment instructions (whether by voucher, paypoint, meter or PayByPhone is not relevant) and must be given adequate time to comply. PCN cancelled.

- Paperwork sent without a flat number to an address in a block of 40 flats is clearly not good service. What numptie at NSL thought that they should bother PATAS and waste £40 in fees on this case?

Keep those appeals coming. You are all (well lots of you) doing very well and learning stuff.

Yours appealingly

Miss Feezance