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When you get a ticket.....
Check to ensure it's been issued correctly in terms of
the hours and days of operation of the restriction. If it has, you
could still be able to appeal on a number of other grounds so don't
pay up until you've checked these points:
1. The
wording on the ticket
and way its been issued conforms with the law. Also check the act
quoted (at the top of the ticket and notice to owner) and ensure it
has been issued under the correct act. This site details the relevant
legislation for each type of offense.
2. Signs and roadmarkings are present and legal.
3. There is a valid
traffic order which matches
the restrictions on the street.
4. If
the ticket was issued by CCTV, ensure adequate camera warning signs
were present. A recent case in
Wirral publicised in the national
press means many of these tickets may be invalid.
BBC,
Daily Mail. See
below for an example appeal letter.
If you decide to appeal, follow these tips.....
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Send
all appeal letters by recorded delivery - otherwise some
unscrupulous councils will deny they ever received your appeal. Or
if you appeal by email ensure you get an acknowledgement.
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Make sure you
appeal within the timescale and send your initial appeal within the
discount period.
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Include photographic evidence and witness statements where
necessary as well as any other evidence such as delivery notes.
-
If you have genuine mitigating circumstances then these should be
included in your appeal letter. The council may decide to cancel
your ticket as a gesture of 'goodwill'. However this is uncommon so it is best to check
this website to see if the ticket has been issued in accordance with
the law.
The
Adjudicator
If your
appeal is rejected by the council you can appeal to the adjudicator;
PATAS in London or the
Traffic Penalty Tribunal in England outside
London.
The adjudicator is independent and you can either receive a postal
decision or attend a personal hearing. Costs can be awarded if the
adjudicator considers that either party acted ‘frivolously, vexatiously or wholly unreasonably'.
If
you decide to take the appeal all the way, then should you lose you will be liable
to pay the full charge and unable to pay the 50% reduced amount. Unfortunately
there is no way around this and it often deters people from appealing. However
councils are also aware of this and for this reason usually reject the first
appeal, often with a standard letter, even it is valid so bear this in mind. The majority of appeals which reach
the adjudicator are won by the motorist. Many of these are not even contested
by the council - evidence that the council was aware all along they were
in the wrong.
Examples of appeals
letters are shown below.
Case Law
Roadmarkings and Signs
Some councils may claim that just because
a sign doesn't comply fully with the law that doesn't mean its invalid
because it can still be understood. If this happens to you then quote
the following case which established that this argument is not valid.
(However note that this was before parking was decriminalised so some
adjudicators may reject it).
Davies v Heatley
[1971] R.T.R 145
"Because by s.64(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 traffic
signs shall be of the size, colour and type prescribed by regulation, if
a sign the contravention of which is an offence contrary to s.36 is not
as prescribed by the regulation, no offence is committed if the sign is
contravened, even if the sign is clearly recognisable to a reasonable
man as a sign of that kind"
The Wording on
the Ticket
Does it really
matter if the authority gets it slightly wrong? Yes it does. The
authority has a duty to comply with the law and they cannot play
fast and loose with it. Several cases have established this,
including
Wandsworth v Al's Bar and Restaurant.
The adjudicator said:
"The
motoring public deserves nothing less than that the public
authorities exercising penal powers understand the importance of
their complying with the conditions attached to their powers and are
scrupulous about having in place administrative processes that do
so"
Example Appeal
Letters The
following examples are real letters sent to councils where tickets were successfully
appealed.
1.
Incorrect parking bay markings
(London Borough of Waltham Forest):
Dear
Sir / Madam,
I wish to appeal this PCN on
the grounds that the contravention did not occur. The roadmarkings delineating
the bay do not conform with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions
(TSRGD) 2002. The double white line at the end of the bay is not a permitted
variant of diagram 1028.4. These should only be used where single bays are
marked out, as in diagram 1032. Below is a photo of the bay as evidence of this
point with my car. Hence I trust the PCN will be cancelled.
If you do wish to pursue the PCN then please
enclose with your response a copy of the relevant Traffic Order
and consider this a request under the freedom of information act.
Yours
faithfully, Mr
xxxx
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2.
Incorrect Notice to Owner
Dear
Sir / Madam,
1. I wish to
appeal the above PCN on the grounds that there has been a
procedural impropriety on the part of the enforcement authority
TheThe notice to owner does not conform with The Civil
Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations
and Appeals Regulations 2007. Under the “Making Representations”
section it fetters my right to appeal by instructing that I may
only tick one box. Regulation 4 of the 2007 regs states:
“that, in
relation to the alleged contravention on account of which the
notice to owner was served, one or more of the grounds specified
in paragraph (4) applies; or”
Hence I trust the PCN will be
cancelled.
Yours
faithfully,
Mr
xxxx |
3. Parking ticket
issued by CCTV (note the 2nd part can be used for any type of
ticket issued by CCTV)
Dear
Sir / Madam,
1. I wish to
appeal the above PCN issued by CCTV on the following grounds:
The1.
Section 48 of the
The Secretary of State's Statutory
Guidance to Local Authorities on the Civil Enforcement of
Parking Contraventions states "The Secretary of State
recommends that approved devices are used only where enforcement
is difficult or sensitive and CEO enforcement is not practical".
Section 87 of the Traffic Management Act states that local
authorities
must
give regard to this guidance. xx Road does not fall under
this description.
2. The
IOC CCTV code of conduct
states that
warning signs should be placed where CCTV is in use. No
such signs were in place in the location where this PCN was
issued therefore it is invalid. This has been confirmed at
Adjudicator by the case of
Rachel Johnson v Wirral, copy
of press article included. Quote form the code of conduct:
"You must
let people know that they are in an area where CCTV
surveillance is being carried out. The most
effective way of doing this is by using prominently
placed signs at the entrance to the CCTV zone and
reinforcing this with further signs inside the area.
....... Clear and prominent signs are particularly
important where the cameras themselves are very
discreet, or in locations where people might not
expect to be under surveillance. As a general rule,
signs should be more prominent and frequent where it
would otherwise be less obvious to people that they
are on CCTV
Signs
should:
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be
clearly visible and readable;
-
contain details of the organisation operating
the system, the purpose for using CCTV and who
to contact about the scheme (where these things
are not obvious to those being monitored); and
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be an
appropriate size depending on context, for
example, whether they are viewed by pedestrians
or car drivers."
Hence I trust the PCN will be
cancelled.
If you reject my appeal please send with your response a copy of
the relevant traffic order and proof that the camera in use is
an approved device. Please consider this a request under the
freedom of information act.
Yours
faithfully,
Mr
xxxx |
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