Dear Mr Mustard

I dropped off my daughter at the Theatre School on Saturday.

I parked on a single line at the back of the theatre on Victors Way, Barnet.

I took my daughter in and was back outside in less than two minutes to find a parking inspector taking a photograph of my car.

I said I'd only been a minute or so and he had only just taken the photo (at 9.35am). According to the letter I have received he observed the vehicle from 9.35am to 9.38am. which is factually incorrect.

The letter also says he was unable to serve the charge because I drove off. That is also incorrect, as he told me to go away which made me think he wasn't serving the charge.

Hence the reason for my surprise at receiving this charge.

How would you advise me to proceed? Are you able to help?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Mrs K

 

Dear Mrs K

Oh dear, you have been badly treated in two ways at once.

Many contraventions don't legally require an observation period but five minutes would cut out all the cases of boarding (collecting passengers) or alighting (dropping passengers off). It is the case that up to two minutes for this would not be controversial in front of a parking ticket adjudicator but the council hope that most people won't fight them that far. In the case of a child whom it is not safe to leave to find their own way into a building, extra time should be allowed, as would also be the case for an elderly or disabled person. What you did was fine. You were only on a single yellow line on which boarding and alighting is permitted, as it also is on double yellow lines.

The second way in which you have suffered is that you didn't flee the vicinity to avoid a parking fine. The traffic warden told you to leave (they have very few powers but moving your car is a sensible one). Parking tickets can be sent in the post if preparation has started but the council would need to show an adjudicator how far they had got in preparing a ticket, merely observing would not be enough. In your case the three minutes of observation works against the council as that is enough time to issue at least three penalty charge notices and you can therefore challenge the notice on the grounds that you did not drive away to prevent service, the traffic warden chose not to serve the car or you.

Based upon my advice you complained about the traffic warden's behaviour and challenged the fine on the grounds of assisted alighting. The ticket has now been cancelled but the council has not told you that. I checked the balance online on the council computer and it shows as zero.

A good result and the value of challenging when you have done nothing wrong has been proven.

All the best for 2015

Mr Mustard