Happy & sad.

Even with Mr Mustard on their side some people still find the pressure of an unresolved PCN too much to bear, and they may well have other more important matters in their life.

A recent case started with this email:

Hi Mr Mustard

I hope you can help me!

I received a parking ticket at 19.50 on a Sunday night as I had parked in an acceptable bay but my back wheel was parked on a double yellow line. I am 8 months pregnant and I parked there as I was desperate for the toilet so I ran into a restaurant!

When I came out I had a ticket which said my car was observed from 19.50 to 19.50

I explained in my challenge that I am pregnant, I needed to find a toilet and I am finding it hard to walk (SPD) and that had the warden waited five minutes I would have been back at my car. (Find out about SPD here)

Barnet council have ignored every aspect of my argument except they want medical notes regarding the SPD! I haven't been to my doctor has it is a common pregnancy symptom which a lot of women suffer from and there is nothing doctors can do!

Mr Mustard expected that a PATAS adjudicator would see this as a medically related emergency but that is always a hard question to decide the answer to in advance.

Mr Mustard put the lady's chances at 60/40 in her favour. He checked up on the PCN a bit later and found it was at zero value so enquired as to what had happened:

Hi Mr Mustard

Unfortunately I paid it, I've just had my baby and I am exhausted and couldn't face going to a hearing. I replied to the council's letter regarding my medical evidence explaining that the hospital now have that information but they still said I had to pay. I guess that is what they hope will happen!

Thank you so much for your help though!

Now, the good news. Mr Mustard enquired about the baby.

"He is lovely"

So the motorist was out of pocket and the council won an arguable case by being unsympathetic (in the opinion of Mr Mustard) and thus gathered in some of the expected annual income form this source but joy was brought into the world well away from the council. Have they "put the community first" though? Most definitely not.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard