Knowledge is Power and persistence pays off

Mr Mustard helps a loft conversion company if the boss or any of the staff get PCNs. Their contracts with customers require that they provide as many visitor vouchers as are required but still things go wrong sometimes.

This PCN was picked up in Merton:

During the to and fro emails with the office it turned out that the driver had spoken to the CEO (Civil Enforcement Officer = traffic warden) to tell him of the works which were taking place in the street and that he was waiting for his client to sort out a visitor voucher. On arrival the client was on the phone and once he was off it he had run out of printed vouchers in any event (virtual ones may be available in Merton but how tech savvy is the client and does he have to go off to work?).

 

Mr Mustard looked at the photographs and found the driver in one of them. It is timed at 08:51 so two whole minutes before the PCN was issued.

Mr Mustard enquired as to what was said. Apparently the CEO said that the information was in the machine and although the PCN had not yet been printed there was nothing he could do other than complete the PCN. Mr Mustard was not amused. He decided to get the notes made by the CEO by making a Subject Access Request (you too can do this for your own data). He did that on the same day (5 August) as he made the informal challenge. Mr Mustard wasn't worried about the discount for early payment as he intended that nothing would be paid.

During the evening of 15 August Mr Mustard checked the PCN on line, the balance was zero. Clearly when a motorist makes a Subject Access Request the parking department knows that a critical eye is going to be cast over their handiwork so if it is defective it is best to cancel as early as possible. It turned out that they had cancelled the PCN that very morning. He was sent copies of the PCN system after reminding Merton that a response was overdue.

The notes are very interesting. The CEO certifies that he has attached the PCN to the vehicle at 08:52 a PCN which wasn't issued until 08:53 !

 

The payment system was only checked up to 08:46 so any payments made on arrival wouldn't show up, that is a huge flaw in Merton's systems.

 

The CEO comment that no driver was seen would go against Merton at the tribunal as the driver, wearing a liveried shirt, is shown in one of their photographs. If the CEO got that simple fact wrong how much of their evidence could be relied upon?

As to the notes of the conversation, which are mandatory, they didn't exist.

Lots of people assume that local authorities must be right, the truth is far removed from that, incompetence abounds.

 

The loft company were as honourable as they always are, another £50 was paid to North London Hospice.

End.