Showing posts with label AI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AI. Show all posts

11 September 2026

The perils of AI

 

Mr Mustard prefers real intelligence to artificial. He recently had cause to complain to St Albans City & District Council as they sent a PCN which was in the representation stage to bailiffs (Civil Enforcement Officers) a blunder of the first water.

When he went online to try and find an email address to send his complaint to which is a problem with many councils not providing an email address for such a purpose he did find the above page. Mr Mustard found himself agreeing with much of what St Albans had to say. Most AI produced text is too verbose but it is quite good at sticking facts in order, a task that Mr Mustard can manage for himself. Many motorists come to him and send an AI generated challenge which 90% of the time is of no use to Mr Mustard and he has to waste a lot of time reading it just in case.

Complaining to St Albans was harder than it should have been. Mr Mustard likes to communicate by email which councils try to avoid. The profferred online system is useless as you are strait jacketed by most systems into answering questions instead of setting things out as you wish. In addition it isn't possible to attach a document so Mr Mustard couldn't attach his client authority so his complaint is likely to get rejected for that reason. Mr Mustard posted that in.

His advice if you need to write as a council doesn't give you an email address is to write an email to them as if they have, send the email to yourself and then print it out and post it, no need to make it look like a traditional letter.

Don't put up with wrong things, complain.

Mr Mustard will write about the bailiff problem once he has found out how widespread a problem it was. 

The end. 

12 May 2025

A sore thumb in Haringey

 

Mr Mustard seems to recall having fought and lost a tribunal case at this location for a lady collecting an ebay purchase but if you do drive through the middle, even at night as in that case, it isn't a natural route so a driver really should stop and think.

Remember Mr Mustard's mantra: Planter = Penalty.

Mr Mustard has been sent some stats for PCNs issued at this location.


Mr Mustard is told that there was a diversion in place which forced you through the restriction. Haringey Council should have known that and turned off the camera. Their software really should also flag a sudden increase in the numbers of alleged contraventions as there is usually a reason and it saves everyone a lot of work. This is the trouble with excessive automation.

This is what Haringey say about refunds. 


This isn't likely to be 100% true. In order to issue a PCN at this location the council asks DVLA for the name and address of the registered keeper, issues the PCN to that address and then receives payment, mostly by credit or debit card. There is only at most a 5% chance that that the motorist will have moved so at least nine out of ten of these people will not be easily traced.

Haringey Council need to try a bit harder. If you live in Haringey please tell your friends about this location

The end.