Are you illiterate? Barnet Council will employ you.

You are? well you can get yourself a job writing case summaries to send to the parking tribunal on behalf of Barnet Council as you will fit right in. All of the above errors came form one 3 page case summary.

The errors won't lead to the PVN (sic) being cancelled but there are some other procedural blunders in the case summary which will.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

This is what happens when you contract out services (although it is never clear in parking if an NSL or a direct employee has written a particular item) as the contractor saves money by employing cheaper people than the council did hitherto. Cheaper isn't usually better.

Name redacted to protect the illiterate

a real email from PayByPhone

Mr Mustard is helping a lady whose attempt to obtain 60 minutes of parking led to her getting 6 minutes (rounded up to the minimum of 15) and thus a £60 parking ticket.

It is impossible to tell if the mistake was made by the lady motorist or somewhere in the PayByPhone system or mobile telephone network itself so attributing the blame to the lady motorist by the use of the word "must" is flawed logic and typical of the parking arena, guilty until proven innocent.

Now imagine if Barnet Council had to give us £60 for every grammatical error they, or their agents, made. That will be four times £60 please = £240 and OK if you pay up within 14 days we will settle for £120.

Makes you think doesn't it?

As it happens the parking process manager is already looking at this PCN for me because it was given out in 2 minutes and the minimum observation for code 05 (Parked after the expiry of paid for time) is 5 minutes so I may not have to exhibit this hideous email at PATAS but I will if necessary. Going to PATAS costs the council almost £40 in fees so they need to think carefully on a £60 PCN.

Motorists for whom PayByPhone has gone wrong usually get the blame but as we can see above the council side of things isn't fault free.

If PayByPhone are as slapdash at programming as they are at spelling it's a miracle that anyone gets the correct amount of paid for parking.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard