Sit down, there is PCN good news

Last Autumn Mr Mustard had a spate of PCN for mini-buses that were parked in contravention of the overnight waiting ban (yes, the one that no-one knew existed). One family, with 9 children if he has got the number correct, Mr Mustard has only seen some of the brood when he visited the parents, were at their wits end as they received 6 PCN in about a month. They had paid 3 before Mr Mustard pointed out that he could probably overturn them all. Mr Mustard set to with the 3 that were live. Two of them had representations refused and Mr Mustard was heading towards the tribunal having registered two Appeals at about the same time as another motorist got there and the adjudicator made this withering judgment

'Mis-directed itself' = cocked their case up

Mr Mustard then suggested to the council that they DNC (Do not contest) his appeals and quite close to the hearing date they did just that. They also DNCd the case for his neighbour who uses a brand new mini-bus for charitable purposes at his own expense.

On one PCN some paperwork went missing in the post and it was registered as a debt by default at the Traffic Enforcement Centre. Mr Mustard submitted a form TE9 (witness statement) to wind the process back and at the same time reminded the parking section that they owed him a reply to his email of 25 November in which he gave the council a chance to look good by cancelling every incorrect mini-bus PCN and refunding all payments received to which idea a deaf ear was turned. They did though agree to cancel the 6th PCN which had been registered as a debt (and the bailiff visit would have been the eventual outcome but for Mr Mustard's intervention).

Mr Mustard then asked the parking section to refund the 3 PCN which were paid before the family knew of Mr Mustard. Rather than resistance he received an instantaneous reply that this was being done.

Knock Mr Mustard down with a feather. What a result. He is feeling epic. He shouldn't because any council parking department that has done wrong should give the money back but they make limpets look like pathetic creatures in the hanging on to something stakes.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

what is the Overnight Waiting Ban in Barnet?

These are extracts from the relevant traffic order made in 1988:

"No person shall cause or permit any commercial vehicle to wait during the prescribed hours in any restricted street."

That is 99% of the borough - exemptions below

Read this as from 6.30pm to 8am i.e. Overnight

the vehicles which cannot be parked (wait) overnight

This is what the council have just written in their response which rejects a challenge that a 3.5 tonne 15 seater mini-bus, used by a large family to transport the numerous off-spring and their stuff:

but Mr Mustard reads the effect of the traffic order, in so far as which vehicles are caught by it, like this:

- any vehicle which exceeds 5 tonnes cannot park overnight

- but a mini-bus that has up to 13 seats and weighs over 5 tonnes can park overnight

- a mini-bus that weighs over 5 tonnes and has 14 seats cannot park overnight

- a mini-bus that weighs less than 5 tonnes can park overnight no matter how many seats it has, just 2 or 20.

Is he right or are the council?

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

The exempted streets. Please do not park on the M1 overnight!