Redridge Council - not as smart as they think they are

 

Mr Mustard has met Redridge Council a few times. They are not the smartest operators in PCN enforcement. They lose to the public 63% of the time at the tribunal and 86% of the time to Mr Mustard.

Mr M knows Mr X. He is the smartest and hardest working of PCN fighters. Redbridge must have heard of him. They should have seen the writing on he wall earlier.

The problem is this case is one of assumption, that a PCN will arrive in the post in two days. It is a rebuttable presumptuion, it might take a week and only the recipient can say the date on which it was served thus rebutting the assumed date of service. Smart councils build in a few days of leeway into their software before going to the next stage. Redbridge are not such a council.

The LGO don't know the law. A PCN is not a fine, they are only issued by Courts.

The LGO was also overly generous in allowing the council to let My Y make out of time representations he having previously been prevented from doing so and a year having passed which causes prejudice and the council having been out of order in the first place. They should have invited Redbridge Council to close the PCN.

Mr M knows that representations were made and the one sensible thing Redbridge did was to accept them. They would have a faced a tribunal hearing otherwise, wasted £32 in fees and been put to the sword by Mr X.

In the last 7 years Mr Mustard has won 19 of his 22 tribunal cases against Redbridge. Here is one which is germane.

That is the same problem as with Mr Y but 2 years earlier.

Clearly Redridge Council are a bit slow to learn................................ 

It can't be the money can it?

The end, until next time. 

Islington blunder but recover well

Mr Mustard has a regular client, let us call him Mr L, who, due to working all over London collects a few PCNs. If Mr Mustard can find an angle, he fights them. Every PCN won is £50 to the North London Hospice. This time Mr L, who is good at paperwork, said he had received a Charge Certificate but not the postal PCN for driving where he shouldn't have. Mr Mustard knows that Mr L and his secretary are well organised so he could believe what they said.

The charge certificate was dated 8 March.

The PCN was supposedly sent on 9 February.

The above explanation was wishful thinking. A Charge Certificate can only be served if 28 days have elapsed from the service of the PCN, if a PCN has not been sent then the Charge Certificate isn't lawful and is good grounds for cancellation of the PCN. Islington looked like they were trying to get away with it but were forced to change their minds by circumstances.

Mr Mustard made a challenge, it was a simple but effective one:

The PCN value was quietly set to zero without a formal Notice of Acceptance (Mr Mustard checks balances weekly).

Mr Mustard also made a request for information and that has been responded to, as follows:

Islington cancelled once the extent of the problem became clear, they couldn't cope with their phone lines melting.

The end.