Barnet appeals to PATAS at 7% level again

PATAS	Barnet	Londonwide
	Appeals	Appeals	%
Mon 10 March	22	274	8
Tues	21	337	6
Weds	10	310	3
Thurs	20	244	8
Fri	22	262	8
Sat	-	-
Total	95	1,427	7
PCN issued	Barnet	London	%
Year to March 13	165,569	4,283,964	4

This is the fourth week in which Mr Mustard has checked the level of appeals to PATAS and the fourth time when they have made up a disproportionately high part of the mix across London with a 7% share.

What this shows is a systemic failure somewhere in the process of issuing PCN rather than a one-off surge in Appeals.

It must be an exciting time to be the person at NSL who prepares the Evidence Packs for PATAS. They probably don't know whether they are coming or going they have so many to do. Mr Mustard thinks that to do them properly takes 2 or 3 hours, so let us say that 3 can be done by one person each day. To handle 95 in 5 days, that is 19 a day or the work of 6 people. No wonder so many are not being contested by the council once you file an Appeal at PATAS.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Barnet Participates

Mr Mustard doesn't know this group of individuals but applauds the initiative.

Let's keep an eye on it. Link to their site here and Josie Long wikipedia page here.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

The Sound of Music - 2 April at 7.30pm

The price of insolence, indolence or incompetence, is £236.35

The Adjudicator was not amused

Funny isn't it that motorists have to dance to the tune of the council, and their henchmen at NSL, as otherwise they end up in big trouble with the bailiff clamping a vehicle if a deadline is missed.

Somewhat arrogantly, perhaps, the council / NSL think they can ignore a tribunal. Whether it was deliberate or an accident Mr Mustard cannot say. He can only predict that if pressed they would say it was an administrative oversight for which, unless this blog comes to the attention of the parking manager and he asks NSL for the money, the taxpayer will bear the cost. This is another demonstration of how hard it is for the thin client side to effectively supervise a One Barnet contractor.

Here is what the adjudicator at PATAS had to say (and bear in mind how rare it is for costs to be awarded, a dozen times a year at most)

Mr G, the director of the Appellant company, appeared before me this morning in person. He had previously attended on 6 January 2014 when I made the following direction to the Council:

" The Council are to respond to the Appellants' submissions in his Notice of Appeal in writing and in particular address how and when they decided to start enforcing the contravention again and how they communicated this to the Appellant and other residents.  Further, they are to attend the adjourned hearing."

The Council has not responded and has not attended this hearing as directed. Mr G has submitted three sets of further correspondence and submissions - including as to the issue of costs - since the hearing in January and has clearly spent considerable time and effort in making his detailed arguments. I am unimpressed with the Council's failure to respond or to attend today as directed.

Given the abject failure by the Council, I assume that they no longer seek to contest this appeal and it is allowed.

In respect of Mr G's application costs, I note that, again, the Council has failed to respond.

Paragraph 13(1) in Part 2 of the Schedule to the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and Appeals Regulations 2007 provides that the Adjudicator shall not normally make an order awarding costs and expenses, but may make such an order-
(a)    against a party (including an appellant who has withdrawn his appeal or an enforcement authority which has consented to an appeal being allowed) if he is of the opinion that that party has acted frivolously or vexatiously or that his conduct in making, pursuing or resisting an appeal was wholly unreasonable; or
(b)    against an enforcement authority where he considers that the disputed decision was wholly unreasonable.

I consider the conduct of the Enforcement Authority to have been wholly unreasonable and therefore, I do exercise my power to award costs in this appeal.

The Regulation cited above does not contain any provisions as to the rate to be awarded when an order for costs is made. There is no provision for loss of earnings. However, Adjudicators take as their guidance the Civil Procedure Rules as applied to Small Claims in the County Court. These allow for an award of £18 per hour for a litigant in person (i.e. one not represented by a lawyer) in respect of preparation for and attendance at any hearing, together with reasonable expenses actually incurred.

Mr G has limited his claim to £11.06 per hour and I therefore apply that rate to Mr G's claim. The Regulation limits any award to "the costs and expenses incurred by that other party in connection with the proceedings".

I consider the hours claimed by Mr G in his "Table of Expenses" served with his correspondence of 3 February 2013 to be reasonable.
 

Accordingly I make the following award:

Travel costs: £12.80
Postage etc costs: £24.47
Travel and Preparation Time:  18 hours @ £11.06 = £199.08

Total: £236.35

I therefore direct the Local Authority to pay Mr. G the above sum of £236.35 forthwith.

Things to note:

It is rare to see a council voluntarily turn up at PATAS. In the 40 times Mr Mustard has been to PATAS a local authority has only been in evidence once and the staff were from Haringey to learn what happens at an Appeal hearing. All they learnt from Mr Mustard's case, which co-incidentally was in front of the adjudicator who made the above decision, was that Barnet Council's agent NSL aren't very good at PCN enforcement, as he was granted his appeal within 5 minutes even after the adjudicator tried to stretch it out to make a bit of a show for the visitors from Haringey.

If you win your case and if the council have been unreasonable, perhaps for continuing to enforce at a location they know to be doubtful, the Saracens CPZ say, then you can apply for your costs in writing within 14 days of the Appeal hearing. Go for the full £18 per hour. You can only claim for your time from the moment that you receive the Notice of Rejection. If you decide to have a personal hearing, and they are a new experience that is worth having at least once in your lifetime, you can make a bit of an outing of it and try one of the many excellent Islington restaurants that are within walking distance. The hearing centre is right next to Angel tube station so easy to reach on the Northern line.

If Barnet Council keep having to pay out money for dodgy PCN they might become a little more moderate in how they issue them.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Much Ado about Noshing (20 March 7.30pm Café Buzz)

PATAS - Notice of Appeal - simples

ignore the redacted details on the right

OK folks, time for a quick lesson in completing a PATAS form.

Boxes 1.&2. You all know your name and address. This is always the person (or company) named in the vehicle registration document.

If you put a contact telephone number on the form and your personal Appeal hearing doesn't go ahead on the day, perhaps because the council/NSL give in at the last minute, someone from PATAS will phone you to save you a journey. Although the decisions of adjudicators can appear to be, and sometimes are, inconsistent when it comes to administration Mr Mustard has found PATAS to be very efficient.

If you have Mr Mustard representing you then you will know his real address to put here. If the council send the Evidence Pack to you instead of to Mr Mustard (or whoever else represents you) that is a procedural impropriety. You can quote PATAS case 2130093365 in support (not a precedent but should be persuasive).

3. Mr Mustard prefers personal hearings as that way he can take the adjudicator straight to his main argument and possibly have the case over in 2 minutes. If you don't want to go to PATAS at the Angel, Islington (it is within 50m of the tube station) then tick the Postal decision box and then you don't need to tick any times and days below. There are evening hearings on a Thursday, although not very late, and hearings on a Saturday. Mr Mustard just happens to always go on his notional day off from his day job, which is a Wednesday and is a half day at PATAS so quite quiet (35 appeals the last time he was there).

4. Choose your Grounds of Appeal to tick but don't waste time worrying about the grounds as these are only for statistical purposes as far as Mr Mustard can tell. It is usually a waste of time to tick the "Traffic Order is Invalid" box as they have to be challenged in Court within 6 weeks of being made.

If your PCN came though the post because you drove away before the traffic warden finished it you did not prevent the PCN from being issued, some physical restraint is required for that so you can tick that box on the right "The Civil Enforcement Officer was not prevented..."

Most of the time ticking the first box will do "The contravention did not occur".

Box 5. As the adjudicator will be sent copies of all of your correspondence (and it is a procedural impropriety if the council do not put it all in the evidence pack later on) you can simply rely on what you have already written and leave this box blank.

If the Notice of Rejection of Representations makes you notice other grounds, usually that your most recent letter has not been properly considered and/or answered, then you could write that in the box. Mr Mustard usually has so much to say at this point that he types it up so it is easier for the adjudicator to read.

You will get a few days to study the Evidence Pack before the hearing and email PATAS with any extra arguments you wish to make at that juncture.

You must sign the form otherwise you will be sent a letter to sign to confirm your Appeal is to be registered. Mr Mustard ticks the boxes below and only once has he sent a form in late. It is best to do this on time as you'll need a really good reason like a month in hospital to be allowed to be late.

So you can see this is a 5 minute job which will cost you 60p for a stamp and which might save you £60 or £110. If you have already received the Notice to Owner it would be silly not to stake 60p for a possible saving of £60 or £110.

The hearing will not take place for at least a month after you file the form and the council get the chance to give in without a hearing which they do quite often (Mr Mustard filed 3 forms recently and the council/NSL immediately gave in on 2 of them which was wise.) The chances of them giving in on your case are about 1 in 4 or 5. The harder and longer you make your appeal points the more likely the council are to give in.

Similarly, the more Appeals that are filed at PATAS the more that NSL will struggle with the volume and give in so fill that form in now (please).

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Barnet cases were 7% of Appeals to PATAS last week

PATAS	Barnet	Londonwide
	Appeals	Appeals	%
Mon	21	272	8
Tues	18	307	6
Weds	21	234	9
Thurs	23	245	9
Fri	17	317	5
Sat	-	-
Total	100	1,375	7
PCN issued	Barnet	London	%
Year to March 13	165,569	4,283,964	4

Slightly down on the 8% of the two previous weeks the number of Appeals to PATAS show no sign of abating at 7% of all Appeals based on having issued 4% of the PCN in London.

How long before we have a week when Appeals against Barnet Council PCN make up 10% of Appeals?

Come on folks, Mr Mustard knows you can do it.

Don't meekly roll over and pay. Make the council fight for the money. They'll only waste it, you can do that just as well yourselves.

CPZ permit reminders

Mr Mustard is not convinced that permit reminders are going out and this is leading to extra PCNs. Stop what you are doing, oh reading this blog, and pop to your car and check the date now. You can pay for and print out a permit online if you have the internet at home (or at the library).

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard