Embarrassing- Multiple PCNs- I have no option but to pay, do I?

[RoadSignFool]

I have name changed for this as it’s so embarrassing.

Long story short, last week was taking my son to an activity camp in an unfamiliar part of London. I managed to drive down a prohibited street twice a day for 4 days and have been issued with a £65 fine for each time, so a total of £1300.

I checked the driving route the night before day 1 but didn’t realise that a small section of the route it gave me was closed to cars between 7 am and 7pm every day.

It’s completely my own fault, the signage was clear in retrospect but I misunderstood it. However since (unlike a parking fine where you get a ticket on the windscreen) there is a delay between violation and notification, I didn’t realise I’d breached a rule until I’d done it 20 times.

Has anyone ever been in a position like this and succeeded in having the fine reduced at all? (Bulk buy discount, ha ha)

I can’t see why they would, to be honest- seems a bit silly to expect them to give a discount to people who break rules repeatedly!

But just thought I’d ask…

PS this wasn’t central London congestion charge or ULEZ, it was a small section of road in an outer borough that is closed to cars (but not buses, vans or residents’ cars) 7am to 7pm, presumably to stop it being used as a rat run.

Is it a council fine? You will probably get absolutely nowhere but it's surely worth a try in writing them a letter and explaining what has happened and pleading for them to offer you some leniency. I once got a parking ticket overturned by doing this (had taken one car into the garage, and put that on my car park ticket instead of the courtesy car)... as I say probably won't get anywhere but is worth a try.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets/

not sure if this may help.

Have you tried contacting them directly?

I would definitely write a letter and plead an honest mistake

I don’t think you’ve anything to lose by contacting them to appeal and offering to pay one. A lot of people would be simply unable to find that sort of cash!

Where was this, I'll street view the location and come up with your appeal.

Presumably a LTN? Frustrating! Hope they at least write off a few of them.

thats awful!!!

I only got the letters today, came home from holiday to find them all on the doormat…🙁

It’s not a private fine, it’s a London Borough Council.

That was to @Fuchsiaplant.

Thanks, but there is really no way that it can be contested based on insufficient signage. It’s really clear if your brain is switched on. I misunderstood it because it was saying no through route to another main road, but I knew I was driving to drop my son off and turning back around, so I didn’t need a through route. There were yellow “road closed” signs but I thought that it would be an actual physical closed road barrier, instead it was those round signs with a car and a motorbike in them, I stupidly thought that signs prohibiting certain types of vehicle would have a line through them. I am just shit at the Highway Code, passed my test in 1990 and have clearly forgotten everything I learned.

I’d feel a fraud contesting it in any grounds other than asking for leniency due to the financial impact.

Twice a day for 4 days is a total of 8 times though surely, and so "only" £520 by my maths! Where's the extra £800 coming from?

That’s awful for you, I really hope you get it reduced. It would be utterly despicable of them to charge you that amount IMO.

You should call them and honestly say what happened. They may be able to help and it can't hurt to ask.

@RoadSignFool I once drove round Leeds twice going through a bus only zone (I was lost and going around in circles and only realised the second time). Anyway I appealed on the grounds that it was an honest mistake and I felt I should only be penalised once and they only charged me for one. So it's worth a try.

I think you may have to come up with some reason why you misread the signs to go with it.

Best of luck. I'm sure they won't charge you for all of them.

I’d definitely write them an apologetic letter saying you misunderstood and that by the time you realised the amount was very high. Say the financial impact for your family will be huge and ask if they are able to reduce what you owe. What do you have to lose?

Gosh I really feel for you op. I would appeal it. I got two driving offenses in two days this week and was gutted, but only £135 total.

I wonder if the activity club could have added you and could do it retrospectively? Ask them! My school registers licence plates for us to drive down our road with similar rules. If you ask them they May be happy to just add your registration and you could contact the council to apply it retrospectively ?

I know someone who drove in anew bus lane multiple times over a week and got his fine reduced to just one offence. It’s worth asking . . .

I think if it was signposted and you just didn't notice you have to suck it up and pay but if not signposted you could contest it.

We changed our son’s nursery and accidentally drove in a school street at a prohibited time. Because of the lag between the first time and the ticket coming through, we had 5 tickets.

I appealed on the basis that there was a significant gap between the first time we drove down that street (it was about 2 weeks!), and that as soon as we realised there was an issue we stopped, the PCNs were incorrectly addressed (they missed part of our address) and the signs weren’t very clear. I also said that £325 (which is was the fines would have totalled to) was not a sum that most people could easily find during a cost of living crisis. They cancelled all but one of them.

I would appeal. It’s worth a shot, and the fines usually pause during the appeal so if you are struggling to find money, it buys some time.

Good luck, and I think plenty of drivers find LTN/ school street signs confusing (myself included).

I have heard of multiple fines from the same location being reduced on appeal. It’s worth getting in contact to see if they will do anything once you’ve explained the circumstances. They can only say no.

It can't hurt to write a nice polite letter throwing yourself on their mercy, but I wouldn't be too optimistic.

I tried something similar when I stupidly put the wrong car number plate into a parking app and got fined. I wrote saying I realised that it was totally down to my own stupidity, but would they consider cancelling the fine and they did. However, I suspect that that was because I could show that I had paid, I'd just paid for the wrong car.

This also seems to make sense. Where has the £1300 figure come from?
I’d definitely write and see if they’ll do anything for you.
Is there a discount for paying promptly though?

Post this on the PePiPoo forum - if there is a loophole they will find it, or at least be able to help with wording a letter.

www.pepipoo.com/FAQ.htm