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…

I think op drove down it to drop her son off at say 8, back up it at 8:30, went back to collect at 4, back up it at 4:30 so in essence 4 times a day

The 4 days is probably a typo as the OP does say she made the same mistake 20 times

To the camp and back, twice a day, is four times down that stretch of road each day. Multiplied by four days, is 16.

...and OP checked the driving route the might before, so that will be another two times along that stretch

Not a London borough but I’ve had council fines cancelled before with an apologetic well written email

Yes, sorry, it was 5 days.

The camp was not within the prohibited road, it was beyond it. So on each day I drove into the section of road and out the other side to drop him off beyond it, then going home I drove into it from the other side and back out. Repeat for pickup. 2 fines per journey, 2 journeys per day. 4x 5x 65= 1300

And to add insult to injury, for drop off (lasting 10 minutes) I parked in a car park run by the council that charged 1 hour minimum so £3.60 each time. I was already thinking that was expensive…

I just checked it on Google maps. The reason I mentioned that is that Google maps told me to drive right through the prohibited road because I checked it at 9pm and the road was only closed to cars 7am to 7pm.

That was to @saraclara

Thanks, this is the sort of hope I was looking for! It’s scary how fast it mounts up.

Thanks. As you say, in your case you’d paid and so they didn’t lose out by cancelling the fine. I think in my case them waiving part of it would be a licence to cheeky fuckers, wouldn’t it? In other words, someone knows that they should not drive this road but it gets them from A to B faster. So they do it multiple times a day and only have to. Pay for a fraction of that. If I were the Council I wouldn’t want to encourage that sort of piss taking.

The fact that you did it so often is proof that it was a mistake am fairly sure they will cancel all but one. Let us know if you have the time.

Thanks. I guess I can try. They do have something in the letters about considering other reasons for appeal (the standard ones are the usual about “I no longer own the car/ car was stolen/we are a hire company and the driver had hired the car”) and I need to swallow my pride about saying “I am sorry I’m just an idiot who can’t read signs”.

It's worth a shot.

Don't say you didn't read the signs. Just say you didn't realise as you checked google maps etc. say you don't drive down that road normally and it was for your sons camp etc. lay it on and hopefully they'll concede!

I did this near where I live.

Drove down a road which had (recently ish) been banned to cars except buses/taxis.

I drove through it twice a day for three days in a row getting my wedding dress altered.

Came home from honeymoon with all the letters on my mat like you!

j wrote to them and explained- I was happy to pay the cost for one of the fines as I did indeed break the rules but I felt that paying am 6 fines was extreme and would cause me financial difficulties (would have been over £500)

Letter worked as they cancelled all bar one for me! There has to be a reasonable test in these situations….

Definitely appeal it explaining it as you have in your OP. I find injecting a bit of humour in it often works as it gives them a laugh and they’re more likely to want to help.

I once addressed a council parking fine appeal to Dick Turpin, Highway Robber and jokily said I couldn’t stand and deliver. They said it gave them a laugh and cancelled it for my cheek!

My DH did something similar starting a new job, a couple of weeks later we got one letter a day every day for 8 days with the same fine for every day he’d done it from the first offence until the first letter came! It was also a london borough. We laugh about it now but it wasn’t funny at the time expecting another letter each day! Anyway we appealed and he didn’t end up paying them all! I’m not sure they reduced it to only one, but they definitely got rid of a few! It’s definitely worth the appeal! Even if you can think of a good enough excuse, just be honest and say you made a mistake on the signage, it’s a massive amount of money!
I hope it works out for you!!

Thanks. That’s the kind of example I am looking for! By the way, if anyone is interested, a diagram. The arrows show the route I should have taken.

Seconding posting on Pepipoo!!! Don't waste your time here!

I'm a long-term lurker there and they will give your the right advice, they see this sort of thing all the time and they know exactly what to do and say.

They won't sugar coat anything and are straight to the point. "No tea and sympathy" as they say but they will help!!!

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=30

That’s encouraging. Here is the sign that I drove obliviously past. There is another one on the other side. It’s pretty obvious.

I had a similar fine once but got out of it as their street signs didn’t adhere to the rules for such street signs, you can try that angle to see if it works? For example the ones at the beginning of the zone I entered weren’t the correct distance apart and there was only one where there should have been 2.

Appeal and I'm sure 90% will be written off. PM the poster that offered to draft an appeal, there are always grounds.

Realistically you have nothing to lose by writing a polite letter to them explaining that it was a genuine mistake/misunderstanding/brain-fart etc. Explain the full circumstances as you have told us and acknowledge you were in the wrong but unintentionally. Worse comes to worse the fines will stand but hoping they will acknowledge that it was an honest mistake and reduce the fine. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Honestly i would expect a line through if cars and bikes are not allowed 🚫

That's what I said to my folks too. They are clearly designed to be misleading!