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…

Write to them and request they cancel all but one fine.

Be completely honest and accepting that it was your error, you misunderstood, followed the satnav assuming all was ok etc...

Plead financial hardship and ask that they consider applying just one fine to cover them all.

You've fallen foul of the shitty overlords in Hackney Council who've decided to both block off Church Street from the surrounding roads, and to make bus on throughout the day. Welcome to life under Mere-head Coban and his ilk.

I can only wish you the best of luck in fighting this, but as Hackney is run by the nasty party, I wouldn't hold my breath.

One of my friends reviewed council pcn appeals as his job for a while. He absolutely had discretion about whether he upheld or cancelled/reduced the fines. It wasn’t a ‘computer says no’ situation and he often let people off who he believed had made a genuine mistake and who had written a polite email. I think he did let off someone who wrote something very funny but I reckon politeness and referencing proportionality ( as PP suggests) is a safer bet.

Write the letter and just get him to sign, I do this with my partner all the time (not specifically for fines, he’s just generally a rather bad letter writer).

Hope it works and they reduce your fines down. 20 in 5 days seems ridiculous, especially if the first ones didn’t arrive until after the summer camp had finished.

What exactly does it achieve by making you go all around the other way?

It doesn't reduce traffic on the road where the activity centre is and it also increases traffic on the other side road and the main road including needing to make two right turns which probably have a higher risk of collision.

But definitely appeal, say it was an honest mistake and so many fines would cause financial hardship.

This is absolutely correct. A lot of the time it's down to the individual reviewing the totality of the situation. I also have a friend who does this job and there are a lot of things at her discretion with this. She's very experienced so knows what she's doing. My guess is that this will be recommended for a reduction in the amount you pay and probably need to be approved by a manager given the level of fines you have received. But I'd be really shocked if the full £1300 was enforced.

Something similar happened to us, central London. We appealed and had to pay one fine, x3 were deleted. This was early last year.

Bit harsh, I read the whole thread. The site does have a council section as well as a private fine and police action (speeding etc) section. I've been a member there and lurked for over 20 years. They've helped a lot of people in very similar situations. They often tell people to just pay up as well, but they generally feel that the councils can be vexacious in their dealings and just don't want people like the OP getting screwed over.

I live in the area and I actually love the LTNs but think £1300 for making one mistake is ridiculous.

It's not the point of the thread but I think it's disgusting to charge that kind of money for using the ' wrong ' street .

It's not a a charge for using the street, it is a fine for ignoring instructions and signage (of which the OP even notes there is plenty of)

Do you also object to be people being "charged" for driving faster than a speed limit, or the wrong way up a one way street or for parking by a zebra crossing?

All sorts of streets have restrictions - I live in the same borough and the road next to me has been no through route since the late 70s. My street is one way and has been since the early 90s. You have never had the right to just drive up any street you like as you wish.

I had similar on a “school street” The sign was on the street but not on the Main Street before you turned into the street. And then you were stuck! Luckily I drove on one minute before the restricted time. I asked the school what to do and they said to stay there until the restrictions ended!
suggest as above that you get advice and write a polite letter. Check to see if the local Mp or councillors would be worth contacting also.

Definitely write in apologising. I used to work for Parking and if you are lucky they might cancel some of them.

No but it is new to be fined and a lot of the restrictions are complicated eg certain times of day and not clear.

eg the road I drove down had signs saying “this is a school street”. Doesn’t mean a lot to people not from the area.

I got 2 bus lane fines (total £130) after taking an elderly relative home on Boxing day. They were not operative on Sundays and (stupidly) I also assumed bank holidays - I didn't see a single bus. However obviously I was wrong. I appealed just to buy more time because January is a really expensive month! I wasn't let off but it meant I could pay in February!

@RoadSignFool it's definitely correct that if you appeal a pcn within the initial 14 days, and that appeal is rejected, you only pay the lower £65 charge. The pcn is effectively put on hold.
I know you're stressed and upset about this, but it's now time to become businesslike and sort it out. I live in Camden, and work in Haringey, Hackney and elsewhere. This stuff happens all the time. You will 100% get at least some of these tickets cancelled, but not by mithering away on mumsnet. Time to arm yourself with a plan and execute it.

I take it back, I've just seen your post on pepipoo, you are doing something! They will advise you to appeal to their better nature and then take it from there - good luck!

They know full well that that sign is not obvious , local knowlege is what they rely on .

Another quick point. As the 20 tickets were issued at 2 different locations, it’s a good idea to mention the reason for your journey (school drop off and collection or whatever, sorry I can’t remember what your reason was) and include a simple drawing to show your route. I say this because the Parking Representations Officer might not automatically make the link.

Do also say that you now realise your error, brought to your attention by the PCNs, you’ve not and will not repeat the contravention.

I obviously disagree with some posts about how/why councils issue PCNs, but I will say that an incredible number of drivers wilfully flout the driving & parking regulations (very occasionally, drivers wave or flick a middle finger up at the cameras) and either pay, don’t pay until bailiffs visits, or worst (in my opinion) pass the cost of the tickets to their customers - British Gas being among the worst offenders because they typically pay when the charge has increased.

To the poster who received a PCN in a bus lane, the test for issuing a ticket is whether vehicles gain an advantage over other vehicles, regardless whether a bus is in the bus lane.

OP, the eye watering number of tickets issued at the location is justification for enforcing. Sometimes though a driver’s view of the sign might be obscured by tree branches, high vehicle etc so the CCTV footage will be reviewed.

You probably have enough information to help you OP, so good luck with your challenge.

An update- I paid one ticket for each day and wrote to the Council asking them if they would consider waiving the others on the basis that the multiple fines were disproportionate. I said that I accepted the penalties were all valid but was asking them to use their discretion.
Thankfully they agreed to cancel all the others, with the inevitable warning that they will not be so lenient in future! They do not need to worry, I have definitely learned my lesson. Phew.

And yes, I did explain the reason for my journey, thanks for that advice @FiddleMinger .

Great news op.

Well done you.

That's good news

Thanks for updating as I was actually wondering if you’d heard back yet.

Well done you! Very good outcome and I’m sure must be a huge relief.

Ah great news! Well done