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Yesterday my car was towed (by Waltham Forest Council I believe) due to it having one wheel just on the end of a double yellow line. I realise I was technically in the wrong but I arrived home late and there were no parking spaces within a half mile radius of my house, I was also due to move the car at about 7.30am. This occurred on a residential street, 9 meters from a junction with a one way street.
The one way street leads cars off the road I was parked on rather than onto it, therefore I was not causing a dangerous obstruction to the vision of drivers turning onto the two way street. It also annoys me that a car which was parked completely on the double yellow lines on the same corner as me but on the one way street, received ‘only’ a wheel clamp.
My towing cost me £190 (£40 ticket plus £150 towing) and a clamping costs £105.
I feel that the council applied an excessively heavy handed approach and that it is simply a money making exercise for them rather than for the benefit of road users. I had no opportunity to pay the ticket before they towed the car.
I have read up on various websites and I wonder if you can confirm the following:
There must be 15 minutes between the ticketing of the vehicle and the subsequent clamping or removal.
The pcn must have ‘Date of issue’ written on it rather than ‘Date of notice’.
The ticket says the contravention was ’01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours’…I was simply on a double yellow line with no prescribed hours, therefore the ‘charge’ is incorrect.
The ticket was issued at 7.11am, I have evidence from the car’s tracking system that the car was lifted at 7.13am, and that by 7.24am it had moved off down the street. I phoned TRACE at 7.34am and they had no record of the car being towed, I then phoned the police and reported it stolen. At 7.47am I managed to get hold of the number for the local recovery place and they confirmed they had the vehicle and that I needn’t inform the police as that would be done automatically.
I went and picked up the car, paid the £190, and set off for work. On the way to work I had a swarm of four police cars and a van screech to a halt all around me, it didn’t take long to explain the situation but was a bit of a shocker to say the least!
Later in the day I received a call from the police who still thought the car was stolen, they had called TRACE at something like 10.10am and they still had no record of my car being towed. Were the local council at fault for not reporting it towed within a reasonable amount of time?
Basically I wonder if I would be wasting my time in pursuing recovery of my £190 plus possibly a small amount of costs for lost work time, phone calls and suchlike? I have photographic evidence of the key areas.
Does anyone have a definative answer to any of the following:
There must be 15 minutes between the ticketing of the vehicle and the subsequent clamping or removal.
The pcn must have ‘Date of issue’ written on it rather than ‘Date of notice’.
The ticket says the contravention was ’01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours’…I was simply on a double yellow line with no prescribed hours, therefore the ‘charge’ is incorrect.
Does anyone have a definative answer to any of the following:
There must be 15 minutes between the ticketing of the vehicle and the subsequent clamping or removal.
The pcn must have ‘Date of issue’ written on it rather than ‘Date of notice’.
The ticket says the contravention was ’01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours’…I was simply on a double yellow line with no prescribed hours, therefore the ‘charge’ is incorrect.
Please?
Not sure about the first - needs some research. Google RTA 1991 and check.
Second, a PCN must have a date of notice/issue AND a date of contravention/seen.
Third, the contravention is correct; it's just that double yellow provide a 24-hour restriction. IOW, all hours are prescribed hours.
Does anyone have a definative answer to any of the following:
There must be 15 minutes between the ticketing of the vehicle and the subsequent clamping or removal.
The pcn must have ‘Date of issue’ written on it rather than ‘Date of notice’.
The ticket says the contravention was ’01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours’…I was simply on a double yellow line with no prescribed hours, therefore the ‘charge’ is incorrect.
Please?
The 15 minutes applies to vehicles parked in designated parking places. A vehicle cannot be imobilised in the first fifteen minutes of overstay.
Section 69-70 RTA 1991
PUTTING IT IN WRITING & KEEPING COPIES IS A MUST FOR SUCCESS
I would love to know the answer to this urgently so I cna know what to do next.
I parked safely not causing any obstructions, on a single yellow line because all the nearby parking bays were full, last night just after 6pm _ I left a notice on the windscreen explaining I was collecting goods and that I would return in 15 minutes. Less than 15 minutes later I returned to find the car gone!
It took an hour and a half to establish that it had been towed away. When I reached the pound and paid the £260 to get my car released, it was explained to me that a pcn notice had been issued at 6.13pm and the car towed at 6.15pm! I was astonished!
This of course suggest that the car was safely loaded on a tow away truck and the PCN issued afterwards - is this legal?
Note: the gentleman at the pound gave me a flawless clean PCN notice not attached to any wrapping or other documents?
Please help - do I have cause for appeal?
When I reached the pound and paid the £260 to get my car released, it was explained to me that a pcn notice had been issued at 6.13pm and the car towed at 6.15pm! I was astonished!
This of course suggest that the car was safely loaded on a tow away truck and the PCN issued afterwards - is this legal?
I may be confused but surely 6.13pm comes before 6.15pm??
My mums car was towed from the street while I was responsible for it. It was parked on a single yellow line. I know you can be exempted from police action if they make mistakes in their documents, is it the same with the council? They have misspelled the street name, could I appeal on the grounds that they have made an error?
My mums car was towed from the street while I was responsible for it. It was parked on a single yellow line. I know you can be exempted from police action if they make mistakes in their documents, is it the same with the council? They have misspelled the street name, could I appeal on the grounds that they have made an error?
You can appeal against any pcn if you so wish whether you will get off on a spelling mistake is another matter. There is no set rule or ruling as far as I'm aware its down to the adjudicator on the day to decide if the mistake invalidates the PCN.
Car towed, do I have a case for appeal?
must have ‘Date of issue’ written on it rather than ‘Date of notice’.
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Originally Posted by Danstable
Re: Car towed, do I have a case for appeal?
