Hi starfarer. Thanks for the post. I did understand what you were saying before and appreciate the time you've taken to answer. I sent a copy of the delivery note to the parking services as did the client under my request and I'm pleased to say that Islington has now cancelled the PCN so this ends this chapter. Thanks to everyone who helped out. All the best, SHAKENANDSTIRRED1977

Many thanks for the advice starfarer. The client has forwarded the invoice so just waiting to hear back. No I did not leave the door open whilst loading. I never do out of habit because I often carry a lot of expensive alcohol in the van. We are a mobile cocktail bar events company. I will post on here when I get a reply.

Ah, ok. Well I have spoken to the client whome I made the delivery to and she is happy to email the PCN service and confirm this. I have already sent them the relavent paperwork so fingers crossed. Legend! Ill let you know how it goes.

Fair enough. Thanks for the input and advice on the matter. I may have to concede on ths issue although I have sent them a copy of the delivery note and I do still have the grace period. I could argue what is reasonable. I found a PDF with recommendations from the adjudicator that a grace period of 10-15 minutes may be reasonable when loading and unloading heavy items from a commercial vehicle. I also still have until the 25th to pay the reduced rate. Thanks again.

p.s. I have asked that very question, i.e. what was the source of the downloads.they did not answer that question.

I have attached the downloads. Are these downloaded directly from the hand held or are they just filled in by a member of the dispute team at a later date?Note this evidence was not given to me until Jan 25th 2013 after I had requested it several times. The date of the PCN was 9 December 2012

Thanks Jamberson, That is the exact point I have been trying to make to islington PCN services but have been stonewalled. The PCN only shows the issue time as 20:29 and then the subsequent photos show 20:30 and 20:31. There is nothing on it in regards to a 5 minute observation time.

Dear Sailor Sam, Thanks for the reply. The contravention code is 01 which appears to be correct. It was on Dresden Road, N19 and the photos do show the rear wheels on a double yellow. My dispute is that I was not given the 5 minutes observation time for loading and unloading. It is clearly a commercial vehicle - a company branded Renault van - and I have produced a copy of the invoice/delivery note. It was only after I brought this up that the council claimed that the CEO had been with the vehicle for 5 minutes prior to issue. They then provided me with an image of a PC screen allegedly showing this but it is dated 25/1/2013 and has the name of the person dealing with it printed below. Basically they have read my claim, then created a page some 6 weeks later which conveniently addresses the points.

This is my first post so please excuse the length of the thread and the incorrect use of paragraphs, it was just to make the post clearer and easier to follow. I received a PCN from Islington council in December of last year. I was half parked on a double yellow line and half in an out of hours residents bay on a residential road. It was a Sunday evening in a commercial vehicle (under 3.5 tonnes) and I was unloading and making a delivery to a house. The unloading was constant and I did not leave the vehicle unattended for more than 5 minutes at a time and overall I was there for under 40 minutes. I returned to the vehicle to find a ticket issued at 20.29. I challenged the PCN within 2 weeks requesting photographic evidence as this was, and,still is unavailable on the website. Within 10 days I received the photos indeed showing that the rear wheels were on the yellow lines, but, the photos showed they were taken at 20.30 (first 3) and 20.31 (last 3). I immediately wrote back saying that the rules on the website clearly state that for a ticket to be issued, the vehicle must be observed unattended for a full 5 minutes. I then pointed out that the ticket was issued and then 6 photos were taken 1 and 2 minutes later respectively. Therefore the civil enforcement officer had only spent 3 minutes with the vehicle and had not observed the vehicle unattended for 5 minutes before issuing the ticket I received a reply to this within 10 days simply saying they were satisfied that the vehicle had been observed (from 20.23) for a full 5 minutes before the ticket was issued, and that the photos were taken at 20.30 and 20.31, therefore the officer had spent a total of 7 minutes with the vehicle. I politely pointed out that that 20.23 to 20.31 equates to 8 minutes and could they provide notes or photos or proof of this as I dispute this fact because I would have been there. To cut an already long story short, they have failed to produce any evidence that the vehicle was observed before the ticket was issued and have now said that the onus is on me to prove that the vehicle was not observed for 5 minutes! Is it just me or is that the most ridiculous demand ever?? The civil enforcement officers are equipped with PCN machines and cameras both of which record the date and time. I am equipped with neither nor am I required to be by law. Surely the onus is on them to prove a contravention has occured, otherwise they could just go around issuing tickets willy nilly without any chance of appeal. I read up on the case of Ronald Kendrick Douglas VS The London Borough Of Brent where it was judged by the adjudicator that the burden of proof was on the council. I assume this applies at this stage also? This has now been going on for 2 months and the council are just stonewalling my appeals and refusing to budge Some advice on my position and who bears the burden of proof would be much appreciated.