Lewisham PCN - contravention 82-parked after the expiry of paid for time. increased from £40 to £120+

[confusedbunny]

I received a parking ticket from Lewisham council for £40, I appealed as i explained i had a dizzy spell due to exhaustion/dehydration and whilst i felt uneasy to drive and waited 10 mins for the symptoms to subside a traffic warden decided to still give me a ticket, even though i explained i was not well enough to even move it and give me 10 mins to compose myself with water!

 

I appealed and lost as they said i should have got a doctor certificate to verify this!! understandably for a dizzy spell and its not due to on-going medical issue the doctor was unable to verify anything, rightly so.....

 

As i lost the appeal i was informed my fine had increased to £80, i then told the council that i was unable to pay this and would pay in instalments (as on JSA!), i was told i would have to wait for bailiffs to write to arrange this as the council do not take instalments and only FULL PAYMENT!!

 

Today, I received a letter "charge certificate" stating my fine is now £120 (£80 plus £40 charge certificate!) and if i do not settle in full then bailiffs will be obtaining a warrant and will be their charges plus £7............

 

I am annoyed that i let my original appeal go but i was informed that was the adjudicator final decision......what can i do regarding this whole mess, how can i avoid all this increase in fee's, so unfair.....

[king100]

Unfortunately the ticket doubles if not paid, then they add another 50% so 40 turns to 80 then 120, then you will get charged for warrant , then 28% for every visit 3 visits max

[confusedbunny]

but surely if you cant pay in full due to low income, u get penalised with it treble in cost!

[confusedbunny]

I received a parking ticket from Lewisham council for £80, I appealed as i explained i had a dizzy spell due to exhaustion/dehydration and whilst i felt uneasy to drive and waited 10 mins for the symptoms to subside a traffic warden decided to still give me a ticket, even though i explained i was not well enough to even move it and give me 10 mins to compose myself with water!

 

I appealed and lost as the adjudicator said in the photographic evidence he could not see me behind the wheel!! ( I replied back to state that at the time the traffic warden was taking the photo, i had got out the car to ask him to be abit more sympathetic to me and this explains while at that very moment i was not inside the vehicle!! (no response!!)

 

As i lost the appeal

 

i was informed my fine would still remain at £80, i then told the council that i was unable to pay this and would pay in instalments (as on JSA!), i was told i would have to wait for bailiffs to write to arrange this as the council do not take instalments and only FULL PAYMENT!!

 

In their letter they never mentioned anything about making instalments via a bailiff (AFTER the bailiff have added their fee's!) all they mentioned was a additional £7 fee for the court!.......

 

Today, I receive a letter "charge certificate" stating my fine is now £120 (£80 plus £40 charge certificate!) and if i do not settle in full then bailiffs will be obtaining a warrant and will be their charges plus £7 in court fee's????............

 

I am annoyed that i let my original appeal go but i was informed that was the adjudicator final decision......what can i do regarding this whole mess, how can i avoid all this increase in fee's from bailiffs and just pay in instalments via the bailiff for the £80?

 

I am not refusing to pay, but i just do not see why, i will penalised with bailiff fee's because i cannot pay all at once.....do they have every right to add whatever fee's they wish?

 

 

 

[dx100uk]

..

[sailor sam]

What contravention was the PCN issued for? Did you take it to PATAS?

[confusedbunny]

it was for contravention 82-parked after the expiry of paid for time. PATAS? not sure what this is?

[Al27]

Very confused. Did you appeal to the Adjudicator at PATAS or to the council?

[confusedbunny]

oh i see, PATAS!

[sailor sam]

So you were just 10 minutes over yor time? PATAS= parking adjudicator who decides whether the council should cancel the ticket or not. You take it there following a failed appeal to the council.

[confusedbunny]

i was in my car i few mins BEFORE the ticket expired! PATAS adjudiator failed it!

[Jamberson]

Very confusing.

 

This case is nothing to do with bailiffs, so don't confuse the issue. At the moment it is with the council and it's between you and them.

 

When you asked for a payment plan, did you put it in writing, and did the council reply to you?

[confusedbunny]

i didnt say it was with bailiffs, i was asking how to avoid bailiff cost and pay in instalements,which is next stage!

 

i explained this early on in this thread, i did write to council and they wrote back saying they do not except instalement directly and await bailiffs contact to arrange this....i realise i wil have to pay £127 via the bailiff but how do i avoid paying bailiff costs too?

[Raykay]

Not very good advice from the council, if it does go as far as the bailiffs there will be a large increase when they add their fees - which will make it much more than £127, and not all bailiffs will accept a payment plan either.

[confusedbunny]

how can they give such untrue advice! i just called them and they said as long as i respond to the 1st bailiff letter, i can arrange payment plan of the £127 and the bailiff wil NOT add their charges unless i miss a payment, is this not the case? im confused!

[Jamberson]

i didnt say it was with bailiffs, i was asking how to avoid bailiff cost and pay in instalements,which is next stage!

 

You are focussing on the bailiff issue but you don't need to - they aren't involved and you can probably still sort this out directly with the council - or at least try, without bailiffs ever getting involved.

 

i did write to council and they wrote back saying they do not except instalement directly and await bailiffs contact to arrange this

 

I can't believe you have a letter from the council advising you to await bailiff action in order to set up a payment plan. It's absurd.

 

What I think you should do is ask for a meeting with someone at the council to discuss the situation. Take with you evidence of your income and rent etc so they can see that you aren't in a position to pay in one go. Ask them to agree regular payments with you. There is no reason why they will not, as long as they see that you are genuine.

 

This is a far better way to approach matters than letting the debt get registered at court then have a bailiff warrant against you - and as Raykay says, not only will the debt get higher, but the bailiff might not allow a payment plan either.

[Raykay]

Get that in writing from the council!! Remember the saying 'If it's not in writing, it never happened'.

 

I agree with Jamberson, try to resolve the problem without involving bailiffs because once they do get involved, it can be very expensive.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Raykay

[confusedbunny]

i have just spoken to lewisham parking services again, they clearly state they will not accept instalements, only FULL! and they say they have not instructed the bailiff yet til they register the debt and said there bailiffs have been told to accept instalement as long as i respond to first letter no bailiff costs wil be added! they declined to put it in writing! they said if bailiff tries to add fee's then call them back! i offered the first payment now with my debit card, they declined and said i cant speak with no-one, its their procedure!

 

i do have letter stating instalement via bailiff, not them!

[Jamberson]

They are not being straight up with you - the council has no ability to decide whether bailiffs will arrange payment plans, or on what terms. Also they won't stop the bailiff charging you for anything they do.

 

If I were you I wouldn't take "no" for an answer right now. I would get onto someone senior and see them in person, and put formal requests to them in writing. That's what I'd do ... up to you how you want to play it.

[green_and_mean]

They are not being straight up with you - the council has no ability to decide whether bailiffs will arrange payment plans, or on what terms. Also they won't stop the bailiff charging you for anything they do.

 

The baliffs are agents of the Council they can instruct them to do anything they like as long as its legal.

[confusedbunny]

i think you are right, it doesnt sound right to me either! you guys have experience in this so i take your advice....wish me luck!

[Jamberson]

The bailiffs are private firms and they aren't under orders from the council. They often cooperate with the council's wishes because it suits their mutual relationship, but I have never heard of a council instructing a bailiff as to what terms of payment they have to accept. And anyway, why would the council want to pass it on at all, if payment is being offered? It's a bizarre idea.

 

Also, if the council genuinely are advising the OP to wait for the bailiffs to come in, just in order to set up a payment plan, they are in my view abusing the system. TEC don't grant warrants in order to facilitate payment plans. I suspect the council is blagging it to get the case out of their hands. The OP will suffer the brunt of bailiff fees, and still no guarantee of a plan, for no good reason.

[confusedbunny]

green and mean, if that is indeed true and they told me they are telling the bailiff to take instalements and no bailiff fee's will be addf if i agree payment plan on reciept of 1st bailiff letter and only if i default i wil incur such costs, why wont they verify this in writing? she assured me on 3 calls today!

[confusedbunny]

jamberson, do you think i should just start making instalements via there payment line? i have a gut feeling your prediction may be right! if they are sure then why not put it in writing! lewisham say its their 'policy' not to accept instalement directly! unbelievable!

[green_and_mean]

The bailiffs are private firms and they aren't under orders from the council. They often cooperate with the council's wishes because it suits their mutual relationship, but I have never heard of a council instructing a bailiff as to what terms of payment they have to accept. And anyway, why would the council want to pass it on at all, if payment is being offered? It's a bizarre idea.

 

Also, if the council genuinely are advising the OP to wait for the bailiffs to come in, just in order to set up a payment plan, they are in my view abusing the system. TEC don't grant warrants in order to facilitate payment plans. I suspect the council is blagging it to get the case out of their hands. The OP will suffer the brunt of bailiff fees, and still no guarantee of a plan, for no good reason.

 

Complete tosh baliffs are contracted by the Council to enforce the debts, that is why different Councils have different baliffs they don't just roam the streets looking for debtors!! What you are saying is like suggesting the Council bin men can just collect when they feel like it because they work for a private refuse collection company, or NSL can just ignore Council enforcement instructions and ticket who they like.