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Topic: Re:Came back from abroad to find car towed by Council - suggestions?
Posted by: Richard Jennings
Date/Time: 23/08/15 20:42:00

The council (presumably Hounslow Highways acting on their behalf) gave you 12 days informal notice by a letter delivered to your house.  The formal notice would have been the suspension signs which you say were put up in early August.

Hounslow Highways' letters to residents about resurfacing are currently sent out in plain envelopes addressed to the house number, which makes them look like estate agent spam.  And their suspension signs are often put up only a day or two before work starts.

Can your neighbours tell you precisely when they went up?  Do you have a photo of one of the signs?

If the signs went up at least 3 days before 12 August and were compliant with Hounslow's approved format, then there was a clear contravention (code 21: parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space).  The fact that nobody managed to contact you while you were away doesn't affect the validity of the PCN.  My advice would be to explain the circumstances in mitigation, and ask them to use their discretion to cancel the PCN. If it eventually got to the adjudicator, you would be unlikely to win, as they have very limited powers re mitigation.

On the other hand, if the signs went up on, say, 11 August and/or were unclear, then it's worth claiming that the contravention did not occur because of inadequate signage.

Was the PCN left on the car or sent to you by post?  It affects the appeal process.

Your points about use of phone and email are well made, but are relevant only to mitigation, not the legality of the PCN.  I note from adjudicator reports of similar cases that Kensington & Chelsea phone a permit holder if their car is found in a suspended bay (or did so in 1995, anyway).

By the way, anyone who thinks their car might have been moved by the council should phone the London-wide TRACE service on 0845 206 8602, or call the Hounslow/Serco vehicle storage pound on 020 8453 3398.


Entire Thread
TopicDate PostedPosted By
Came back from abroad to find car towed by Council - suggestions?23/08/15 14:42:00 Jackie Elton
   Re:Came back from abroad to find car towed by Council - suggestions?23/08/15 14:51:00 Linda Leaney
   Re:Came back from abroad to find car towed by Council - suggestions?23/08/15 20:42:00 Richard Jennings
      Re:Came back from abroad to find car towed by Council - suggestions?23/08/15 23:12:00 Jackie Elton
         Re:Re:Came back from abroad to find car towed by Council - suggestions?23/08/15 23:48:00 Richard Jennings
            Re:Re:Re:Came back from abroad to find car towed by Council - suggestions?23/08/15 23:59:00 Jackie Elton

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