Solicitor please - take Lambeth Council to Court

[ms_wilson]

I would like a recommendation for a local solicitor, ideally an independent solicitor.

I have been contesting an improperly signed PCN relating to Albert Square Kennington with Lambeth Council for the last 13 months. The fine was £65 but I contested it as the signs were placed after the entrance to the prohibited zone, not visible from the turning prior to the zone which I understand is non compliant with the legal requirements

An FOI I requested shows 20 people *per* *day* have been fined at this junction since at least October 2020 made me super angry and realise this is a huge matter of public interest. Lambeth Council have done absolutely nothing to make this junction properly signed since I raised the issue a year ago and are still tricking/fining 20 people a day; more than £600k over a year ago so probably more than £1m now. Instead of engaging with me Lambeth have ignored everything I have sent… tones of documentary evidence. They say the signage is fine but at no point have had it independently checked.

I have had two adjudications where I presented black and white facts from the Road Traffic Regulations, which were both a total biased farce and it also turned out eventually that the adjudicators weren’t even qualified solicitors/barristers like they should be. A complaint about this was of course ignored.

The whole thing has been a total corrupt nightmare from day one. Lambeth Council have kept sending me fine letters while ignoring all of my complaints and representations, but crucially they have not taken me to court to enforce the fine.

For me this is an issue of right and wrong, but to Lambeth Council it’s an easy way to trick and bully people to fill their coffers.

Today at 7.30am my husband saw a woman clamping our car. She told me our ~£20k car would towed the same day if I didn’t pay her £514. She showed me ID which did not look official and I couldn’t verify as it was 7.30 in the morning. She did not possess a court order and when I asked her for a court order she showed me something on her iPad which she said was a court order from Northampton County Court, but it didn’t have the word “Northampton” anywhere on it. She filmed me and my minor children via her bodycam inside our private property and nobody was dressed. She refused to stop filming inside my private property when I asked her to. I have the whole thing on CCTV.

I had to pay the £514 on the spot to be able to take my disabled child to school. She tried to personally phish my card details to which I refused and I eventually got a link to pay online. I want to reiterate we weren’t taken to court or served with a single court order or warning… this just happened out of the blue while simultaneously the Lambeth CEO and Highways Team and head of Fraud were all ignoring my emails. This is horrific and could seemingly happen to anyone.

I have done some digging and understand that what happened to me this morning was probably illegal… but after my lack of success with totally one-sided communication with Lambeth Council over the last 13 months I have decided it’s time to get a lawyer involved.

Can anyone recommend someone please?

Thanks

[Kaa]

I think you may be able to take them to small claims court yourself without a solicitor.

[ms_wilson]

Thank you but I would prefer to take advice.