Parking ticket for loading...grrrrrr....

[American Robin]

Has anybody else fallen foul of the Southwark mobile parking enforcement teams ?

We live in Peckham on a road with no parking restrictions - so it's difficult for residents to park because everybody leaves their cars here while they nip onto the train at Peckham Rye or don't want to pay to park their second car in their own street. We double parked outside the house so we could load our car up with heavy gear - let me be clear we didn't block the road - plenty of space for a van to get past - and with the tailgate of the car up, we rushed in and out of the house loading up.

A mobile unit drove up and immediately put a ticket on the windscreen. We said we were loading but he said it didn't matter - double parking isn't allowed.

We're going to appeal but it seems incredibly punitive. I've lived here for years and there's definitely a far more stringent - and unreasonable - interpretation of the rules. In effect you can't then double park outside your house if you're unloading shopping; helping an elderly relative into the house or loading heavy equipment into your own vehicle.

Infuriating and unfair. Presumably all about commission and money raising.

[tiddles]

yes the latter is true. definitely appeal

[Jeremy]

Appeal.

[tinylittledan]

Have sent you a PM.

[intexasatthe moment]

Good luck with the appeal. They do say that appeals are generally sucessful.

[northlondoner]

Appeal. If you need help consult the very useful Appealnow.com

[Eileen]

American Robin Wrote:

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> We live in Peckham on a road with no parking

> restrictions - so it's difficult for residents to

> park because everybody leaves their cars here

> while they nip onto the train at Peckham Rye In effect you

> can't then double park outside your house if

> you're unloading shopping; helping an elderly

> relative into the house or loading heavy equipment

> into your own vehicle.

I have to do this also in Nutbrook St. Is your street anywhere near that? Would like to know, to see if they might be pursuing us as well.

[johnh]

I agree that the Southwark wardens are rather over zealous, I received a PCN for parking in the loading bay opp Bells plumbers ...and I was loading and allowed 40mins acording to the sign, I have had one appeal turned down as I was told that there is a "high demand for parking and loading spaces in the bourough and therefore it is necessary to have tight controls on parking and no loading to ensure that spaces are available to as many moterists as possible" work that one out..loading in a loading area and still ticketed.

I,m a local plumber with a sign written van outside a plumbers merchant in a loading bay and they cliam that they cannot fully consider my case, Oh by the way the ticket was for 4 minutes!! I shall keep challanging the PCN and see what happens

Happy Daze

[helena handbasket]

Just out of curiosity....... how are people supposed to move houses here? Our movers got a ticket for being double parked, fair enough, but it would be impossible to arrange for enough empty parking spaces in front of our house to fit the moving van. Didn't appeal it but am wondering what else could have been done? It was not a busy road easy to get in and out of even with the road blocked so couldn't have been a huge inconvenience for the neighbors. Not sure what the alternative would have been?

[northernmonkey]

Re moving house - on our street people put wheelie bins out in spaces as they become available and hope that enough cars move before removal date - a sign explaining why the bins are out also helps. Although annoying, would point out that its better to get a parking ticket on your removal van than live in a CPZ and have to pay to suspend the bays, in Lambeth it used to cost ?175 per bay to suspend parking (probably more now) and a removal van needs 3 bays! (plus it inevitably means that some of your neighbours get parking tickets if they don't drive often so don't notice the parking suspension notice).

[helena handbasket]

Wow, good to know. Thanks for the info........ I guess we got off easy.

[Jeremy]

johnh Wrote:

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> I have had one appeal turned down

As I understand it, the initial appeal is routinely turned down. If you keep at it though, the odds seem to be in your favour (unless you were obviously in the wrong).

[ClareC]

I think the PCN's in the Peckham area are in the main intended to generate revenue! We got a PCN for being in a loading bay for 2 mins and 30 seconds - apparantly the vehicle was the wrong type to be able to use a loading bay!?!?!?! The sign certainly didn't fall specify which vehicles can and can't use the bay - the time period alone shows it was being used to load rather than park!!

I also fell foul of the no right turn at the end of Rye Lane, it's busses only but the sign saying that is a way back from the traffic lights, I genuinely didn't see it and the left turn you need to use looked like a layby rather than the main route! First I knew was when the PCN came through!! I am sure it could be marked a lot better!

I am paranoid to drive anywhere near Peckham now!!

[Mamma Mia]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> johnh Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I have had one appeal turned down

>

> As I understand it, the initial appeal is

> routinely turned down. If you keep at it though,

> the odds seem to be in your favour (unless you

> were obviously in the wrong).

Definitely appeal if you feel you have a strong case. The rejection letter I received gave me the opportunity to pay the full ?120 before going to independent adjudicators. One week before the hearing I received a letter from Southwark Council offering me a last chance payment of ?180 which I ignored. Two days before hearing I received a letter saying Southwark Council had decided not to pursue it.

[American Robin]

Thanks everybody for all your advice and comments etc re: appealing.

If you can't double park outside your house (when they're space for cars and vans to pass you) while you're legitimately loading heavy loads (or people and children) into your car, then this seems to me to be an unnecessarily punitive interpretation of the regulations.

[Eileen]

American Robin Wrote:

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> Thanks everybody for all your advice and comments

> etc re: appealing.

> If you can't double park outside your house (when

> they're space for cars and vans to pass you) while

> you're legitimately loading heavy loads (or people

> and children) into your car, then this seems to me

> to be an unnecessarily punitive interpretation of

> the regulations.

I agree. As this is a Council policy, we can all raise it with our ward councillors and our respective Community Councils to put pressure on to get it changed. The best pressure would come within the Dulwich Community Council as the two parties - Liberal Democrats & Conservatives - that control the Council are both represented there.

[ladywotlunches]

On a related note, is there a time limit for Southwark to respond to your appeal? I got a ticket on 27th October and appealed the next day, but haven't heard anything either way yet. Am I off the hook???

[Mamma Mia]

ladywotlunches Wrote:

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> On a related note, is there a time limit for

> Southwark to respond to your appeal? I got a

> ticket on 27th October and appealed the next day,

> but haven't heard anything either way yet. Am I

> off the hook???

I got a response fairly quickly and the hearing was about 8 weeks away.

[Smiler]

Appeal and pursue til the end, as the council sometimes gives up.

We live just off Lordship Lane and the wardens patrol around at the weekends waiting to pounce! They must know the best places to give out tickets / get cash. We have had several of these loading-type tickets, for unloading shopping outside our house, and have got them dropped at quite a late stage, they send scary letters about the fee escalating etc.

Businesses near us have said that they get masses of tickets.

[northlondoner]

Johnh - I am getting a stress headache just reading your post. Talk to the local MP about it. And what about that councillor guy who posts on here. Get him involved as well. Grrrrrrrrr:X

[northlondoner]

Johnh - I am getting a stress headache just reading your post. Talk to the local MP about it. And what about that councillor guy who posts on here. Get him involved as well. Grrrrrrrrr

[pepsi]

Overzealous? Definitely. Should you appeal? Definitely. But playing devil's advocate, if you park illegally you can't be too surprised if you get caught, however unfair it seems.

[Gimme]

pepsi Wrote:

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> Overzealous? Definitely. Should you appeal?

> Definitely. But playing devil's advocate, if you

> park illegally you can't be too surprised if you

> get caught, however unfair it seems.

Define illegal... parking in a loading bay to load a boiler into a van isn't illegal is it...

Stopping your car to unload shopping isn't illegal... The surprise is often in how the rules are applied. Logic doesn't come into it. The thing that usually surprises me is that as a community we put up with a substandard service from the council like this. Anyway, parking in breach of parking regulations isn't strictly 'illegal', it is merely contrary to parking regulations

[pepsi]

Anyway, parking in breach of

> parking regulations isn't strictly 'illegal', it

> is merely contrary to parking regulations

Yes - and therefore due a ticket. Like it or not (and I don't), nobody should be surprised to get a ticket for this. It is after all pretty obvious that double parking is a bad idea unless you want to risk a ticket.

[northlondoner]

Pepsi - you presumably therefore agree that the parking wardens must also be fined when parking illegally - as witnessed by a number of folk on this forum...