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#Post#: 55194--------------------------------------------------
Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: smelly-beard
Date: January 26, 2025, 12:06 pm
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Hello,
I returned from holiday yesterday to find my car had been towed
from a residents' parking zone in Tower Hamlets. According to
TRACE, it was impounded on 20/01 for being parked in a suspended
bay. I was away from 18/01 to 25/01 and did not notice any
suspension signs when I parked or left.
I have now collected the car from the pound, paying £505 in fees
(£65 PCN + £200 removal + £240 storage). Upon collection I
noticed that the rear right tyre is completely flat and won't
inflate - presumably punctured. Prior to impoundment, all tyres
were in perfect condition.
I need the car for work which is why I paid the fee immediately.
But I will hold off contacting the council or initiating a
challenge until someone has a chance to lend some advice on this
forum.
This is the parking location:
HTML https://maps.app.goo.gl/SPo3KBXrffLJPsAz5
Timeline of Events:
16/01 (~23:00): Parked in a residents' bay. No suspension notice
was present (or I would have seen it).
18/01: Left for holiday in France. Did not notice a suspension
sign when leaving, but it is possible I missed one if it had
been put up after I parked.
20/01 (08:59): Car towed.
25/01: Returned from holiday.
26/01: Discovered car was missing, located it via TRACE, paid
the release fees, and noticed the flat tyre.
My concerns:
Parking Suspension Notice: Even if the council put up the sign
on 17/01 (day after I parked), this leaves only two working
days' notice before towing, which seems unreasonable.
Tyre Damage: The flat tyre was not present before the car was
towed.
Next Steps:
Should I ask the council for evidence of when the suspension
notice was put up (including photos)?
Should I repair the tyre and keep the receipt for a potential
claim?
Is there a specific template or wording I should use for my
challenge?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
HTML https://i.imgur.com/DTarHbH.jpeg
#Post#: 55198--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: H C Andersen
Date: January 26, 2025, 12:33 pm
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Have you looked at the photos, they're online?
They even have some indicating the car's condition. They'll be
no argument that the tyres were inflated when lifted. So IMO get
your tyre repaired and get a report on the cause of deflation,
if this can be determined, the condition of the tyre e.g. its
wear etc. and cost of fitting.
Post the docs you were given at the pound pl.
#Post#: 55200--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: smelly-beard
Date: January 26, 2025, 12:44 pm
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I've just found that evidence is available on
HTML https://towerhamlets.tarantoportal.com/PCN/ViewImages
using the
PCN number (TT58451082) and contravention code (21). There are
51 images in total, I have attached the most relevant at the
bottom of this post.
From these, I see that seven bays were suspended for one day for
tree works. However, the suspension notice does not include a
"display date," which seems unusual. Current suspension notices
in the area do include this information - for example, a notice
outside my house for 27th-28th January states it was erected on
xxth January. From the evidence images, there’s no clear
indication of when warning of the suspension was provided.
After reviewing the images, I should revise my earlier comments.
Given the location of the suspension notice, at least 2-3 car
lengths behind where I parked, I suppose it’s possible the
notice was in place on 16th January but was obscured by parked
vehicles. Since my house is in the opposite direction, I
wouldn’t have walked past the notice after parking, which might
explain why I didn’t see it.
One observation: in the evidence photos, my rear right tyre is
clearly inflated. This provides good evidence that the puncture
occurred while the car was in the council’s care, either during
towing or storage.
Lastly, the final few evidence photos are confusing. They show
generic line drawings of a car marked up with yellow lines as if
to indicate extensive pre-existing damage across the entire
vehicle. I’ve attached an example below, but similar images
exist for all sides. These markings don’t reflect the actual
condition of my car, as seen in the other evidence photos. This
seems like an overly broad attempt to pre-empt damage claims.
Has anyone encountered this kind of evidence before?
HTML https://i.imgur.com/w6ulll2.jpeg
HTML https://i.imgur.com/ocH2hVL.jpeg
HTML https://i.imgur.com/sBa1OUX.jpeg
HTML https://i.imgur.com/JQ1Pyjs.jpeg
#Post#: 55203--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: smelly-beard
Date: January 26, 2025, 12:52 pm
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--- Quote from: H C Andersen link ---
>
> Have you looked at the photos, they're online?
>
> They even have some indicating the car's condition. They'll be
no argument that the tyres were inflated when lifted. So IMO get
your tyre repaired and get a report on the cause of deflation,
if this can be determined, the condition of the tyre e.g. its
wear etc. and cost of fitting.
>
> Post the docs you were given at the pound pl.
>
--- End Quote ---
Thank you for the reply. Besides the PCN, I was provided with a
receipt and a "Representations against removal of vehicle"
document - see below.
HTML https://i.imgur.com/zRAN0AT.jpeg
HTML https://i.imgur.com/GYjTOJg.jpeg
HTML https://i.imgur.com/rXXy4j9.jpeg
HTML https://i.imgur.com/cGT7UVT.jpeg
#Post#: 55207--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: fraser.mitchell
Date: January 26, 2025, 1:06 pm
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The bottom line on this, is that you've now paid all there is to
pay, so it is a total and absolute no-brainer to submit
representations, and then, (when inevitably rejected), take them
to London Tribunals as you could get some or even all of the
money back. If you lose, you've already paid.
#Post#: 55210--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: stamfordman
Date: January 26, 2025, 1:27 pm
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This will depend on when the suspension notice went up and if
you were parked there before.
I assume you hold a resident's permit.
Tower Hamlets policy is clear in the document we hold:
Any vehicle recorded as having been in the suspended area when
the suspension notices were erected must only be
relocated to the nearest available legal parking place.
Damage to your car is a separate issue to challenging the PCN.
#Post#: 55215--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: smelly-beard
Date: January 26, 2025, 1:42 pm
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--- Quote from: stamfordman link ---
>
> This will depend on when the suspension notice went up and if
you were parked there before.
>
> I assume you hold a resident's permit.
>
> Tower Hamlets policy is clear in the document we hold:
>
> Any vehicle recorded as having been in the suspended area when
the suspension notices were erected must only be
> relocated to the nearest available legal parking place.
>
> Damage to your car is a separate issue to challenging the PCN.
>
--- End Quote ---
Correct, I hold a resident's permit.
Okay, so my next action should definitely be to enquire as to
the date of erection of the suspension notices. Is there a
suggested best way to do this? Let's say the council tell me it
was erected on x date, do they require any sort of proof in
respect of this?
If it turns out the notice was in place prior to my parking
there on the 16th, do I have any further recourse to challenge
the fees given the distance from suspension sign to parking bay
for example?
Regardless of the outcome, any advice for addressing the
separate issue of damage to my car whilst in council hands?
Tremendously unfortunate that I was parked in one of seven
suspended bays, and that the suspension was on the Monday of my
week away! Also tremendously annoying for the council to impound
a car in this situation rather than simply moving it a few
places down or across the street.
#Post#: 55223--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: stamfordman
Date: January 26, 2025, 2:30 pm
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We can look at the if the sign was reasonably placed - what is
the layout of the bay and what was the parking sign you relied
on when you parked, and where was the suspension sign.
#Post#: 55226--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: smelly-beard
Date: January 26, 2025, 3:05 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: stamfordman link ---
>
> We can look at the if the sign was reasonably placed - what is
the layout of the bay and what was the parking sign you relied
on when you parked, and where was the suspension sign.
>
--- End Quote ---
I was parked roughly where the white Prius is shown in this
Google Street View link:
HTML https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yvak3MAFLDxtrDGu7
I now know, from the PCN evidence images, that the suspension
notice was affixed to the lamp post visible on the right side of
the image, which also hosts the closest parking sign to the
space. When I parked on the evening of 16th January I didn’t
explicitly check the sign as this is a spot I regularly use
outside my house and the road was also occupied by other
residents' cars at the time.
I will contact the council tomorrow to confirm when the
suspension notice was erected. Based on the PCN photos, I
suspect the answer may be that it was in place before the 16th,
and I didn’t see it due to the the presence of other parked
vehicles and my house being in the opposite direction.
If this turns out to be the case, the lesson I take on board is
that I must in future review the parking sign near my house
every time I park. Whilst true that I failed to explicitly check
the sign, the £505 fee feels disproportionate. Are there grounds
to challenge the decision to impound the car rather than move it
a short distance within the residents' parking zone? Or are
there other angles I could pursue?
Thanks again for the advice on this.
#Post#: 55244--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tower Hamlets, PCN for suspended bay whilst on holiday, car
towed, flat tyre upon collection
DIR By: mrmustard
Date: January 26, 2025, 4:50 pm
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If the council have rbeached their ownn removal policy that is
argument enough for the tribunal.
Another is that the council quote now replaced 2007 Regulations.
They should quote ones from 2022.
I'm happy to be your representative. Email mrmustard@zoho.com
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