Council cancels parking fine amid dispute over sign error

Denise Thomas, who lives in Sandringham Road, said she parked her car on Wednesday, August 31 in a bay that had no parking suspension notice.

She said she returned to her car on Friday, September 2 and discovered a penalty charge notice (PCN) on her windscreen.

According to Denise, this CCTV image was taken at 14.02pm on Friday, September 2, where no suspension notice is visible (Image: Denise Thomas)

According to Denise, this CCTV image was taken at 14.35pm on Friday, September 2, where the suspension notice is now visible. Denise said: "I came back [home on September 2], checked my CCTV and I saw that they had actually put up the signs that same day and the signage was backdated so as opposed to giving you notice, they put up the signage that very afternoon and they had backdated the dates to the previous Wednesday." (Image: Denise Thomas)

A spokesperson for the council said: "When parking suspensions are introduced we have robust enforcement procedures in place – including taking images of all vehicles parked in any of the bays impacted.

"We reviewed this case and found evidence from our photos that the vehicle was parked prior to the signs being installed, and cancelled the PCN as a result."

The council wrote to Denise to inform her, saying although the PCN had been "correctly issued", it would be cancelled given Denise's vehicle "was seen and recorded when the suspension signs were put up".

The council said signs were put up on August 19 and 20 to support the works that were due to start August 29 and 31. The spokesperson said the suspension that started on August 31 should have included the bays on either side of the junction with St Mark's Rise, where Denise was parked, but that signage was only amended to reflect that on September 2, when the council was were notified of the issue by G.Network. The council says that, as a result, the suspension of bays started on September 2 and the restrictions were not backdated.

This parking suspension notice details that the bay, including "[a]ll parking spaces outside and opposite 67 to 77 Sandringham Road", would be suspended between Wednesday, August 31 and Tuesday, September 6 2022 (Image: Denise Thomas)

Denise said: "It's inconvenient because...you have to go through the process of sitting down, emailing them. That's time and unnecessary energy, to have to do that and wait for them. If I didn't have the evidence, I would've been stuck so it is extremely inconvenient and they should be doing better.

"If I wasn't a person who was quite vigilant, I would've just had to pay it because it would've been my word against theirs but to now have the proof, I now don't trust them at all."

The spokesperson for Hackney Council added: "Parking suspensions are put in place when we or utility companies need to undertake work on a road.

"We seek to give as much notice as possible, but fully appreciate that these can cause inconvenience for local residents especially if they are introduced at short notice."