Dear Colleagues,
I will try to be brief and as succinct as possible
I was sent a charging certificate which was cancelled because I had posted a valid statutory declaration. I have now found out that the charge certificate is legally invalid - which cancels the original PCN.
Could I use the following argument in front of the Adjudicator :
If the charge certificate was legally valid, then if it was cancelled by the statutory declaration, the original PCN would still stand.
Because the charge certificate was not legally valid in the first place - the original PCN is struck out. All that the statutory decalaration has done is cancel an already legally invalid charge certificate ?.
On what grounds could I argue this point - that the contravention did not occur ( even though the council have a video of me making a prohibited right turn ? ) - could I claim costs against the council ?.
I have still not received a Notice of Rejection either from the council before the appeal, and a copy of it is not present in the bundle.
The council have sent me a bundle which they have sent to the PATAS, they have not enclosed the Charge Certificate, Traffic Management Order or the Rejection Notice.( even though the checklist states that it has enclosed the last two documents ). The authorised officer witness statement declares that the CCTV recording was made in accordance with the code of practice - see below - I have read the code, and the recording appears to have been made in breach of the codes .
I want a hearing in person, would I have to write to PATAS ?
In the meantime, should I request disclosure of the 'Traffic Management Order', 'Rejection Notice' ? and if they are not provided to me - can the adjudicator take this in to account ?.
The original PCN as follows: ( the ticket states that the operator was observing real time pictures - if so - the contravention occurred on the 26th February 2007, and the date of the notice is 19th March 2007, it took them just over three weeks to post it to me. This strongly suggests that the tape had been played back to reveal the alleged contravention - not in real time ). I don't know if this invalidates the statement made in the PCN ?. Is there any statutory time frame that the council have to comply with in regards to the actual date of the contravention and service of the notice ?.
The statutory case summary in the bundle states " The PCN was served to Mr X by first class post within 14 days of the contravention occurring, after enquiry to the DVLA" - but look at the dates - it took almost three weeks before it was served on me ! ( not within 14 days ).
I have visited the site and have noticed that the camera is fixed to a lamp-post with no enforcement camera signage on the lamp-post or the three entrance roads that lead in to controlled zone. The camera was recently removed for about 3 months but has now suddenly re-appeared. It really appears to be a covert camera as there is no signage as to how the controlled zone is going to be enforced - camera 's actual picture:
I have checked up on the Data Protection Act 1998 - and there is no indication that moving images are going to be recorded anywhere near the camera - can this be argued in front of the Adjudicator ?. The DPA 1998 states that under the 'First Data Principle' -( fair processing ) signage should be present declaring presence of CCTV.
I have also consulted the London Councils Codes of Practice when using CCTV, and they state that signage should be present as a minimum in order to comply with best practice. I am not sure if non -compliance is something that will make the camera evidence unlawful or whether it is something that the Adjudicator will consider.
Thank you for reading this post ( I do apologise for the length ) and any opinions / advice will be greatly appreciated.