ive got my first pcn for going into a bus lane, by filtering into an oncoming buslane past stationary traffic in holborn. Wouldnt usually do it but guess i was following the courier. Just got through a letter saying pcn has increased to £195 for not responding to a previous letter, which i had never received.
I’m usually pretty careful about buslanes but for some reason it didn’t enter my head i’d get done going into an oncoming one. pretty stupid of me but in case anyone might do the same the vid is below. I’m the last of the 3 bikes
Camden offices arent open on the weekend, so does anyone know will i still be charged the increased rate even if i never received the original pcn in the post?
Thanks for sharing this JP. It’s a useful lesson for me.
I think it’s bad luck but IMO you don’t have a defence. Sorry.
I would pay the lower fine immediately and refuse to pay the higher one of £195 on the grounds you didn’t receive the first letter. It can only be you ord against theirs but be prepared for a long period of hassle!
I guess technically they have you bang to rights because you entered the bus lane - but it was only fleetingly and you were hardly hogging the bus lane and obstructing the bus.
What ever happened to common sense discretion?
It’s sh1t like this which makes London an annoying and painful place to be in at times . . .
So yeah - pay it mate and put it down to experience.
bloody hell that is HARSH mate. cant you tell them that you cant read upside down where it says bus lane on the road, and the signs about the bus lane are all back to front because the bus lane is going the other f#ckin way.
Tbh. I’d have a shot at contesting it mentioning the fact you didn’t receive the first letter.
Worst that can happen is they make you pay the lowere amount. The fine doesn’t go up while the process is going on.
You might not get anywhere but the worst can happen is you have to pay the fine you’d pay without contesting.
Jeeesus… that’s just petty in the extreme! I’ve heard it said before, but London certainly is one big clip-joint these days - everyone wanting to screw everyone else and Westminster Council being the biggest culprit of them all.
I’d write to them stating that as you never received the first letter, they never gave you the opportunity to pay the lower amount. Accept your guilt for this heinous crime and enclose a cheque for the lower amount. Then sit back and wait for a year of aggrivation to come your way
Alright mate. Ignore all this stupid Stasi bollox stuff about ‘your fault, you should face up and pay it’ as that I absolute tripe. £195 is an absolutely obscene amout of money to pay for crossing over a painted line on the road.
I got a PCN for the same place but a slightly different situation (the road ahead was closed due to police activity, I entered the bus lane to escape the gridlock) but I appealed it and got let off as it was my first bus lane offence.
Cool - will have a go contesting but definitely in the wrong so won’t be disappointed if I have to pay. Just don’t want to have to pay the extended penalty. If they can’t prove I received the original PCM I can’t see how they can enforce it? They should send it recorded delivery really.
The CCTV was available from Camden Coumcil website.
Gl daws. Hopefully I just gOt unlucky with the CCTV operator and you’ll fare better
sadly no contest as the large blue sign facing you with three arrows in your direction and the bus symbol with arrow other direction gives you the instruction required
As much of a obstruction as the cyclist that did the same thing after you. That really is a jobs worth doing his job. Jesus .
They should charge bus drivers that don’t actually use bus lanes, I was in the car heading to work, bus lane on the left and a bus driving in the lane to the right not using the bus lane, massive queue behind and he was driving at 20mph!! Arsehole.
This does not quite make sense . At £195 you must have recivied a Charge Certificate ???
If so you are saying you did not
A - original PCN
B - Enforcement Notice
The Charge Certificate is the third document issued.
They will have applied to the DVLA in the day or two following the offence and all documents will have sent to the address supplied by them. . You will have a hard time convincing anybody you recivied nothing until the Charge Certificate which threatens registration at court if not paid.
Best bet is probally wait for the Notice of Registration and make awitness Statment ( ground 1) . This will cause the case ( and charges) to reverse back to Enforcement Notice stage and the will re- issue it . You can then make a representation.
^^^ thats exactly right, the doc i received yesterday is a charge certificate. I haven’t received the first 2 docs.
It says on it if payment (£195) is not made within 14 days it’s passed onto the Traffic Enforcement Centre, which may result in bailiffs. Is this when the Notice of Registration is issued? I should just wait around for the next doc to arrive rather than contact the council? Seems to be what is recommended in Rusty’s Link too.
Contest every which way you can. The council are by and large hopelessly incompetent, and the more communication you incur between you and them, the more likely your case is to be misplaced/lost/left on a train to Bristol.
Or maybe not. Bus lanes are for buses in service. If he wasn’t in service, he shouldn’t use it. As for doing 20mph, the guy might not have been able to park up for a few minutes at the start of his first journey to kill time so had to pace himself so that he arrived at the start of his first run exactly when his running board stated. I do a bit of bus work part-time. You run more than 1 min early & the Traffic Commissioner will kick the company’s arse (fines in the £10k’s). Drivers get final written warnings. Run more than 2 mins early and you may as well head back to the depot and hang your uniform on the peg. Maybe he had a good reason for playing it squeaky clean.
Now if you want real arseholes, I’ve worked with a few in the HGV game - no CCTV in their cabs so that the management can see them pick their nose, scratch their balls, run over the odd cyclist etc. As soon as they leave the depot, they’re a law unto themselves! :hehe:
They’ve helped me with a few tickets, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. I think there’s been a few cases where people successfully challenged the increased fees on the basis that they never received the first notifications. They can’t prove you did receive it so it’s worth a try. As for the ticket itself, you rode in a bus lane so I’m not sure you can get out of it unless you can prove some sort of ‘procedural impropriety’ on the part of the issuing authority, or if the notification you received is worded incorrectly. It’s worth scanning it and posting it up with your details removed as there’s loads of experienced people on the forum who can look at it and will tell you if the wording doesn’t meet regulations etc…
