Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Legally parked car illegally towed away. Trying to help a disabled friend. Resolved!!!!
I am trying to help a friend of mine, and am a little bit stuck. He’s suffering from severe depression and is unable to work, so is on benefits. He’s got a car that he hardly ever uses, so he was planning on selling it to help him with bills etc. He had parked it on a residential road with absolutely no parking restrictions, as he cannot afford a parking permit. It was not in anyone’s way whatsoever. Then a friend who lives near where he parked told him his car was gone. Due to his mental disability, he was unable to deal with this. I called Haringey Council car pound, and the car had been towed as they claimed it was dumped. Which it wasn’t. It was in good condition, no broken windows, flat tyres etc. The Council claim they have sent my friend a letter asking him to confirm that the car was not dumped. He never got the letter. They now want him to pay £200 + £40 per day. If he does not, the car will be destroyed at his cost.
He has not got the money to get the car out, so the cost just increases. So does his depression, this is more than he can even begin to consider dealing with. The added stress of money worries has made it worse. I have tried calling the Council on his behalf, but there is “nothing they can do” apparently.
The whole situation is absurd. Tjhey have kidnapped his legally parked car, they have not notified him like they should have, and are now effectively bullying a disabled man, refusing to let him have is car back, as he does not have the money to pay the ransom. And he certainly won’t have ythe money to pay them when they destroy his car. The car that was meant to pay for his food and rent for the next few months, he was trying to get to the stage where he could face dealing with selling it.
This is just so unfair, and it’s breaking my heart seeing what this does to him. Does anyone have any idea how to get this whole sorry mess sorted out?
Tags for Forum Posts: bastards, car, council, illegal, towed
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anette on
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James, you're right, I'm just worried that this won't get resolved and the costs will rocket, you know.. And to be fair, a week is very genrous when it comes to giving someone time to respond, don,t you think?
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Permalink Reply by james walsh on
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Anette* I'm very sorry but i can't help if you panic like this. I messaged you with all the info including the good reasons not to get upset or panic. Please re-read that message. Sit tight for replies to your emails usually ten full working days is the norm. Meanwhile think what good hands you're in here on HoL.
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I have read all your messages, thanks James. Karen Alexander was dignified with a reply from Lady Cunningham, saying she would have something back by Sept. 27th. Me, as a commoner, got diddly squat. I guess I am just too used to replying in a timely fashion and treating people I am dealing with with a little respect. Otherwise I'd be out on my arse. I suppose it's different if your're working for us the people the council..
Anyway, I am grateful for Karen Alexanders involvement, and wil wait and see what she comes back with.
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Great news!!!! I just had a call from Sue Philby in parking services. The case was passed on to her for review, and given the circumstances she's agreed to waive the fees and let my friend have his car back. She feels Parking has handled this correctly, but she's also obviously a decent human being and decided to let this one go. My friend is absolutely over the moon, and so am I!!!!
Thank you to everyone for your advice, and especially massively huge thanks to James, Karen Alexander (don't think this would have happened without you) and Alan Stanton. That's my Oscar speech done, and I've almost got tears in my eyes. Thanks again.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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A positive result for your efforts, Anette. But can I also raise what seem unresolved issues.
There's one extra bit of information not apparent in this thread. Thanks to John D's photo, it turned out that your friend's car was parked in the southern part of The Chine which is not a private road. So it seems here was a car parked on the public highway, properly taxed and insured, and not causing an obstruction, which was removed to a car pound because your friend didn't receive a letter from Haringey Parking Service. Have I got that right?
From what you write, Sue Philby reviewing the case, decided that Haringey had followed the rules but that given the extenuating circumstances - presumably your friend's illness - it was fair to waive the charge.
Good news and a fair outcome for your friend. But less helpful to the rest of us who simply want to know where and when we can park and for how long. Without the risk of returning to our car and finding it clamped, ticketed - or no longer there because it's been lifted to the pound.
It seems reasonable to me that both residents and local councils should be able to follow clear unambiguous rules. Parking rules are, at bottom, about sharing part of "the commons" - the public highway.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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It seems reasonable to me that both residents and local councils should be able to follow clear unambiguous rules.
Couldn't agree more. The "rules" are normally expressed in signage which is wholly or largely unclear.
No Alan, I could design better signage but I am not going to do the council's job for them!
I think the layout should be mandated from central government since local authorities have inconsistent signage and appear to have a vested (financial) interest in ambiguous meaning (i.e.entrapment, where a motorist having checked the sign, genuinely beleives they are parking lawfully, but aren't).
In Stroud Green, Parking Services are finally putting in the CPZ they've been aching to put in for years. The signage is pretty ugly. I've suggested a parking bay for motorcycles, but apparently its too late to change the "plans".
Anyone would suppose we are talking about plans for the successor to the Space Shuttle. It's not rocket science! I cannot see, in truth, how this outlandish request would involve more than a paint brush and a small tin of paint ...
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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No Alan.
Obviously I don't KNOW where he was parked but from Annette's description - " now that I have checked, a private road " - I assumed it was on the private part of the Chine which is signposted as such
.d
There is, however, no clear indication that it is residents' only parking.
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Sorry to be unclear, John. Understandably, Anette made an assumption that the whole of The Chine is a private road.
But then, the earlier photo you took appears to show where the private road begins. Which made it likely that the southern part of the road is public highway. I checked this with Haringey. And with Anette, who confirmed that her friend had parked in this southern section.
Hence my comment about the need for clear signage.
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Permalink Reply by tania on
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What the hell is going on with so called Traffic Management department Haringey Council, they are just automatically sending PCN's from CCTV even though not valid, then when you contest it online you get an email back saying it is closed, you try to call but the auto message service sends you in circles getting nowhere, then 3 weeks later get a letter saying that it has to be the registered keeper that contests the PCN not the actual driver, how is the registered keeper going to know if the driver has contravened a parking restriction, its a corrupt mess, just saying, obviously desperate to get as much finance in as possible to pay parking wardens, is this some sort of job creation scheme.
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