Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Online Parking Services Shut down, 2 - 10th May
The following from Haringey Council's Press Office:
The online parking permit and penalty charge payment services will be closed down for nine days between 2nd and 10th May to enable upgrading of the system.
Residents are urged to renew resident permits, order more visitor permits if they are running low, or make any new applications well before the 1st May.
We apologise for the inconvenience but we need to do this to upgrade the system which will allow access to a greater range of online parking services and enable the council to provide a better overall service in the future.
Residents will not be able to use the online services during this time or be served as normal at a Customer Service Centre to:
* Renew or make a first application for a Resident Permit
* Order Resident Visitor Permit Vouchers
* Pay for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)
There will be very limited opportunity to purchase any sort of permit at a Customer Service Centre during this period.
The council is taking extra steps to ensure that all renewals that are due before 10th May are completed before the system is shutdown.
During this shutdown period residents will still be able to pay a PCN via the automated telephone payment line by calling your 0845 1300130. Full details can be found on the penalty notice.
Between now and the shutdown there are still several ways to apply for a resident permit or resident visitor permit voucher.
Online: by visiting www.haringey.gov.uk/parking
By post: by completing an application form and sending it to PO Box 55235, London Borough of Haringey, N22 9DF.
Tags for Forum Posts: parking, parking permits online
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Clive, you already know my views about Haringey and other local councils using words like: "customers"; ‘business units’, ‘business plans’, and ‘service offers’.
I think you may even have quoted me.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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OK, Alan I just wanted to give you another opportunity to air your wise views on the subject of plain English, which deserve wider appreciation.
In the same vein, I have always found slightly irritating the reference, on public transport, to passengers as customers, which reduces meaning. I don't think the Revenue here has gone quite as far as the IRD in NZ, for whom taxpayers are known as "customers". I wish I could say I was making this up.
I suspect that the rationale behind these attempts at language engineering were designed to bring a sharper, business-like approach. Hmmm.
The final step would be to call guests of HMPs, "customers" also.
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From my observations in Haringey it's clear there were two main motivations. One was to learn from, adopt and adapt ideas from the best business practices. That, for example, is what Diana Edmonds did in successfully turning round Haringey libraries. It's what David Warwick was doing when he was Chief Executive.
The other motivation was to repackage injelitance by using business jargon.
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Permalink Reply by Anette on
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I'll give it a go tomorrow morning, and will post here to let you know how it all went. I'm not going to bite their heads off from the off, obviously....
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Anette I'm curious about your approach to the Parking Service to help solve your moving problem. Were they courteous and helpful; or not?
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Alan, I called, and they said I need to go there. Ao I am doing that tomorrow. Not massively helpful on the phone.
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Please keep us posted, Anette.
Moving house can be enormously stressful. I well remember horror stories involving furniture vans, keys, utility companies, legal hitches, family rows, last minute glitches etc, etc. Surely the Parking Service can offer practical help over the phone or online beforehand?
You're welcome to send me a message with more details. Has anyone else had similar problems?
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Here's the update: So, they could not help me over the phone when I called prior to the move. I had to go in. Which I did today. On the phone they told me to go to Seven Sisters Road. Luckily I spoke to my neighbour, who told me to go to Station Road, much closer to where I am. No idea why they told me Seven Sisters Road on the phone..
Turned up this morning just before 9am, to be told the parking permit system was down. They were hoping to get it up again sometime today, so come back in a few hours. Great.. Went for a walk around the block to cool down, and try and get the stress levels down. They also told me the system is down from May 1st, not May 2nd. There seemed to be much confusion about the date among staff, which did not help at all. The idea of not getting a perking permit for 2 weeks when we have just moved was not something I even wanted to think about. Went back to the Council offuice about 30 mins later, and luckily the parking system was up and running again. I wonder how many people had to take time off work today to get their business sorted out later today! Then stood in line for about 20 mins. I thought we'd gotten to the permits desk, but no. There was a woman there who took a brief look at our paperwork, then gave us a number, and we were sent to another line to wait to be seen. So you wait to see someone who then sends of off to wait to be seen! Unbelieveable. What a complete waste of time!
To cut a long story short, 2 hours after we first arrived there we left, new permits in hand.
They need ot change the system, and also bring back the option to do this on Saturdays. If they insist you come in in person they really need to help make the whole ordeal less of a, well, ordeal..
All done now, move completed, and I'm off to try and find my bread knife..
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No! Please! Not the bread knife, Anette! (Even though you might believe that no jury could possibly convict you.)
I will raise the general issue. Every year thousands of people move in and out of Haringey - many of them having to get Parking Permits. There must be better systems. Especially as Haringey Parking Service is a big money spinner.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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It's understandable that people move out of Haringey. This is rational.
I willingly moved into Haringey years ago, knowing and fully expecting that I was going to be up for high rates and low services (as compared with other Boroughs).
I haven't been disappointed.
What is remarkable, is that some folk – like Anette and my friend refered to elsewhere – chose to move within Haringey.
This is counter-intuitive and arguably non-rational behaviour.
The Borough Council - quite reasonably - cannot understand such conduct and they have not allowed for it. They're ill-prepared for gluttons people actually choosing of their own free will, to take yet more punishment.
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Hi Anette,
I assume you're moving house within the Borough. A friend was in a similar situation exactly a week ago (one might suppose these circumstances occur often). After a frustrating time on the phone (before moving), it seemed that this situation is regarded by the council as exceptional and they cannot deal with it easily.
The answer it seems, is to pay a visit in person to "Customer" Services, a little east along from River Park House. Unless you are prepared to wait for one to three hours to be seen, by coming along later in the day, I suggest you consider forming part of a much shorter queue outside the building before it opens in the morning. Your wait then could be as little as five or ten minutes.
The use of the word customer is curious. The advent of credit cards in the US in the 1960s had as its goal, to make it as easy as possible for people to pay for things.
When I heard the full description of what is required to accomplish something that ought to be straightforward, the thing that occurred to me was the sheer, unproductive, waste of everybody's time: the resident's, the council staff's - and also money, if time has any money value.
So I think your missing letters may spell out "Wasters".
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