Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Do Haringey still send out reminders to renew parking permits?
Hi there,
Spent many an hour viewing the site and picking up loads of great advice. Hopefully someone can help me out with this dilemma!
Went to the car this morning to find a parking ticket on it (we live in Wood Green CPZ). Checked on the permit, and it had run out earlier this week. In the past we have always been sent a reminder, and have sorted out a new permit in plenty of time. This time we received no reminder, and as a result, were unaware that it needed renewing (didn't bother to check the expiry date as we'd always been sent a reminder!)
Speaking to a couple of other residents today, they said the council no longer send out reminders, which I find hard to believe, as the website states that reminders are sent out 5 weeks prior to expiry.
Has anyone had a similar experience??
The website also explains that some people do not receive their reminders, and if this is the case they should contact the borough three weeks before expiry.
Obviously I feel slightly annoyed at receiving this fine and will contest it. Bearing in mind the content of the Haringey website, in which they say they send them out, and some people don't receive them, would it be reasonable to ask for evidence of them sending the reminder?
Of course this reminder could have been 'lost in the post,' but it leaves an unpleasant taste - at a time when many of the council services do a fantastic job, I constantly get the feeling that the parking department are out to get you anyway they can!!
Tags for Forum Posts: parking, parking permits
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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I was sent a reminder about 5 weeks before my permit was due to be renewed. I could be wrong but I don't think you can renew it without a reminder. I did mine online and printed it out this year and I'm pretty sure I used a reference number I received in the renewal letter.
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Permalink Reply by doug on
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Hi Julie,
Thanks for that - yes, that's the other problem - I tried to renew it online this morning, but without the applicant ID that is sent out in the renewal letter, I can't do it. Having to put 2 hour permits on my car until the morning when I can enjoy the delights of the queues at Haringey Parking Services!!
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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You could try phoning them to get your applicant number - be prepared for a long wait to get through, though. They did it for me.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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I think you'll find the Parking Service regard the reminders as a courtesy and it's up to the owner to keep a check on expiry. But good luck with your contesting.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Only a courtesy?
Hmm. It's possible, John. But I rather think that reminders make very sound "business" sense as well. And as more people get online it should be getting easier and cheaper to do this.
In any case shouldn't we value courtesy and civility for their own sake? Part of the social glue which human societies depend on.
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Sophistry, Alan.
I am sure you know that the word " courtesy " has more than one meaning and that I was not using it in the sense of politeness or civility. The courtesy car that is loaned to you from your garage does not greet you with a " Good morning Councillor, I hope that you are well. I did enjoy your contribution to the parking debate. "
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I'm unsure about the point you're making, John.
If you're mean that intrinsic values of courtesy and civility can also become used (and exploited) by commercial interests then I agree. They have an exchange value.
Although we don't agree if you mean that commercial interests totally transform people's relations which become solely "naked self-interest and callous cash payment".
Have you listened to Neil McGregor's radio programmes about Shakespeare's World? I was thinking about possible implications for present-day London of what he says about 16th Century Venice.
"This was a city that treated its immigrants well and fairly - it looked after its non-doms, convinced that prosperity depended on having lots of foreigners living happily together, and to ensure this it guaranteed them all equal treatment under the law, an essential pre-condition of successful commerce in Venice, as it would later be in London."
P.S. And one day I may even get a message from the Dear Leader thanking me for my contribution to the Parking Debate.
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Many thanks again for the replies - I managed to get a new permit today by visiting the parking shop, where the service was quick and efficient.
I quite agree/understand that it's my responsibility to check the renewal date, and didn't do so. Maybe I'm the only one, but I don't know the renewal date of my tax disc, or my TV licence because I know I get sent reminders. I do know the renewal date of my MOT as I don't get a reminder. Maybe I will learn my lesson from this. However, as Alan pointed out, in todays society of electronic communication there should be more efficient/cost effective ways of sending out reminders, rather than relying on the post office.
As mentioned previously my concern was that a couple of other residents also received no reminder, so maybe we need to add this renewal date to the calendar!
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I've been caught out this way too Doug. I think it would be reasonable to ask Haringey to be clear about their reminder policy. If they're not going to do it, make that abundantly clear when they issue a permit.
I sincerely hope they will commit to reminders. For me the most efficient thing would be an email. No chance of lost post then.
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Exactly. Which would save money and let Parking staff focus on residents who don't have email.
I'll raise this as a general issue. Has anyone got some examples from other boroughs where they handle these renewals better? (If you don't want to post here, you can email me: alan.stanton@virgin.net )
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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More than one person has noted the need to spend a lot of time waiting and/or waiting on hold on the phone. This is of course wasting everyone's time, but it's also likely to be wasting the resident's money for the cost of the call.
Could not the council acknowledge this cost in a way that compensates the caller, whom they are pleased to refer to as a "customer" and at the same time provide an accounting incentive within their own profit center to reduce the time that "customers" are kept on hold.
Not many people ring the council for the sheer fun of it and those that do probably have "issues". Why not have the council provide an 0800 number for their "customers" just as many customer-friendly business do?
Business-orientated companies know that the least number of impediments should be left in the way of gaining future valuable custom. It's a great way of encouraging the casual enquiry that turns into long term repeat business.
No one rings the council for fun. Why not let at least some lines be free to the customer?
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Renewals are patchy. The same problem for me a few years ago; permit expired and I had not realised. Arrived home to find two tickets and a clamp yet no reminder had been sent. HC even admitted they had a known issue at the time.
Called up to get de-clamped and had to pay for the clamp fine and one ticket just to get released. Went to the council offices to pick up a permit the following day and sent an appeal letter which included all three PCN references.
I got three separate replies to my one letter, which seemed odd. The first was promising and agreed to waive the unpaid ticket on the grounds that I had clearly made a genuine error and that they accepted the reminder was never sent. It also stated that this decision was discretionary and did not set precedence. This made more sense when I opened the following two letters, which thanked me for my payment and said that as the mistake (not remembering to renew) was mine, and that the council was not obligated to send any reminder, neither the paid ticket nor the clamp fees would be refunded.
In read this as "Thanks for you £140, that was pretty easy money. We'll let you have the other £40 as that might get expensive to collect.". Forgive my cynicism!
At the time I was just too busy to take it further, but it was a very poor show from Parking "Services" in my opinion. Renewal reminders should be compulsory, not optional, otherwise the system is merely serving to penalise residents who of course will forget from time to time, hence the point of a reminder letter.
Alan, the point you make about good business sense in sending reminders out is valid but sadly only to a degree. A regular business loses money if renewals for services they provide aren't placed, so of course they will send out letters and indeed follow up letters, whereas Parking Services can do quite nicely if they periodically don't send letters out.... Simply fail to send reminders every so often and in effect trap people into forgetting to renew. Then send out the parking wardens to clamp or fine, whatever is within their powers to do at the time. They'll get the renewal anyway, and possibly one, two or even three fines as extra profit to ice the cake! What possible business case have they got for improving their systems when that will simply result in a loss of revenue? Nobody would be popular for proposing that!!
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