Faded Double Yellow Lines, PCN for parking on faded old lines Options

[urban warrior]

Hi everyone! First of all BIG thanks for this website and all its AWESOME people!

on 30th September I received a PCN from Cornwall Council on my windshield
Code 01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours

I parked on the side of the road where some old faded double yellow lines lay and obviously hadn't been maintained in a good while
See photos below

I have appealed the fine using these photos and the following wording:

"To whomever it may concern,
Yesterday upon return to my van, I was horrified and embarrassed to discover that I had received a parking fine!
I had parked up to meet a friend and judging by the extremely worn away lines on the side of the road, I genuinely believed this section of road to be OK to park on
I always endeavor to park sensibly, safely and legally and I was led to believe that these lines were so old as to not possibly still be in use
Had the lines been clear and obvious such as the lines further down the road, I absolutely would not have parked on them
If you could kindly cancel this fine I would be extremely grateful as according to the councils own regulations which I am looking at right now, it states that if the lines are broken or worn away, such as in my photos, then the fine should be cancelled
Yours sincerely"


The council have rejected my appeal with the following wording:

"We have considered everything in your letter but do not feel that you have made grounds for cancelling the Penalty Charge Notice. We have rejected your reasons for cancellation because the vehicle was parked on double yellow lines where parking is not permitted at any time. I note your comments about the lines however I am satisfied that while they do show signs of wear and tear, they are sufficiently clear to indicate the restriction that applies"


So it seems I have 6 days to pay before the fine increases to £70
I'm half tempted to just pay the £35 and forget about it but something inside me wishes to fight this!
Is it worth the risk? Will my secondary appeal have much chance of success or do I risk ending up with a massive bill including court costs etc on top of my fine?

Many MANY thanks for any help or advice!!
Cheers

https://ibb.co/Mk7xYMw
https://ibb.co/n1nrzLZ
https://ibb.co/hdsVLwV
https://ibb.co/GP2RK1J
https://ibb.co/MfBywXt



This post has been edited by urban warrior: Fri, 18 Oct 2019 - 15:02

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[stamfordman]

Put pics on https://imgbb.com or such like. We don't like downloading things.

Sounds like you knew the lines were there but chanced it and lost. They only have to be substantially compliant.

the most you can pay if you stick to deadlines is the full penalty of £70.

This post has been edited by stamfordman: Thu, 17 Oct 2019 - 16:59

[Incandescent]

And yet another OP who thought if yellow lines were faded they didn't apply. The convention observed by both adjudicating bodies is that if the lines can be seen they apply. The days of getting off a ticket because the lines were not in perfect condition are long gone. If a council photo shows your car and faded double yellows by it, then you'll lose. However looking at your photos the lines are really seriously faded, so an appeal at adjudication might succeed. The downside to this is that it is a "double-or-quits" gamble, as if you take them all the way, the discount option is lost.

[urban warrior]

Thanks for the replies guys - I've deleted the old photo links so just direct ones now nothing to download

So am I right in saying that if I take this as far as I can possibly go and still lose the most I'll have to pay is £70?

[Incandescent]

Yes, the maximum is the £70, and if you feel hard done by, take them to adjudication. Councils make far, far, too much money from PCNs yet don't maintain lines and signs. They do this because most people just cough-up to get the discount and never consider appealing the matter. I suppose they're too busy ! And so the Magic Money Tree keeps delivering abundant fruit to the councils.

The main problem for you is that you actually saw the lines but ignored them thinking they're too faded to be enforced. Wrong !

[DancingDad]

At the moment we have a few close up pictures of worn but visible lines.
As said, they are unlikely to win it for you.
Any photos of the overall scene??

Looking on the road, this section seems particularly worn, dunno if that was where you were but using it to illustrate.
Especially at night or in the wet, lines would not be easily visible and it could be argued that even a reasonably alert motorist could miss them.
Especially at it could be taken as a deliberate gap to facilitate shoppers.
But at the moment, we can only say, likely to lose unless....
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.6901372,-...3312!8i6656

[cp8759]

Until we see the CEO photos, we have no idea what your chances are.

There are known flaws in Cornwall's Notices of Rejection that could win on their own.