You'll need to elaborate when you submit your appeal to the TPT but for now you can just complete the form to state you wish to register for adjudication and full details of appeal will follow when you have your hearing date.
I am thinking you have a solid case here!
- there have been a series of procedural improprieties by the Council
- they used a camera car at a location where a CEO on foot would not have been impractical, difficult or sensitive so this shows no regard for the guidelines*
- you were checking the signs and their own pictures show clearly that I was back in under a minute and, being a biker, you had to put gear on. Their picture shows you just about to put the balaclava on and move the bike after reading the sign at the bay. The Chief Parking Adjudicator in the 2011 Report* said 'it should not be a contravention to stop briefly to ascertain the times of operation from the upright sign'.
- At the outset you needed to know what would happen if you requested to view the video or be sent pictures in the context of the 28-day period for payment/making reps. The regulations require a PCN to include the words "we will respond to any request within a reasonable time" which is designed to allay the recipient's fears that they might ask for pics and then miss their payment deadline. But these words are missing
- so you tried to view the video online but the video comes up as 'not found'
- so you phoned to make an appointment to view the footage and were told you 'could not do so at those offices' and you had to read out the wording from the PCN to insist on your rights
- you could not make the appointment they finally rang back with, so instead emailed on 11th January for stills so you could make an informed decision quickly (this was at a point where the discount was still offered). You also asked whether the enforcement would be halted whilst these images were produced as you needed to understand the timeframe involved. And you expected to see more than the minimal 3 photos on the PCN which did not establish any contravention at all and simply showed someone who had returned to their bike after reading a sign
- they didn't reply until 12th Feb (received over a month after your email) not mentioning whether the process had been frozen and now not offering the discount.
- this reply was not received in a 'reasonable time'. "Reasonable" would mean within a period which would have allowed you to evaluate the evidence and decide whether to pay the discount
- Their reply suggested they had taken your enquiry to be your representations against the PCN but in fact you were unable to make reps because you had not seen the evidence against you to which you were entitled and which you'd requested
* P.S. Please read this excerpt from the Chief Parking Adjudicator's Report to understand the point about why a camera car here pays no regard for the guidelines:
http://notomob.co.uk/discussions/index.php?topic=867.0HTH