Two pals fined £110 for parking in loading bay at same time baffled after one is forced to pay up and other is LET OFF
Driver Jacob Kadoch, 29, parked his VW Golf outside a cafe alongside his pal's Mercedes and both were fined - but after challenging the penalty charges only ONE was scrapped by Barnet Council
TWO friends were hit with fines for mistakenly parking their cars in a loading bay at the same time — but only one was let off when they challenged them.
They stopped at spaces in Barnet, North London that they believed were in an unrestricted area.
A sign on the street said that cars could not park in the spot on Regents Park Road between 8pm and 10am.
But driver Jacob Kadoch missed it and stopped with pal Daniel Elghanian outside a cafe on November 22.
They were both slapped with Penalty Charge Notices of £110 each — but challenged them with identical emails.
Only one of the two fines was upheld, while the other was waived.
Baffled Jacob, 29, claimed his friend's fine was upheld because he drives a flash Mercedes sports car while he has a VW Golf.
He said: "The council do as they wish and try to make money from the innocent public.
"They do not abide by the laws knowing that they have control. They abuse their power."
Barnet Council raked in more than £10million in the last year in Penalty Charge Notices.
In an identical email challenging their fines, the colleagues, who work in property, wrote: "I genuinely feel I have reason to explain why I wish for this PCN to be challenged and therefore removed."
It explained that they had been parking in the space for years without issue and that only recently it appeared to change to a restricted loading bay.
The challenge added: "I am used to seeing painted on the floor by the actual bay 'LOADING BAY' or 'LOADING ONLY'.
"However there is no large painted sign on the floor to immediately identify as a loading bay."
Jacob received a letter two weeks later telling him his challenge was successful.
Signed Robin Moorwood, Parking Compliance manager, it read: "Upon investigation into your case I am able to confirm that this penalty notice has now been cancelled.
"This is due to a technical error. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that this matter may have caused."
But friend Daniel was told he would have to fork out the sum.
Jacob added: "They want to enhance cash flow at the expense of the public. You can't go out in your own area without feeling hounded.
"They always just take the p*** and it's just a joke. They always seem to blame an administrative error it's unacceptable."
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A Barnet Council spokesman said: “Having reviewed the evidence, we can confirm that a Penalty Charge Notice was issued and then waived incorrectly.
"We will not be reviewing this decision.
“The other Penalty Charge Notice however remains in force.”
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