PATAS are a body that deal with appeals against PCNs issued by London Boroughs.http://www.parkingandtrafficappeals.gov.uk/aboutus.htmSome london boroughs have a reputation for dismissing appeals, allegedly without giving any consideration to the facts of the case, in the hope that the person appealing eventually decides to give up and pay the penalty for the sake of a quiet life. Only when the person decides to take the appeal further does the Borough then do an about face and decide to dismiss the PCN.I've only had the one experience with LBHF, which was in connection with a PCN issued to me as the result of CCTV monitoring. Because the PCN was issued through the post, and the decription of the location wasn't precise i.e. Askew Road, I asked for clarification as to where the alleged offence had occured. The letter I got back looked very much like a pro forma rejection letter to me ( and I hadn't in fact actually asked them to dismiss the PCN at that stage), but I've got no way of knowing whether or not LBHF seriously considered my case to start off with or not, as from the CCTV stills it certainly appeared that I might have comitted the offence.For the record, it took a second letter from me, in response to LBHF's initial rejection, before my PCN was dismissed. I never got as far as appealing to PATAS.The other thing to bear in mind is that if you do decide to appeal to PATAS, you lose the opportunity to pay the PCN at the reduced rate. The PATAS adjudicator COULD direct that the reduced rate penalty is applicable, but I've no idea how common that is.
Andrew Jones ● 6806d