Carer given Lowesmoor bus lane fines - two years on

Helen Portlock, a full-time domiciliary carer, drove down the Lowesmoor bus lane on eight separate occasions in the summer of 2021 whilst visiting clients.

Ms Portlock claims she was working under pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic and was unaware of the "poorly signed" bus lane restrictions.

She received eight penalty charge notices which she says she successfully overturned. 

Helen said the signs for the bus lane can easily be missed. (Image: Newsquest)

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But two years on she's been told that her revoked PCNs were not actioned quickly enough and she would have to go through the appeal process again.

She said: "I am a single mother who works full-time as a carer and I want to highlight how stressful, time-consuming and difficult it is to appeal PCNs.

"I drove down Sansome Walk bus lane on business during the summer of 2021. There are four lanes of one-way traffic, junctions and traffic lights to deal with so the sign can be easily missed.

"I am very upset by the way I am still being treated. This whole thing has now been going on for nearly two years and I have had enough of their incompetency, lack of compassion and communication."

Ms Portlock claims all the PCNs were revoked after a long process of cancelling hundreds of pounds worth of bailiff charges, but two have now been re-issued.

She received letters hand delivered by Bristow & Sutor, an enforcement agency specialising in local authority debt recovery, towards the end of 2021.

Ms Portlock said: "When they were delivered to me in person, this was the first time I had been aware as previous attempts had been sent to my old address.

"I appealed all eight of these PCNs and had to pay for solicitors' letters and postage which was very time-consuming and stressful.

"My PCNs were finally, successfully revoked by Worcestershire County Council on March 11 2022, but on Friday, June 30, two were re-issued."

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Ms Porlock feels Worcestershire County Council have handled her appeal process poorly, which has caused a lot of emotional distress.

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council, said: “The County Council follows a set process when it comes to issuing a Penalty Charge Notice for drivers who have committed bus lane contraventions.

"These lanes are clearly signposted across the county for drivers.

“The process is a standard one and relies on DVLA information i.e. all documentation is sent to the address the DVLA holds for the registered keeper of the vehicle. Therefore it relies on drivers giving their up-to-date address information to the DVLA.

“Guidance on appealing a Bus Lane Penalty Charge is outlined in the notice."