Unfair Parking Tickets: Have you appealed or spotted a loophole?

[MSE Martin]

What's it about?

Very few subjects provoke the same high emotion and fighting spirit as unfair parking tickets (with the possible exception of the Bank (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/oft-bank-charges) Charges Revolution! (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/oft-bank-charges)).

So, as part a new 'reclaim unfair parking penalties' guide... I'd love to hear your stories...


What to do

Click reply to post your experience below and if possible, give the following info :)

What was the fine for? Details
What was the problem with it? Details
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Details
Did it work? Details
Other interesting stuff? Details

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[Pew Pew Pew Lasers!]

I parked in Leeds, in a resident's only zone. Didn't notice, and didn't see any signs for it. Came out and found myself ticketed - £30 now, or £60 after 14 days.

I took photographs of everything, and went onto Pepipoo where I discovered the road markings were unenforceable because they weren't as proscribed in the road traffic act. The council had mixed two types of bays up.

I objected and had the ticket cancelled. The council admitted their mistake.

A week or so later exactly the same thing happened in Islington, except this time I had paid at a meter. Unbeknown to me, the meter only applied to one side of the road. The signage on either side was very similar, about 3 words different. From a distance they looked identical. £60 now, or £120 after 14 days.

Anyhow, the council had made exactly the same mistake, so I again complained, only the council this time made up an excuse and cancelled it, rather than admit their mistake.

Pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/soundman/sets/72157602969229715/

Oh, and the tickets themselves were unenforceable in both cases as they didn't contain all the information required as proscribed in the RTA, but I didn't have to go that far.

[tomstickland]

I occasionally read Pepipoo and there are several things worth noting.
-Many people take tickets that they think are unfair to appeal and many win the appeal.
-The rules about the marking and signing of parking bays are very strict and a large proportion of the actual bays fail to meet the rules.
-Tickets on private property are often totally unenforcable despite the quasi-legal language used.

I don't condone bad parking; indeed abuse of double yellow lines really annoys me. However, if someone receives a ticked due to a genuine mistake or uncertainty it is worth going onto Pepipoo and following their advice.

[bargepole]

So, as part a new 'reclaim unfair parking fines' guide... I'd love to hear your stories...
Just to be pedantic, it would be better not to use the word "fines" in this context.

Tickets issued by Police and Councils are fixed penalties, and you can only get out of those if there was something wrong with the way the ticket was issued, the signage, or by appealing that the issue of the ticket was unfair due to mitigating circumstances.

Tickets issued by private car park operators, eg supermarkets, motorway services, etc., are simply invoices based on the presumed contract between the driver and the car park operator. They can only be enforced legally if it can be proved who was driving, and if the registered keeper declines to supply that information, there is nothing they can do.

Fines can only be issued by Courts, but very few parking issues ever reach that stage.

[MelJ]

I received a FPN for parking in a residential zone about 1/3rd of car outside the line, no 'safety' issue for pedestrians/cars plenty of room behind - I approached the warden as he was writing ticket & questioned the fact I had been told before it was ok - he claimed less than half was inside the lines - I was going to appeal with measurements of car etc but noted he had incorrectly quoted the make of car as a volkswagon instead of a renault &had the ticket cancelled.
Previously parked in a car park, went to machine for ticket didn't have purse thought I'd lost it, frantically went back to car as warden was writing ticket, explained my situation - he didnt care & stood in front of my car until I had put it into gear - appealed as less than 2 mins to get to machine & back - it was rejected as there is no 'waiting time allowed'!

[superhoop]

What was the fine for? Parking in a disabled bay of a Hillingdon council car park - whilst displaying a valid blue badge

What was the problem with it? The serial number and expiry date on the badge was sun-faded and the attendant claimed it was illegible (he didn't try very hard to read it.)

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? That it was a valid blue badge issued by Hillingdon council itself, that it was legible and that it was a spurious ticket. Also that it had caused my wife who has cancer a great deal of upset that day - ironically we had attended an appointment at the Royal Marsden on day of the 'offence'.

Did it work? Yes, although after a delay of three months I had to phone up to find out what was going on. On verbally upholding the appeal I was 'ordered' by a stern council lady to take my wife's blue badge in to be re-inked so the same thing didn't happen again. (it's only happened once in two years!)

Other interesting stuff? - That there's a huge backlog of 'old' appeals since apparently new legislation means that appeals now have to be dealt with within 14 days.

- I thought traffic wardens (whoops - parking attendants!) were supposed to show leniency to disabled drivers and give them the benefit of the doubt? I know fraud does take place and it needs to be stopped - but these bureaucrats don't think about the hardship and worry hurdles like parking tickets cause to the disabled, especially those who don't have able-bodied people looking after them all the time.

- With all the modern technical wonders, can't the government come up with a blue badge identity scheme where the ink doesn't fade?

[michaels]

I was in a hire car (free Renault for the weekend, see motoring board) and stopped on a yellow line to allow my family to disembark - as you are allowed to do under the regulations. The enforcement camera obviously filmed the vehicle stationary and a ticket was sent to the hire company. The hire company policy is to pay the tickets plus charge an admin fee (first I knew of it was a #90 charge to my credit card) even though there is the option for them to return the ticket to the council with the name and address of the hirer.

The good bit is that the parking regulations say that once a fine has been paid it can not be appealed so even though I committed no offence I can not recover the fine or the fee. You have been warned :mad:

[Deals]

someone we know got a fine and points were goign to be allocated for speeding. however because the fine came through to them after 14 days the solicitor (highly paid and probably the equivalent of Mr Loophoole talked about loads in the papers) he got off without a fine and no points on the licence - even though he WAS driving VERY fast. he did pay solicitor i think £1500 - but he just did not want the points. there are lots of cases like this. I think knowing how they get let off without having to pay these vasts amounts of money if the key. maybe getting a copy of the traffic laws handbook?

[grezzer]

Several years ago, the local car parks were free on a Sunday. On one occassion after spending 5 or 10 mins at a well known fast food store. I returned to my car to witness an attendent issuing a Penalty. When I informed him that it was free he pointed out that the Charges had changed. Sure enough the "Small" sign on the ticket machine had been updated. As it had been free for many years, I hadn't even gone to the machine to check, and there were no other signs. - I lost that 1.

About a year ago, my wife went out for the evening drinking. It was winter so she took the car (but only to store the coats). She tried to buy a ticket, but was unable to buy 1 to cover the night. The party then sensibly walked home after a good night.

I went to pick up the car the next morning, to find it already had a penalty notice. I wrote to the council explaining, and they agreed that they encouraged not drinking and driving so cancelled the ticket. - So I won 1 too. :beer:

[Lexis200]

Well not necessarily unfair from a legal point of view...

I got a call a while ago at 9.30pm on a Sunday evening from the Royal Marsden Hospital in Fulham to say my Mother was there and I needed to get up there as soon as possible as she was near to passing away. I live on the South coast so I drove up as quickly as possible and parked on one of the side roads near to the hospital. I wasn't thinking too clearly, but I do remember seeing that it was free parking until (I think) 8am the next day.

The night was a traumatic one, really touch and go all night, but she struggled on.

I realised around 9am that it was in fact 9am, and I needed to pay for the parking. I ran downto the car, grabbing an extortionately priced parking ticket from the machine on the way, but when I got to the car I had already been ticketed by the warden. I left the paid for ticket on the car anyway and went back up to my Mother.

Much to the doctor's amazement, she started to recover, and I left my Brother and Dad with her as I had to sort out my family before going back to see her later that day. She eventually recovered temporarily, but died of cancer some months later.

Anyway, I wrote to the parking appeals department at the local council, telling them that, whilst I didn't dispute the fact I was in a parking bay without a ticket, I had extenuating circumstances and unfortunately paying for parking tickets 10+ hours after I arrived to possibly see my Mother pass away wasn't one of them. I even authorised them to contact the hospital to confirm everything I'd said in case they thought I was warped enough to make something like that up!

The letter I got back was curt to say the least. I was parked illegally, and unless I paid the fine within 30 days or whatever it was, it would double etc etc. Not even a "whilst I sympathise" or "sorry to hear about your troubles". Just "tough t**ies, pay the fine of we'll take you to court."

I know that technically I was in the wrong, but haven't these appeals people got a heart?

[steveclecy]

What was the fine for? This was actually a "charge" for overstaying in a local Aldi store, pay £40 now, or £80 in three weeks.
What was the problem with it? The letter was in "legal speak" but had errors, the main one being that it stated that the "registered keeper was responsible for naming the driver" - correct under Road Traffic Acts but not for parking on private land.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I sent a response including the following two paragraphs: (1)You make an incorrect assumption in law that the registered keeper is liable for the actions of the driver on private land. Your tactics in stating that this is the case are bullying.
(2)Any breach of contract by the driver in using the car park outside the terms of the contract is governed by the Unfair Contract Terms Act, 1977. The effect of this Act is that a party to the contract cannot claim a “penalty” charge, only recover reasonable losses created by the breach.
Did it work? I can only assume YES, this was June 2007 and they have not replied since.
Other interesting stuff? This particular car park had attracted a lot of correspondence in the local paper regarding "fines".

[mancrob26]

I've only ever had two, and I contested them both. I didn't win, but I did get another month to pay by contesting it, which could prove useful for some people,

[tenuissent]

I parked in Tunbridge Wells and bought a ticket. The ticket emerged blank. I left it in the car with a note about the time I bought it and what I paid, and went to work. Came back to a parking ticket. Arguments by phone ensued. Eventually I picked up all the Tunbridge Wells parking tickets lying around the car (it pays to be untidy), stuck them on sheet of paper, photocopied them, and sent it to the council to prove I regularly parked there and regularly paid the proper parking fee. They cancelled the fine.

Parked in Maidstone the day after my husband died and took weeping daughters and crying baby to do essential tasks on very hot day, and literally forgot, in the drama of finding parking bay and getting baby gear out of the car in all the noise, to buy a ticket, so got a fine. Wrote to them about extenuating circumstances, enclosing three dated obituaries. Fine was cancelled.

Parked in Hastings, bought ticket, left car. Unknown to me, the seafront wind blew the ticket away as I closed the car door; came back to a fine. Tried and tried to persuade council I had done the right thing, but they were adamant.

My impression is that if you can enclose some paper evidence of what you have done (photocopies of previous tickets, obituaries) they are empowered to cancel the fine, but if you can only make assertions with no evidence, they can't, which is understandable.

[teflon]

What was the fine for?
Parking in a residents' only bay in a controlled parking zone without displaying a resident's parking permit.

What was the problem with it?
The whole street is marked with bays which can be used by residents at all times, pay-and-display at some times, and free for all at some times.

The signage is about as clear as mud: I quickly read it and assumed it was okay to park at 8pm on a Sunday without a permit.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2111/2235297848_4f10562453_m.jpg

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
I told a colleague who'd managed to appeal on similar grounds before - he told me to check the signs against The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20023113.htm), and it turned out they didn't comply. He also gave me a copy of his appeal letter, which included the wonderful sentence "In the case of Davies v Heatley [1971]R.T.R 145, it was ruled that no offence is committed if the sign is in any way contravened, even if the sign is clearly recognisable to a reasonable man as a sign of that kind."

Did it work?
The last I heard from the council on the matter was an email advising me that they'd recieved my appeal, and would write back to me within ten working days. That was in February, and I've not heard anything since...

Other interesting stuff?
Following the recent news coverage (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7424955.stm) about dodgy yellow box junctions and parking bays, my local council have started tightening up a bit - they've already repainted the yellow box opposite my house, as apparently it was previously a little bit too big.
While I've managed to get hold of some visitor's permits to save the hassle of getting a ticket and appealing for the occasional times I need to park there, I think I might keep quiet about these particular bays, just in case they notice and take away the free parking!

[Pablo Bones]

What was the fine for? Parking in a resident's only bay (with a valid resident's permit) that had been suspended for builders to use to deliver bricks.
What was the problem with it? Notices suspending the bay had only been put up at 5.30pm the day before the warden came round & issued the ticket & started making arrangements to have the car towed (at 7.59am)
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Appealed on the basis that the Council state on their website 'we will give 48 hours notice of any suspension'. Argued that the word 'will' was an unequivocal promise, despite the warden's assertion that this was only something they would 'try' and do.
Did it work? Yup, for my car, neighbour's car and babysitter's. Council agreed that they had failed to uphold their promises.

[Clarence63]

I parked on a car park in Conwy, North Wales. Had no change for the machine, so went to get some. Came back, bought ticket, turned round and the parking attendant was just finishing off the ticket. I explained the situation to him, politely, and he told me that if I wrote to the address on the ticket explaining what had happened, and enclosing the parking ticket, it would be cancelled. I did, it was. The attendant was very polite, in fact, a credit to the profession.

I received another ticket in a Lake District town (yeah, I know, I get about). We were late back to the car by about 10 minutes. The parking attendant was less than sympathetic and told me tough. Even though my wife has IBS and we had to find a toilet at the other end of a strange town. I wrote to the local council, complaining about him and the issue of the ticket. It was again cancelled.

We were recently in the same town and they have a new parking attendant who was quite merrily issueing fixed penalties to people who thought they didn't have to buy parking tickets. It is clearly sign posted that you have to pay every day.

[SteNpton]

What was the fine for? Parking in a green coloured "free" bay overnight whilst visiting London.
What was the problem with it? What I was unaware of (as i'd parked right next to a "FREE" sign - is that it wasn't free from 7am to 8:30am, so had a ticket.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I wrote to claim that the signage was not good enough, it clearly stated as you entered the parking area (B1 if you know MK) that green was free - it was only if you read the signs further up the car park that it was not free between those early morning hours.
Did it work? No - even after stating these facts, I still had to pay the fine. Less than six months later, the signage at the entrance changed to say FREE (except between 7am-8.30am!!) - so sort of a result but I never got my fine back! :mad:

Ste

[phoneguru]

got a mate off parking in loading bay last month in newcastle. all we did was get a letter from the business he was in and explained that the ticket warden had only watched the car for 12mins (guidlines 15mins) hey presto ticket cancelled

[batvink]

What was the fine for? Non-display of parking ticket
What was the problem with it? The ticket had flipped over, presumably as the door was closed
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes. A ticket had been bought, and there is a serial number on the back so it was easy enough for them to check it was valid. They also supplied a photo of the ticket on the dash, with the serial clearly visible.
Did it work? Yes. It would appear the office staff are more capable of engaging their grey-matter and thinking things through.
Other interesting stuff? They supplied a stick-on ticket holder with their response!

[gb.dad]

I am not sure whether it is something to be proud of or frowned upon but I have several instances of unfair parking tickets.

In addition to those below, I have found that appealing regardless of whether you feel there is a problem also works. My feeling on this is that there could be a loophole that they know of which means if you take it further they will have to back down.

My advice: appeal every time!


1. Returned after an hour

What was the fine for?
Parking in a bay for longer than allowed.

What was the problem with it?
It was a one hour bay with no return within one hour. I parked from 11:00 to 12:00 in the location then went somewhere for lunch but returned to the same bay but a different place around 1:10. Five minutes later a colleague of mine said that I had been given a ticket. I went outside and spoke to the warden, explained the situation and he took the ticket off.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
After a period of time I received a letter stating I had not paid my ticket. I contacted the council and the NPS and started appeal process. The evidence from the council included a picture of my car - with my colleague in the background.

After several months I finally got to the hearing and took my colleague along as a witness. The impartial solicitor listened to our views of what had happened.

Did it work?
The impartial solicitor ruled against the council so, yes it worked.

Other interesting stuff?
You should have seen the faces of the council when they saw that my witness was the person in the background of the picture of my car that the traffic warden had taken. Rather amusing.



2. Faded double yellows

What was the fine for?
Parking on a double yellow.

What was the problem with it?
The double yellows were completely faded and there were no signs about parking.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
I took several pictures at the time, and then more about a month later and then more about 5 months later when they had finally repainted them. I also spoke to the warden the day after getting the ticket and with his quote of, “there used to be lines here”, I was pretty sure there would be no problem with this appeal.

I began the appeal process and received a date for a hearing.

Did it work?
A month after receiving the date of the hearing, I received a further letter saying my appeal had been reviewed and that I did not need to pay for the ticket.



3. Wrong model of car

What was the fine for?
Parking in a bay for longer than allowed.

What was the problem with it?
The wrong car model was entered on the ticket. Fiat instead of Ford. It made me laugh when I read it because I knew I wouldn’t have to pay it.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I appealed along the lines of, “Dear Sir/Madam, you must have made a mistake as my car is a Ford.”

Did it work? Yes it worked, they had no choice.



4. Duration of parking was 0 minutes

What was the fine for?
Parking in a bay for longer than allowed.

What was the problem with it?
The start time was the same as the end time. 13:43 to 13:43.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
I appealed stating that the bay was for 2 hours but it was noted that I was parked there for 0 minutes.

Did it work?
Yes it worked, they replied saying I would not have to pay it, but “they were not setting precedence.”

Other interesting stuff?
The not setting a precedence part implied to me that they had a problem with their system and that maybe all tickets would read 0 minutes. Alternatively, I could have meant that they were not confident that their wardens could use their hand held devices properly.

[melsuggett]

What was the fine for? Not displaying a valid ticket in the window.
What was the problem with it? At my local swimming pool, where as a heavily pregnant lady I was planning on attending their antinatal swim class. I paid for 2 hours and machine dispensed a double ticket - half goes in the window of the car and the other half gets you a 20p discount (generous!) in the swimming pool. I put the wrong half in the window (apparently!) dispite it still showing the time and price paid.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I drove straight to the council office when I realised I had a ticket, so technically as I stood in front of the desk there, my ticket was still valid. I wrote a letter enclosing the 'wrong' part of the ticket which showed the 2 hours and time on it. I also stuck my tummy out a lot to see if I could get the sympathy vote.
Did it work? No - apparently they thought I might have stolen someone elses second half of the ticket to avoid paying. I couldn't produce the 'correct' half as I had handed it into the swimming pool. No benefit of the doubt there! And after all that, I didn't even get to attend my class as it had been cancelled and replaced with an over 60's one!!!!!!!!!!

[alancharmed]

my mum, who is 75 was called by sandwell hospital urgently as her sister (my aunty) had just passed away As you would, she rushed to the hospital and parked her car by some houses.
Alas when she returned a parking ticket.
She came back and showed me so I drove with her to the spot.
She had parked in a permit only parking bay on the street. I knew it cause I am 6 foot tall and the sign was about 2 more feet above my head. MY MUM is only just under 5 ft tall, how on earth was she meant to see that.

Anyway to get it revoked, she had to send copies of the death certificate and a detailed statement of her emotions at the time. my god what is this world coming to !!!!!!

[fizzlebottom]

Parked car in a close near doctor's (didn't park on single yellow lines on main road as like to keep to rules of road). Carried sick child to doctors and back (away 15 mins) - had been clamped. £60 release fee rising to £100.

Hadn't seen recently erected notices of A3 size tacked high on wall of block of flats.

Useless trying to appeal, clamping firm wouldn't discuss it - very rude - Luton Borough Council wouldn't discuss it either. Paid up. Had conversation with 'gent' who came to release me and asked if he was hiding behind a lamp post when I had parked or was a resident ringing them with details. He replied that he wasn't hiding behind a lamp post - draw your own conclusions.

Three months later happened to drive past to see that LARGE notice posts had been cemented into the ground at entrance to close explaining 'Residents Only' Rang Luton Borough to say I was pleased that they agreed with me that notices were inadequate and that I wanted my money back. They agreed to 'look at it again' if I wrote in which I did and cheque arrived in post two weeks later.

Pleased that I got my money back but cross that Luton Borough must have known signs were inadequate and hadn't made any attempt to reimburse people who had been caught out.

[antbarson]

What was the fine for? Parking at 10pm in a Lincoln City car park. I missed the tiny writing at the bottom of the sign that said 'evening charge £1. Got the usual £30 now or £60 later ticket
What was the problem with it? It had the wrong year on it. It said 2006, which was then crossed out and the correct date, 2007 written over it.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I appealed on the basis the ticket was defaced an illegible.
Did it work? Absolutely. :cheesy:

[madkingsoup]

What was the fine for? Parking in a Westminster disabled bay without a valid permit, way back in 2006.
What was the problem with it? The blue disabled permit was clearly visible.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes, on the basis that the permit was valid.
Did it work? Eventually.
Other interesting stuff? The story goes thus:

We couldn't actually appeal until we had received the postal version of the ticket, so had a couple of weeks of anxiety there (why you can't just appeal as soon as you get the ticket on your car is beyond me - presumably this is to dissuade people from appealing at all).

When it arrived, it said that the permit had expired and gave the expiry date that the traffic warden had noted - totally made up, bearing no resemblance at all to the actual expiry date. Not one single digit was correct, so it couldn't have been misnoted or misread. So we sent a copy of the permit back.

Westminster replied saying that it was forged as the expiry date was handwritten. So we had to get a letter from our local council (Slough, who were very helpful) to say that all their disabled permits have handwritten expiry dates, and that this particular one hadn't expired. We sent that back with a further admonishment about the traffic warden clearly making up information.

The next response was that Westminster was "on this occasion" willing to waive the fine - so generous of them, as if they still didn't believe it and were doing us a favour out of the goodness of their hearts.

[mtudor]

What was the fine for? Parking in a residents bay without a valid permit.

Where was it? Near Baker Street, Westminster, London

What was the problem with it? The bay was outside a friends house where we have parked many times before. It has always been residents parking during the week but open parking at the weekend. We arrived late on Saturday night and didn't notice the change to residents only at any time (which had apparently happened only a few months earlier). The car was ticketed at 9am Sunday morning (£60 fine) and towed at 10am (£200 charge).

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? What we were really disgruntled about was the towing. There was plenty of parking available so we felt that the towing was a shameless attempt to make more money out of us. We would have paid the £60 fine, chalked it down to an innocent mistake and left it at that had it not been for the £200 towing fee. We made the point that one hour on an early Sunday morning was not really a fair amount of time to have rectified the mistake to avoid towing but apparently they can tow you immediately in a residents bay (what's fair about that!?). We also made the point that the change had not been well publicised, even our friend who lives there was not aware of it. There was no grace period for people to adjust, where warnings were placed on windscreens first. We had a witness statement for the fact that there was plenty of parking and some photographs.

Did it work? At first, no. The council replied with a standard "blah blah, fairly issued, blah blah, fine upheld". They addressed none of the points in the letter we sent. Our next stage was the parking adjudicator. The grounds for applying to the adjudicator are very narrow. We ticket the "fine was for the wrong amount" box, which I suppose could be seen as a tenuous link to our claim but we felt that we needed an independent view. Within three weeks we had a letter stating that the entire fine had been overturned and that we would be receiving a refund for the £260 (which we had to pay to get the car released, incidentally).

Other interesting points? It seems that you can appeal to the adjudicator if you can reasonable argue that your appeal can just about fit into one of the categories. I hold out some hope that the adjudicators offer a semblence of justice as clearly the council will try to uphold as many fines as possible, regardless of the circumstances.

Interestingly, once the case reached the adjudicator, the council didn't even file a defense. Could this mean that they knew they were on shaky ground from the start?

This individual went out with a Westminster Parking Attendant for a day, have a read for some of the dubious practices employed:
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~wjk/parking/walkabout.html

[AndyMan]

There is a hilarious Youtube site, showing Jonathan Taylor who received a parking ticket, from his local Authority, after they issued the ticket they added white lines and errected a no parking sign.

The video even shows a pile of rubble they didn't bother to move while painting the lines. It has a great music track sung by Jonathan Taylor. Maybe the next hit against parking charges, who knows. I like it.

He is actually going to the Tribunal today, good luck I'm sure he'll win.

Click on the link below to see the video.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OYNa5v7oYQM (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OYNa5v7oYQM)

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
AndyMan

[sarahveronique]

what was the fine for?
illegal parking in Sainsburys car park, Stafford.
There is a set car park for long term users and a seperate one for short term users

What was the problem with the fine?
The long term car park was completely full, at the side is a small car park for about 20 cars. I ASKED the PARKING ATTENDENT if i could park in the over flow car park, he said yes. I paid my money and parked...i recieved a ticket !

Appeal?
I wrote to the peeps that had issued the ticket, stating that the car park attendent had said i could park there as the main car park was full. Luckily i had spoken to the car park attendent and recieved his name. So i quoted this is my appeal.

Did i get my fine quashed?
I sure did, the attendent had told me incorrectly that i could park there.
I had the anguish but not the fine

[sandraroffey]

i had a long run in with canterbury city council over a parking ticket: the story goes thus - my daughter parked her car outside my pub, on a yellow line, and unloaded a box. in the time it took her to get from the car and up a flight of stairs, she had got a ticket. i appealed on her behalf and was told that she had been parked there for tweny mins. rubbish, so appealed again saying that it was impossible for her to have been there for 20 mins and even after letter after letter, it went all the way to tribunal. they just wouldnt listen to what i was saying, their reasoning was that they stood and watched her parked for twenty minutes when i knew that they never did that - they went away and came back later and assumed that the car that was parked there THEN, was the same car that was parked there earlier. and this is the reason why the ticket was cancelled - they said we had a blue car (as shown on the parking ticket) and we had a green car!!!!!!!!!! go to tribunal and take your reg doc with you.

also a good pointer - always, ALWAYS read the parking ticket carefully. IT MAY NOT EVEN BE FOR YOUR CAR!!!!! WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THE PARKING OFFICE THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO TAKE THE TICKET OFF THEIR CAR AND STICK IT ON ANOTHER. THE POOR UNSUSPECTING SECOND PERSON VERY RARELY CHECKS THAT IT HAS THEIR OWN REG NUMBER ON IT, AND JUST PAYS IT!!!!



dont just check the parking bays etc., CHECK THE TICKET.

[peghead25]

There's an interesting loophole regarding parking scooters/motorbikes on pavements. I received a ticket for parking my scooter on the pavement (it was not obstructing the walkway and was parked overnight so I could lock it to a lamppost in a dodgy area of London as there were no scooter bays with lock facilities nearby). I failed in my appeal to get off it.

However, the parking attendant said if my scooter had a cover over it he could not give me a ticket as he was not allowed to touch the cover. I have since seen bikes parked on pavements with a carrier bag covering their number plate.

Would this 'no touching' cover rule also apply to cars?

[CaroB]

What was the fine for?

'Not parked within the markings of the bay or space'. The Council in Edinburgh recently introduced residents' permits to the area where I live. As I live in a tenement I have to park round the corner on a quieter road, where there is a mixture of permit and pay and display bays. As a permit holder I can park in both. I parked late on a Saturday evening and due to the positioning of other cars and ice on the road ended up parking straddling the permit and pay and display bays, which I've done many times before. On Thursday evening my husband walked passed the car and happened to notice I had 3 parking tickets (usual £30 now, £60 later ones), one for Mon, Tues & Wed.

What was the problem with it?

I'm allowed to park in both bays and wasn't aware that I wasn't permitted to park in both (the documentation with the permits didn't mention this). I've parked in the same place several times before and have seen others also do so without penalty. The same warden issued the tickets from Mon and Wed, a different one on Tues and yet the warden who passed the car (given there are pay and display bays I can't imagine a warden wouldn't have been on duty) on Thursday didn't issue a penalty.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?

Yes. I wrote a long but polite letter explaining my grievances and stating that I felt I was being penalised for not using my car during the week, which surely the Council was trying to encourage, and that if I was indeed in violation of parking laws I would be willing to pay the first fine but that I felt the following two were taking liberties - the wardens could see that I hadn't had the chance to respond to their first Notice yet still felt they should penalise me.

Did it work?

Amazingly, yes. I had a nice letter back including a photo of my car's position and an explanation as to why I received the 3 tickets, but also an acknowledgement of the points raised in my letter and the cancellation of all 3 tickets. We kept an eye on that space for a few weeks afterwards and noticed several other permit holders parking across the line but didn't notice any more tickets being issued.

[ucan109]

We have vans and lorries going into London every day which means we get tickets all the time, the answer I have found is:- everyone is allowed 20 minutes to load/unload the wardens never stay around long enough to see if we take longer so the answer is to appeal to the Appeals Tribunal and state we were not given the 20 minutes the council can't prove otherwise, we get the tickets cancelled EVERY time, it can be a bit more involved sometimes if you want more info ask me...

[Ploddy]

What was the fine for?
Parking in a pay and display bay
What was the problem with it?
I had put the ticket in the front window on top of the dash, however before I had closed the door, the wind had blew my ticket across the dash, slightly obscuring it behind a window sticker.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
Yes I wrote one letter to the local council and told them I had the ticket, including a photocopy. Explaining what had happened to the ticket.
Did it work? Yep, no problems at all, resolved in about a week.
Other interesting stuff? They gave me a small, clear plastic, stick on wallet to go in my windscreen. This is to prevent future tickets being blown away by the wind.

[Barre01]

Hi

I am the chairman of a small charity that helps bereaved young people. we are all volunteers. A few weeks ago 2 of of our volunteers went to a conference in Birmiingham on the train. They met at Kidderminster station - which is always very difficult to park at, but could only find one space. As it was a large space they managed to squeeze both cars in, albeit overlapping the white lines. They put no one at any inconvenience. On their return they were shocked to find that both cars had been ticketed - a £35 charge.

Letters of appeal have gone in - but no response so far. I don't feel able to reimburse these volunteers out of the charity funds, but feel this is most unfair to punish folks in this way who were just acting sensibly.

[tomstickland]

If it's a private car park then they're invoices, not fines. Go to Pepipoo.com.

This is well worth a read: http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~wjk/parking.html

[JuliusCaesar]

The activities of private parking enforcement companies are not governed by any specific legislation. The DVLA has a code of conduct but it is completely voluntary.

In 2006 I parked my car in the railway station car park at Downham Market, Norfolk. It was the first time I had visited the station, and as no warning signs or ticket machines were visible, I assumed it was a free car park, as are many station car parks in rural areas. On returning to the car park later in the day, I found that a penalty notice had been affixed to the windscreen of my car by an employee of Central Parking System of UK (CPS) with a charge of £25. I investigated the warning signs and confirmed that although there were signs elsewhere in the car park, none were visible from the area in which I had parked nor from the pedestrian route from my car to the booking office and platform.

My appeal was rejected by CPS but I still believed that I should not have to pay. I wrote to CPS, enclosing a cheque in payment of the charge, but pointing out that a penalty charge cannot be legally enforced unless adequate warning signs are displayed and stating that I reserved the right to recover the sum. CPS ignored my letter and accepted the payment, so I submitted a claim in my local county court, using the Small Claims Procedure, accompanied by photographic evidence, for recovery of the charge plus £5 costs. CPS did not enter a defence, so judgment was awarded to me in default. The court ordered CPS to pay me £60, including the ‘small claims’ court fee of £30. They paid up!

[scotchio]

Living in London I am constantly blighted by traffic wardens read mobile money printing droids

I use Pepipoo and I reccommend it highly.

I have sucessfully challenged many tickets generally on signage and road markings not being up to scratch. If you quote test cases that prove your point they back down pretty quick, otherwise they try and bluff you on the first letter. Generally they will allow you to pay the reduced rate after the first letter, so ALWAYS contest the ticket no matter what. It throws the ball back in their court.

If you can write the letter in a legal style it generally gives the effect you know what you are talking about.

[Poppyrog]

What was the fine for? Not displaying a valid ticket on the window in a council run car park, I think it was a £30 fine.
What was the problem with it? The ticket had fallen off. The car park runs a scheme where you can buy season tickets or normal day tickets. I have a season ticket for that particular car park. What had happened was that the day before my car had to go in for repairs so I took my ticket off thinking that the next day I would borrow another car from a member of my family. You can then visit the ticket office and get a temporary change on the number plate on the season ticket. But luckily my car was ready for use. So I put my season ticket back on to the windscreen, parked my car, went to work and returned to find a penalty notice on my car. What had happened was the adhesive sticker had come off and caused the ticket to fall on the floor of the car.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes! I applied via email to contest the fine. I stated that I had a season ticket, already paid for and supplied then with the ticket number and stated that I had in effect paid for the parking and explained what had happened. It was in fact the stupid piece of plastic that they issue and state on the ticket that you MUST use which caused the season ticket to fall off.
Did it work? Yes it did. Took a couple of months though due to their administration. Everyone I spoke to at the council offices were nice and I received a letter to state that the fine had been canceled.

[liegerm]

What was the fine for? Being in a pedestrian zone between certain times.
What was the problem with it? I was making a delivery to a customer and deliveries ARE allowed between these times -- but only if you are a lorry. I was using a from a small Peurgeot hatchback van.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes. I appealed, enclosing a copy of my delivery note as proof that I was making a delivery.
Did it work? They let me off the penalty but said that only lorries were allowed to deliver implying that I wouldn't be so lucky in future.
Other interesting stuff? I wonder how legal this rule is? Are they seriously saying that they would rather have lorries driving up and down the pedestrian area rather than far smaller vehicles?!

[liegerm]

What was the fine for? Parking in Sainsburys.
What was the problem with it? I didn't spend enough (£5).
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes. I talked to the ticket attendant because I didn't see any signs. He pointed out a sign that you can only see if you're superman or already knew it was there. If you are lucky enough to see it, you're already almost at the ticket barrier and have no chance of reversing back out!
Did it work? Yes. He saw the light eventually.
Other interesting stuff? The sign is small and you see it too late if at all. Is this legally enforceable?

[GemmaC25]

also a good pointer - always, ALWAYS read the parking ticket carefully. IT MAY NOT EVEN BE FOR YOUR CAR!!!!! WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THE PARKING OFFICE THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO TAKE THE TICKET OFF THEIR CAR AND STICK IT ON ANOTHER. THE POOR UNSUSPECTING SECOND PERSON VERY RARELY CHECKS THAT IT HAS THEIR OWN REG NUMBER ON IT, AND JUST PAYS IT!!!!.

This happened to my boyfriend! He was parked legally, and he came back to his car and seen a parking ticket. A man parked next to him also came back to his car which 3 parking tickets were stuck on. My boyfriend opened the ticket to find it was for a totally different car on a totally different date, so someone was going round putting their parking tickets on other people's cars to see if someone would be silly enough to pay them!

Also we live in the North East of England. My Mother got a letter through the post some time ago saying she had a parking fine from parking in a street in London and she hadn't paid it yet so it was going further. We don't know how on earth this happened, but she rang saying there must be a mistake, she's never visited London before let alone park there! However they asked for evidence to prove she wasn't parked there?! Luckily she worked it out she was at work at the time and had to get her place of work to write a letter confirming this. If she hadn't been at work then I don't know what would have happened!

[saintscouple]

What was the fine for? Non-display of parking ticket in an Asda Car Park whilst on holiday.
What was the problem with it? No problem - just didn't see the sign.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes. The Asda store we have back home doesn't require a parking ticket. I sent an email with a scan of the ticket and reciept of purchase from Asda explaining this.
Did it work? Yes. A couple of days later they emailed back wavering the fee.
Other interesting stuff? Always worth sending an email, even if i like did admitting liability but explaining why it wasn't deliberate.

[meester]

I was in a hire car (free Renault for the weekend, see motoring board) and stopped on a yellow line to allow my family to disembark - as you are allowed to do under the regulations. The enforcement camera obviously filmed the vehicle stationary and a ticket was sent to the hire company. The hire company policy is to pay the tickets plus charge an admin fee (first I knew of it was a #90 charge to my credit card) even though there is the option for them to return the ticket to the council with the name and address of the hirer.

The good bit is that the parking regulations say that once a fine has been paid it can not be appealed so even though I committed no offence I can not recover the fine or the fee. You have been warned :mad:

Dispute the charge with the credit card company.

[scottysnetmail]

This is a bit of a strange one…

I received a fixed penalty fine for parking without displaying a valid ticket while parked in Glasgow recently.

The road in question had no markings on the carriageway or pavement with only a sign stating that it was a restricted parking zone on a pole on the opposite side of the road.

Does the ticket still stand if there were no road markings is the sign (if a little small) sufficient for the council to issue ticket?

[Belnahua]

What was the fine for? Overstaying 30 mins free parking; whilst working on an urgent callout (as a field engineer)

What was the problem with it? The signs were ankle height facing away from the road, and no markings in the bays. In fact the road signs on entering the town invited you to park free in the bays, again with no 30 minute warning on them. (Although I understand that has been changed now).

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes, I claimed the signs were virtually invisible - a local shop keeper showed me them, and said they (the police) get 100's of fines like this.

Did it work? No, taken straight to court and threatened with arrest if I didn't show.

Other interesting stuff? I had to take a day off work, drive 60 miles to the court. I was made to sit with druggies, prostitutes, people up for knife offences and even one up for rape. All for a £30 fine. I plead guilty as I was so petrified (first time ever in a court) and just wanted to get out of there asap. The council didn't even look at my photos, they just took me straight to court, when I queried the fine and with no appeal. I am livid to this day that I was bullied and blackmailed.

[nicoleanne77]

Parked in Hythe Kent, bought ticket and displayed in windscreen. Got a ticket for failing to display. Luckily had independant witness - driver of car in next bay and a friend, who was ex mayor of local town, to vouch for us. We were let off fine but the letter said 'on this occasion'..... We wrote back asking on what occasion as we had not committed an offence at all; that it was the traffic warden at fault but we did not receive a reply to that!

[Welsh_Adey]

Hi All,

I had some good fun with my parking ticket. I had a company car, and I packed it, went to put some cash into the meter and never had any change, so poped into a shop to get some change, 2 minutes later someone came in and said a ticket warden is out side. I ran out side, said to here i was getting change, she was a little rude, so jumped in my car and drove off, and the ticket was never put on my screen.

About 3 months later i had a letter from my company, saying that i had never paid a ticket, and that it will take the fine out of my wage packed (was £100) and a £25 administration fee! Could not believe it! talk about cheek!

I found a guide on line, which cost about £4, and it told me all about the rules of parking, issueing parking tickets, size of parking bays etc. There was lots of information. I think it was called "No More Parcking Tickets" or NMPT. It said that if a ticket is not issued in a particular way, then the ticket is invalid. I.e. the traffic wadern has to fill it in correctly, while wearing full uniform (inc hat etc) and it must either be placed under your windscreen wiper or given to you. Also this document had template letters, and had exmaples if cases that had been taken to court and won by the car owner. So a letter was sent, using the templates, with reference to a court case etc.

The council sent back photos of my car (taken from a digital camera, which I am sure in court would not be able to use due to the nature digital images easily being modified) of a parking ticket. It was in fact my parking permit to park on the road i lived on. The council initially said that the owner of the car could only complain, after explain that it was a company car, and that i was driving but not the owner, they eventually looked at my case. It took the best part of a year from the parking ticket being issued for me to getting a refund in full of the ticket and the silly administration fee that my company placed, £4 spent, got £125 back.

If you want more information, please ask, as i think i got all the documents, i still got the PDF file that I bought, so i could probably point you in the right way to obtain a copy.

[badgerspants]

What was the fine for? Overstaying the 1.5 hour 'free' parking at my local Budgens store... by 16 minutes (oops!).

What was the problem with it? In theory, they caught me fair and square! I overstayed my welcome, and received a 'Parking Charge Notice' in the post, to the tune of £70 (reduced to £50 if payed within 14days)...

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? After trawling forums for a good few hours, I came to the conclusion that it may be worth appealing on the following grounds;
1. No sign was displayed on entry to the car park telling me I was under contract just by driving in- this breaks private car park regulations.
2. No ticket was placed on my vehicle at the time of the offence. Another rule-break on their part.
3. A private company CANNOT demand money from you outside of court- this is a breach of the Bill of Rights 1689, and actually meant THEY had broken the law while I had only breached a private contract that I don't recall entering! It's also worth noting, that you can't enter into a contract passively (i.e. without signing anything)- so it's very unlikely to hold up in court.
4. Going along the bank charges route, I stated that the OFT would be likely to consider the charge unfair, as I doubt very much that their company incurred costs of £70 in the 16 minutes I overstayed.

I then asked for a full breakdown of how they came to the figure of £70 if they wished to persue the matter, highlighting that I planned to take legal action against them as THEY had broken the law by demanding money from me... :mad:

Also, made sure they letter was sent recorded delivery. ;)

Did it work? It did indeed!! I received a reply less than a week later, simply stating that 'in view of the representations made in connection with the issue of the charge, we inform you that we have decided to cancel this notice and no further action is to be taken. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.'
:beer:
Other interesting stuff? I gave copies of the letter I sent to two work colleagues who were in the same position a few months ago... they haven't heard back from the company since. :p

[Chad C Mulligan]

What for: Returning to a Sheffield suburban shopping centre car park within 5 hours of previous visit

Problem: I had parked the car there at 8am for 10 mins, the second visit was by my girlfriend at 12.30.

Appealed on the basis that there was no reason for me to have mentioned my visit to the car park to her so, although the car had returned within the 5 hours, the driver hadn't. (In any case, neither of us was aware that there was no return within the somewhat extraordinary 5 hrs. As the main shop there is Tesco I can't see how this helps build repeat visits.)

Appeal rejected because the evidence they go by is photos of cars, not drivers.

Solicitor friend advised that it wasn't worth the hassle of taking it to court as I would have lost at least a day's work traveling to the court, negating any "win" on the parking charge.

[Tigsteroonie]

What for: Returning to a Sheffield suburban shopping centre car park within 5 hours of previous visit

I have often wondered about this. I drop into Mr T's on my way into work for my own shopping. I may then get sent back to the same shop to buy coffee, tea etc for the office. My car can be there twice, sometimes even three times, in the same work-day. I don't think there are rules about not returning (I must check!), but there is a time-limit of 3 hours per stay. Should I prepare for potential photos by ensuring that my car is parked in a distinctly different space each time?

[Dezza666]

Hi,

What was the fine for?
Parked in a Visitors Car Parking Space on a Crest Nicholson site in Aylesbury whilst visiting my Sister who was renting a flat in the finished block at the front of the site until her flat had been completed.

What was the problem with it? I came out at 23.00 hours to find that my car had been removed. :eek: I was fined £418.00 by HFH Management Parking Ltd to get my car back and had to travel 15 miles to meet the pick up truck half way to do so. (£370.00 fine plus £45.00 storage plus £3.00 charge to pay by card because it was the only way they could accept payment on a Sunday night. I had no choice but to pay because I needed the car to drive the 40 mile journey home or else I had to wait until the next day and somehow travel 30 miles to their storage facility. :mad:
The site was inadequately lit and so were the signs that had been put up advising that cars that were illegally parked in reserved spaces would be clamped and then eventually removed. NO ATTEMPT HAD BEEN MADE TO CLAMP MY VEHICLE. As far as I was concerned I was not illegally parked. When we went to pick up my car at the rendezvous point the driver explained to my sister and me that they do not bother clamping vehicles because it was a waste of their time having to keep going back to check whether the owner had turned up or not.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
I tried to appeal for a full refund to Crest Nicholson who had hired HFH Parking Management Ltd as their agents, sending them photos of the site showing the signs that night and then again the next morning. So that they could see my argument.

Did it work?
No they refused to give me a refund saying that the Visitors Car Parking spaces were for visitors to the Marketing Suite and not for general visitors. Nowhere did it say this as my pictures clearly show.

Other interesting stuff?
When I got my car back at the rendezvous point I was given a leaflet which said that my car had been clamped as well as the removal notice. Both were timed for 21.40 which proves that they did not carry out their procedures correctly. If they had I would only have been fined £145 which would have been bad enough. It's obvious why they instantly remove the vehicle , so that they can make more money out of innocent victims. I have since found out from one of the Crest Nicholson staff on site that HFH Management Parking Ltd had one of their staff living in the same block of flats as my sister at the time of my Vehicle Removal who was obviously advising his company of any cars which he considered to be illegally parked. Since he left the flat no cars have been clamped or removed.

What should I do next? Should I take Crest Nicholson OR HFH Management Parking Ltd to the Small Claims Court?

[disney2007]

:mad: I have challenged two parking tickets and won on both occasions.

First was I was 1 minute over the time limit, This is because I was in a wheelchair at the time and everything is on go slow when your in a wheelchair. The parking attendant only waited 1 minute, it even stated it on the ticket how fast he presented me with the parking ticket.:mad:

Second instence was in windermere last year when my disabled badge fell off the dash board on to its side. You could still see the badge but I got the ticket because it was on its side and not displayed properly. Again I paid the ticket and then they refunded it within the 2 weeks. :mad:
Are these people on comission with tickets or am I really unlikey to get tickets for really silly thing?

[bicycle_repair_man]

If its a private parking company, then ask for them to show proof of who the driver is, as the registered keeper is not obliged to identify who was driving, if they have no proof, then they have no case.

[misssaver12]

I got a parking ticket for not displaying a paid ticket when I had in Surrey.


I disputed it and sent them a copy of the ticket - They sent me through a picture that the warden had taken of the dashboard of the car showing that there was no ticket.

Trouble was - it was not the dashboard of my car and clearly not even the make of my car which i pointed out to them. Case was dropped.


I also disputed a ticket I got in London for parking without a parking ticket. I had walked for 20 mins to find a machine in the area that worked and went to 3 machines which were all not working - by the time i returned i had a ticket. Called them up and was discreetly advised by the operator at the council to dispute it and did. Was let off but warned that if it was to happen again then i would have to pay.

and every time was warned that i was not to expect it again.

[Super Satch]

I don't know what the story is in all local authority areas. However, in mine, you can go to the parking ombudsman for a further appeal if your first appeal fails. The council usually doesn't send a representative to the ombudsman appeal - it's too much hassle - and so the appeal is automatically granted in favour of the appellant.

I think this only works for 'minor' offences, e.g. slight overstays, a bit of meter-feeding, and where there might be extenuating circumstances. If you deliberately or negligently flout the rules, causing - at best - inconvenience to others, or - at worst - serious problems for emergency services, then you deserve what you get! In my job - and I'm not a parking attendant - I see plenty of people vainly trying to defend their own selfish, inconsiderate or even reckless behaviour. I'm sure the final article with include suitable caveats about this sort of thing!

[Wings of Ambition]

Three months later happened to drive past to see that LARGE notice posts had been cemented into the ground at entrance to close explaining 'Residents Only' Rang Luton Borough to say I was pleased that they agreed with me that notices were inadequate and that I wanted my money back. They agreed to 'look at it again' if I wrote in which I did and cheque arrived in post two weeks later.

Pleased that I got my money back but cross that Luton Borough must have known signs were inadequate and hadn't made any attempt to reimburse people who had been caught out.


This is very interesting. Shows that all is not over even if you've paid up. I like your tactic. One to remember, methinks!

[alison2204]

back in March i had to go to Birmingham Airport to collect my step son - a friend advised to use the park and ride scheme you get a hour for free. I was then reliant on their buses. I arrived back at the ticket maching 1 minute late ! (this was a long stay car park) i e-mailed NCP and received a reply saying they would refund my £7.00 for 1 minutes parking and guess what despite several e-mails i am still waiting !!!!:mad:

[andyjervisuk]

I parked at Nuneaton railway station, caught the train to Birmingham, came back and found a parking ticket on my windscreen for not parking in the designated parking bays. The car park is owned by Network Rail but run by NCP. there are no attendants except to come round once a day to stick tickets on unsuspecting motorists and there are no signs to tell you the park is full. Half the car park isn't properly surfaced and the bays are not clearly marked in the gravel.The car park was full but where I parked didn't obstruct anybody.

I appealed on the grounds as described above plus there was nothing in the rules and regulations which stipulated you had to park in the bays. The only stipulation was on Network Rail's regulations saying you must not obstruct railway traffic.

I had a reply which said the penalty was on hold while they investigated the complaint. About 3 months later I had a letter asking for photos so I sent them a photo of their regulations and threatened them with legal action if they pursued their claim! About another 3 months on I got a letter to say the ticket had been cancelled. Although I never used that car park again I did take a walk over to it a few times, (it's next to Asda in Nuneaton) the regulations hadn't altered but they were still putting tickets on cars for not parking in the bays. I put a few notes on some cars, under the tickets telling the owners my experience and urging them to appeal. Don't know how many took up my advice but I did get an e-mail from one guy who thanked me.

[davy1]

i am a blue badge holder,and a while ago i visited a town near by and parked in a disability bay(normal sign painted on floor). On my return i found i had been ticketed and fortunately managed to catch the warden who had issued it. It seems i had parked on what they called a green badge bay(although the bay marking was the standard one) and that they were reserved for people who hired one of there disability scooters from a hut near by. anyway i asked the guy why there wasn't a warning sign to this effect to which he said there was. i checked and found the sign was 2ft of the floor and was obstructed by anyone parking infront of it. well i did'nt pay and appealed on those facts and it was allowed. At the end of the day ALL road markings/signs etc have by law to be to dept of transport rules,if not they are elegal and therefore do NOT exist,if in doubt check the D.O.T.website.

[tomstickland]

What should I do next? Should I take Crest Nicholson OR HFH Management Parking Ltd to the Small Claims Court?
Get onto Pepipoo. People have claimed these charges back via small claims.

[tomstickland]

Are these people on comission with tickets or am I really unlikey to get tickets for really silly thing?
If it's a private car park then they make their money by clamping/invoicing peoiple.
If it's council funded, they often have "quality standards" which might include a monthly minimum number of tickets. This is why appealing is important - the ticketer meets their target knowing that a fair amount will be sucessful in the appeal, but they still meet their targets that way.

[rih2010]

What was the fine for?


What was the problem with it? Details
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Details
Did it work? Details
Other interesting stuff? Details

[eurovision_fan]

Me and my family were in the Skegness Area for our family holiday and we thought as it was our last day to come and spend the day in Skegness itself.
My mum is classified disabled, and because in our home county (Warwickshire) as well as our local borough (Nuneaton & Bedworth) my mum can claim free parking as long as she displays her disabled badge with valid documents.
We assumed that this would be the case else where in the country after the recent concessions to the disabled and elderly on public transport, on to find we were ticketed because we didn't purchase a ticket.
It was only after I came back to my sister's car during lunch because I had an uneasiness whether we were permitted to park in the car park; only to find she did get ticketed £30, on leaving the car park with my sister's ticket did i find in very tiny print (Font size 10 or 11 if that) on a parking meter stating that claiming disability doesn't exempt you from a parking charge.
I looked further around the car park and found that on the overhead limiting bar on a sign no bigger than A5 was a sign in blue with the same message, what got me was it is not very noticeable when in a small family car, especially when the driver is concentrating on the road and me and my mum trying to calm down my 2 year old niece (who was very warm and hadn't slept much all holiday).

Well we paid our FPN of £30 but grudgingly, and even if we couldn't claim it back, I wish to urge all other drivers that you check at the parking meter if disability excuses you from charges.

[sarah]

What was the fine for? Parking in an area outside of the 'parking allowed' times
What was the problem with it? The ticket was never physically given- I drove off before the attendant put the ticket on the windscreen (even though it may have been issued). I then received a notification 1 month later telling me the fine had increased to £90 since I had not paid within 30 days of issue.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes- the fine was not valid since the ticket was never officially issued (and physically given to the driver). It was therefore entirely unfair to be told the fine had increased after 30 days- when I had no knowledge of the fine in the first place.
Did it work? Yes. At first I was told that the council had proof that the ticket had been placed on the windscreen (which was untrue)- so I wrote back, asking them to send a photograph of my car with the parking ticket on the windscreen (as the parking attendant must take after issuing a ticket). A court date was set in the small claims court (I think), but then mysteriously was cancelled, and I received a letter a couple of weeks later telling me that the charges had been dropped.
Other interesting stuff? This is slightly different in that I did deserve the parking ticket. However, my problem was with the fact that I had no knowledge of the ticket and was then penalised for not paying within 30 days.

[JUSTABOUTTO]

I parked in a permit only parking area, right next to a 2 hour parking area. I just got on the wrong side of the sign. I came out and there was a ticket on my window. Anyway, car registration was correct but make of car was wrong. I appealed and they have let me off.

[callow]

What was the fine for? Overstaying the free 1 hour on street parking.

What was the problem with it? I had lost my keys. By the time I had walked home, called out a locksmith to get me into my house, got my spare car key and got back to the car I had received a ticket.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I wrote a letter appealing the fine. I explained the situation and enclosed my locksmiths bill.

Did it work? Yes, the fine was revoked.

[shirin.alavi]

What was the fine for? I was parked in a parking lot in Windsor and turned up 10 minutes later than the time I had paid up to.

What was the problem with it? First of all it was only 10 mins later. Second, the parking was actually quite expensive, the most expensive I've ever been to. And thirdly, the fine was £120, while if I had parked on the street (and not paid for parking meter in the first place) I would have been fined £30 or £60 (not sure what the figure is). What was also funny was if I had chosen the other praking lot across the street, the fine would have been £60 rather than £120 as the other was not a privately owned one. :mad:

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? No, cause I was 10 mins late and didn't think I'd accomplish anything with the appeal.

Did it work? N/A

Other interesting stuff? The fine just doesn't make sense. Knowing this I will NEVER EVER park in a parking lot again and pay for the parking, as its cheaper to get fined on the street :money:

[meester]

What was the fine for? I was parked in a parking lot in Windsor and turned up 10 minutes later than the time I had paid up to.

What was the problem with it? First of all it was only 10 mins later. Second, the parking was actually quite expensive, the most expensive I've ever been to. And thirdly, the fine was £120, while if I had parked on the street (and not paid for parking meter in the first place) I would have been fined £30 or £60 (not sure what the figure is). What was also funny was if I had chosen the other praking lot across the street, the fine would have been £60 rather than £120 as the other was not a privately owned one. :mad:

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? No, cause I was 10 mins late and didn't think I'd accomplish anything with the appeal.

Did it work? N/A

Other interesting stuff? The fine just doesn't make sense. Knowing this I will NEVER EVER park in a parking lot again and pay for the parking, as its cheaper to get fined on the street :money:
why have you paid them?

On what basis are they going to enforce this charge?

I don't understand this 'did you try and appeal' thing, surely it's 'did you pay their charge, and why?' first, and following that, if you did, 'did you appeal'

[farley95]

What was the fine for? Ticket not displayed


What was the problem with it? When I had shut the door the wind had moved it so th corner was under my tax disc
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes I took photos on my mobile there & then to proved I had purchased a ticket and how it was displayed
Did it work? Too right it did - they couldn't argue it
Other interesting stuff? The letter warned me that this would be the only parking ticket they would reverse

But a month later........

What was the fine for? Outside the doctors on yellow lines


What was the problem with it? Parked on yellow lines directly outside doctors surgery
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Explained I was helping my 14 yr old daughter into the doctors after she had sprained her ankle and what else was I s'pose to do to get her in the doctors! plus attached printed doctors appointment for proof
Did it work? Yes
Other interesting stuff? Never had a ticket attached to the car this time it was a letter through the post about 3 weeks later saying I'd parked illegally and it was only just in time to appeal.

[ronenjen]

Hi,
I parked on GoldersGreen Rd. in London.
I was with my two young kids (aged 1 and 4), who were sleeping in the back as I parked the car.
I decided to take advantage and quickly buy the ticket that was right next to the car before they wake up.
I bought it and when I got back to the car, they were both crying as they thought I've left them...
I quickly put the ticket in the window and tended to them to calm them down.
We went about our business, came back and saw a ticket in our window. Apperantley in my haste, I put the ticket facing downwards instead of facing upwards.
I thought to myself that that is no problem - surely as I actually legally paid for my right to park in that road (easly proven as the ticket time was between the time the ticket was bought and the time it was due to expire), as soon as I explain this to the Borough (Barnet), the ticket will be cancelled.
No way, Jose!!
Once they got my money, they did not want to let go. My appeal was rejected based on some rule insisting that the ticket should be proparley displayed.
With understanding this rule and what it is about, surley the whole point of a parking ticket is to buy a right of parking in a certain place for a certain amount of time. If this right was legally paid for in the means provided by the council, this should suffice.

Ronen

[Tightfisted]

What was the fine for? Parking in a loading bay

What was the problem with it? The area was a square with disabled parking bays in the centre and yellow lines around the outside in Canterbury. All the bays were full and some contained cars without visible disbility cards. Other people with blue cards were parked around the outside of the square. I parked next to a solid wall of a building and correctly displayed my 89 year old mother's cards. On our return to the car we found an attendant had just finished writing the ticket. He was VERY nice to us but pointed out a tiny notice high up on the adjacent wall stating "Loading Bay". Apparantly there had been road markings but these had worn off.

Did you try to appeal and on what basis? Yes I wrote to the address on the ticket fully explaining the situation as outlined above.

Did it work? Yes it did. I got a lovely letter back cancelling the ticket and warning me not to do it again!!! :j

[number10]

I suppose bus lane charges are also relevant here.
I received a penalty notice after my second time driving in Manchester. I had got lost despite checking my A-Z beforehand and presumably strayed into the lane while concentrating on trying to find my way off the dual carriageway I found myself on.
I asked for the CD the notice promised but it hadn't arrived before the time to pay the reduced charge arrived, so I paid and complained. I must say the staff were very cooperative, but I couldn't get the CD to run. They then checked with their IT dept and sent me a link to download some necessary program - I have a new PC running Vista Home Premium - but that didn't help. My contact said she's not knowledgeable about IT, but will investigate further.
At first it was just curiosity but, after a TV programme showing how 1000s of these charges are illegal, I now really want to check. Surely, if there's a legal obligation to provide this evidence, it should extend to it working on the most common "platform" without additional bells and whistles, but there's no way to find out without paying a lawyer.There must be many like me: maybe through one of your media you could help.

[foreversomeday]

My OH managed to reclaim one a couple of months ago.

What was the fine for? Not having/displaying a valid ticket
What was the problem with it? The ticket was valid, OH thinks it was in plain view, I think it could have been blown off the dashboard when he closed the door.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? He found a traffic warden and asked him what to do - he suggested we take it to the council offices.
Did it work? When he took it in along with the ticket which had the time printed on it they said not to worry about paying it and they would sort it out.
Other interesting stuff? We got a letter in the post a few weeks after the incident saying that because they hadn't responded within a certain time, we didn't have to pay, but not to take it as a precedent! Cheeky.

[ilovelillbj]

All of my colleagues park in a pay and display car park during the day. Once my friend James' ticket fell off of his dashboard and he ended up getting a ticket. He wrote a polite letter explaining what had happened and sent of the ticket with it; they sent him back a ticket holder and told him to be more careful next time!

[g_parry]

Not a parking ticket story, just some general advice for those unfairly ticketed.

A letter to the local authority is rarely given proper consideration – the most likely response is a standard letter refusing to cancel the charge.
Following your receipt of a Notice to Owner (NTO) you are entitled to make a formal representation which places the local authority under a legal obligation to consider your representation. However, the parking department of the local authority has a budget to achieve and it’s still difficult to get a ticket cancelled.
If your representation is rejected, you have 28 days to appeal to the parking adjudicator. If you’ve gone this far, there is absolutely no reason not to appeal – it will not cost you any more money and 68% of parking appeals are found in favour of the motorist.
The adjudicators web site has a number of “key cases” that will point you in the right direction for appealing.
The law has recently changed to allow the adjudicators to refer cases back to the local authority where there are “mitigating circumstances” that the adjudicator feels need consideration.

It’s worth repeating that 68% of appeals are won by the motorist.

[zedman63]

hi got a ticket for parking in the B&Q car park in high wycombe. I parked there at 6 am till 6.28am as a lorry had blocked the entrance to my work which is next door, I moved my car from the nearly empty huge car park as soon as possible 1/2 an hour and received a fpn of £75 which if it was'nt paid within 2 weeks would go up to £125. I went to the store as it had surely to be a good neighbour if nothing else I mean we put up with all the traffic chaos they cause, but they were not interested at all I was fobbed off on an assistant manager who did'nt give a rats a**e. My company have appealed and they have as a gesture of goodwill cut the charge in 1/2 to £37.50 if I pay within a week.................. good for you B&Q I certainly will avoid shopping with you ever again as this is pathetic and the company i work for have put up a sign asking the other 40 employees to avoid it in the same way, please if anyone actually reads this avoid B&Q I've put a curse on them, they're going down....

[xkatarzynax]

I recieved a parking ticket for £30 over a year ago! I watched the man put it on my car and I went up to him and asked him why he had done it as none of the machines were working so nobody could even buy a ticket!

I then got in touch with the council via phone and sent them a letter etc and the told me the understood my situation and I wouldnt have to pay!

A year later i recieved a parking ticket for just under £400, and told if i didnt pay it then the baylifs would be around! They cam around the same day and I told them what happened and they went away and said the would be back! I called them up and they dropped £200 off it, But i can believe i still had to pay £200 for a ticket, when the council said it was unfair that i recieved it in the first place!

Ths country has become a money making sham, and I cant wait to get out!

[snottyotty]

I recieved a £30 now or £60 later ticket for parking in a disabled bay outside the local library in Peterborough with my wife who is disabled and we were displaying a blue badge with the correct time on the clock. WHY? BECAUSE MY WIFES ID WAS UPSIDE DOWN IN THE WINDSCREEN!

AND I HAD TO PAY, THEY WOULD NOT WAIVE THE TICKET

DISGUSTING

[rih2010]

Apologies for my previous post on this subject. My pc went a bit wonky and prematurely posted for me. Now on works computer which should be better.

What was the fine for?

Last summer I parked in a pay and display car park in Newhaven, Sussex on a blustery day. I bought a ticket and placed it on the dash. Whilst unloading the car (baby, buggy, the missus, etc.) and unknown to us, the wind must have blown the ticket off the dash on to the floor. This resulted in a £60 ticket.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?


I found my ticket and sent it with a covering letter of appeal to the address on the parking ticket. I basically said that I had bought a ticket and it blew off the dash. Therefore I felt I wasn't guilty of not paying. (However I suppose I was guilty of not displaying, but didn't put this in the letter!!) This was down to having to unload the car on a windy day.

Did it work?


Initially I received a reply saying the case would be investigated. Then, several weeks later I received a letter saying I would be let off this once and advising me to take care when putting the ticket in the car. They suggested employing the adhesive on the ticket on windy days.

So there you go.

[Jane Rowley]

I parked in a marked parking bay at 6.30pm in Raynes Park. I saw a parking attendant and double checked the parking sign, which was as clear as mud. The traffic warden disappeared, probably hiding in a doorway, so I couldn't double check. I decided he was only there for cars parked on double yellows and I must be ok in a P bay at night. I left the car for 5 minutes and returned to find a ticket. I was shocked. I took a photo of the sign with a digital camera and asked friends if they thought I had parked illegally - they agreed I should not have been fined, so I appealed. Merton council would not accept the signage was wrong, but a few weeks later they replaced the sign with one which restricted parking before 7pm. I called the council but they denied the sign had changed and again refused to cancel my ticket! I took photos of the new sign and showed them at the appeal hearing, but even the photographic evidence wasn't good enough for the adjudicator who quite frankly wasn't very bright and had trouble grasping the facts. It was only because I had taken the camera with me and could show the dated photo of the original sign on the camera that he believed me and upheld my appeal. Still, he only awarded me £30 compensation for all my stress and trouble, including a day off work to attend the hearing, which is no deterent for shameful councils and still left me out of pocket and very angry. The whole parking system in this country is a scandal and everyone knows it is just a terribly unfair stealth tax. No wonder Labour are so unpopular.

[zzzLazyDaisy]

What was the fine for? Overstaying a free half hour in a car park for customers using the local post-office (run by private company)


What was the problem with it? There was a newly installed camera system that took photos of cars entering and leaving the car park. Any car that did not leave within 30 mins got a 'fine' (so effectively you actually only get about 25 mins parking time as the driving around looking for a space, and the time taken to drive out of the car park is counted within the 30 mins). There were no notices up warning people of this change. I am disabled, there were no disabled bays, but I did display my blue badge. As I have mobility problems it is at least a 5 min walk each way, there was a long queue in the post office, and then owing to my condition I was exhausted and had to rest for a few minutes to get my breathe back before driving away, none the wiser, as there was no notice on the windscreen. The Charge Notice arrived in the post several weeks later.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes, I appealed on the basis that 30 mins is too short for disabled people. I said the failure to provide disabled bays at the end of the car park closest to the post-office, and also insisting that disabled people must carry out their business within the same time period as able-bodied people was unlawful discrimination, and also that this meant that disabled people were now effectively barred from using the local post-office.

Did it work? Yes. I got a standard letter saying that my blue badge was not valid as this was a private car park and so they had no obligation to make special arrangements for disabled people (!!) but if I sent a copy of my blue badge the charge would be rescinded as a gesture of goodwill. I did, and it was.

Other interesting stuff? The next time I drove past that car park, disabled bays had been installed and the parking time extended for those bays to three hours. So I suspect that I wasn't the only person to complain.

[NikkiDee]

What was the fine for?
Parking on a Yellow Line.
What was the problem with it?
Due to road resurfacing the yellow lines were repainted but where cars had been parked while the re-lining was taking place some of the new yellow lines had gaps in them and so I parked over one of these gaps but still got a ticket.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
Yes, I did appeal by sending my payment for the fine together with a letter stating that I had not parked illegally as the yellow line was incomplete and as such was not enforsable. I also sent a photo as proof.
Did it work?
Amazingly yes ... my cheque was returned to me with a letter of apology.
Other interesting stuff?
Did you know that every yellow line has to have a start and a finish otherwise it is not enforsable ...
To try to explain, a yellow line must look like this I---I I---I if there is a break for a driveway then the yellow line should have a line at a right angle to the curb at the end of the line then another one where the line starts again. If there is no start or finish lines and it just looks like this ---- ---- then it can't be enforsed and you can appeal any parking fines incurred with a readsonable chance of winning.

[donaldtramp]

Firstly www.pepipoo.com (http://www.pepipoo.com) should be the website of choice, all free, and loads of folk willing to help who are REALLY, REALLY knowledgeable about the subject.

What was the fine for?
Parking on a single yellow
What was the problem with it?
The parking ticket did not comply with the law
Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
That the ticket did not have two dates on them.
Did it work?
Fantastically well!!:beer:

Other interesting stuff?

It led to :j£2.65 Million:j being written off:rotfl::rotfl:(with a wee bit more work!):

See article here....
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/aberdeen?articleid=400905 (http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/aberdeen?articleid=4009055)5 (http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/aberdeen?articleid=4009055)

So suppose you could call that a success!!!

[katie.leese]

Was near Leeds uni.
Looked for signs but there were none. Got the usual £30 in 7 days £60 after fine.
What had happened was that someone had stolen or knocked off the sign that said it was permit holders only.
I paid it cos I no way to prove it - no camera. Gutted!

[tomstickland]

hi got a ticket for parking in the B&Q car park in high wycombe. I parked there at 6 am till 6.28am as a lorry had blocked the entrance to my work which is next door, I moved my car from the nearly empty huge car park as soon as possible 1/2 an hour and received a fpn of £75 which if it was'nt paid within 2 weeks would go up to £125. I went to the store as it had surely to be a good neighbour if nothing else I mean we put up with all the traffic chaos they cause, but they were not interested at all I was fobbed off on an assistant manager who did'nt give a rats a**e. My company have appealed and they have as a gesture of goodwill cut the charge in 1/2 to £37.50 if I pay within a week.................. good for you B&Q I certainly will avoid shopping with you ever again as this is pathetic and the company i work for have put up a sign asking the other 40 employees to avoid it in the same way, please if anyone actually reads this avoid B&Q I've put a curse on them, they're going down....
You shouldn't have paid anything at all. See the endless posts about private parking invoices.

[kittykitten]

I'm hoping some of you wonderful people will be able to answer a question that came up in conversation at work last week - not a genuine scenario that happened, but a theoretical one that we've been very lucky hasn't happened so far. This might take some explaining so bear with me. Here goes...

I work as an occupational therapist in the hospital in Darlington. A large part of my job involves assessing people's ability to manage at home after a hospital admission, and providing equipment (often heavy specialist chairs etc) to assist them at home. Regularly I take patients on a home visit, so I drive them to their house, spend an hour assessing what their injury/medical condition means they can/can't manage to do, then drive them back to the hospital. We also have to deliver the aforementioned equipment to patients' houses, as often it's essential for safety on discharge and if they live alone there's no way of getting it delivered by the equipment company, so they bring it to us and we take it to the patient's home on discharge day.

Anyway, anyone who knows Darlington will know it's not the best place for parking. A lot of the town, particularly towards the town centre, is terraced residential streets (never good, as terraced streets have no off-street parking), many of which are on quite steep hills. Bearing in mind we're talking about patients with greatly reduced mobility here, mostly elderly people, and heavy equipment, it's essential for us to try and park as close as possible to their front door. We've been told by our employer that if we get a parking ticket while on work business, whether we're in the works car or our own cars, it's our own fault and will be our responsibility. This is bound to happen sooner or later, as Darlington is a maze of resident bays and double yellow lines, particularly around the town centre.

I do always put a note on the car (usually on NHS headed paper) if I'm parked illegally, saying who I am, that I'm with a hospital patient, which house I'm in and approx how long I'll be, but traffic wardens are ruthless, so I doubt this would cut much weight.

Any ideas how we can either prevent tickets, or do we have grounds to appeal if we're issued a ticket? I know I'm often essentially parked illegally, but I'm sorry I'm not going to make a little old lady with a broken hip walk 500 metres to her front door when I can park in the residents bay outside her door. I'm trying to help, not give my patients heart attacks!

[nj1978]

I was in a hire car (free Renault for the weekend, see motoring board) and stopped on a yellow line to allow my family to disembark - as you are allowed to do under the regulations. The enforcement camera obviously filmed the vehicle stationary and a ticket was sent to the hire company. The hire company policy is to pay the tickets plus charge an admin fee (first I knew of it was a #90 charge to my credit card) even though there is the option for them to return the ticket to the council with the name and address of the hirer.

The good bit is that the parking regulations say that once a fine has been paid it can not be appealed so even though I committed no offence I can not recover the fine or the fee. You have been warned :mad:
Hi, I am a fleet manager, and am lucky enough to deal with PCN's on a regular basis. You are correct in what you are saying with regards to once the PCN has been paid you are unable to appeal. However it does work slightly different with hire companies. I have been dealing with Enterprise hire company today with regards to a PCN that they have paid, and they have given me a letter of authority to allow me to appeal the penalty charge notice with the council. I would ask the hire company again, as its not their decision to make when is costs you (the customer) money. Hopefully you should then be able to appeal

[Mylex]

I recently received a fine from a private company for a vehicle registered in my name, but I was not driving. There was only a photo on the cars reg plate. I found a great site for this - wrote a short letter stating if they could not prove I was the driver please do not contact me again - worked, saved £45 http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?autocom=ibwiki&cmd=article&id=56

[bicycle_repair_man]

I parked in a marked parking bay at 6.30pm in Raynes Park. I saw a parking attendant and double checked the parking sign, which was as clear as mud. The traffic warden disappeared, probably hiding in a doorway, so I couldn't double check. I decided he was only there for cars parked on double yellows and I must be ok in a P bay at night. I left the car for 5 minutes and returned to find a ticket. I was shocked. I took a photo of the sign with a digital camera and asked friends if they thought I had parked illegally - they agreed I should not have been fined, so I appealed. Merton council would not accept the signage was wrong, but a few weeks later they replaced the sign with one which restricted parking before 7pm. I called the council but they denied the sign had changed and again refused to cancel my ticket! I took photos of the new sign and showed them at the appeal hearing, but even the photographic evidence wasn't good enough for the adjudicator who quite frankly wasn't very bright and had trouble grasping the facts. It was only because I had taken the camera with me and could show the dated photo of the original sign on the camera that he believed me and upheld my appeal. Still, he only awarded me £30 compensation for all my stress and trouble, including a day off work to attend the hearing, which is no deterent for shameful councils and still left me out of pocket and very angry. The whole parking system in this country is a scandal and everyone knows it is just a terribly unfair stealth tax. No wonder Labour are so unpopular.

I wouldn't blame the government for this. It was the Tories who brought in the regulations that allowed councils to control or contract out parking enforcement. If it had been left to the police like it used to then we wouldn't have any of these problems.

[hxm]

I'm pretty careful about parking and have only had one ticket. It was a very wintry day and I was taking my brother to his friend's in Yorkshire. We stopped off about halfway in Sedburgh to get a cup of tea in a cafe. There was a Pay & Display car park which was completely empty. I parked in the corner and conscientiously went to get a ticket from the machine, only to find it had no tickets in it. In the time it took us to have a cup of tea, my car was ticketed. A "flying traffic warden" had been and gone, after re-stocking the machine with tickets. I was absolutely furious and as soon as we got to my brother's friend's house, I rang the telephone number given to complain. I gave all the details and was told that as the ticket had been issued, she couldn't be scrapped but I needed to return the paperwork with a covering letter to say why I objected to paying! I did have a bit of a rant, saying that as the guy had put new tickets into the machine, he must have been perfectly well aware that I hadn't been able to buy a ticket. Her reply was that maybe I should ensure that I always had pen and paper handy in the car to write a note if I found myself in the same situation again! I wrote a strong letter of complaint the next day and the penalty was revoked.

[robellett]

Don't know if anyone can help me -
I am physically and mentally handicapped and parked in a Birmingham street, with my Disabled Badge displayed, adjacent to a parking meter spot, though with a single yellow line, on a saturday afternoon. There was a sign which I thought meant the area was for taxis in the evening. I needed to park to find a bathroom to use, as my toileting arrangements can be severe and urgent. I returned to find a ticket, which mentions that I am a blue badge holder, though parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours - I must have mixed up am and pm hours, though was distressed whilst rushing to find a toilet somewhere. Does anyone have any advice please on how I could contest this?
I realise this is not a successful story, but I don't know where to turn to for help. Thank you all.

[tmn1966]

My sister did similar to you gb.dad; parked up then an hour later moved up the road a bit. She got a ticket too. I always assumed you could do that as the sign says "no return within two hours" etc, meaning no return to that spot!

Her penalty notice was £25 if paid within two weeks or it doubled after. The only reason she parked on the road was because someone who worked up the road from her had cheekily parked on her work's forecourt as there was no room on theirs which made no room for her on her forecourt! She works on a very busy road where the local council have an unwritten agreement with the businesses in the road that employees can park their cars on the forecourts as to go about their business. She uses her car for going about her job and it seemed very unfair that she should receive a ticket for it, considering she moved it before the hour was up.

Do you think she has a good case if she appeals? :confused:

[kittykitten]

My sister did similar to you gb.dad; parked up then an hour later moved up the road a bit. She got a ticket too. I always assumed you could do that as the sign says "no return within two hours" etc, meaning no return to that spot!

Her penalty notice was £25 if paid within two weeks or it doubled after. The only reason she parked on the road was because someone who worked up the road from her had cheekily parked on her work's forecourt as there was no room on theirs which made no room for her on her forecourt! She works on a very busy road where the local council have an unwritten agreement with the businesses in the road that employees can park their cars on the forecourts as to go about their business. She uses her car for going about her job and it seemed very unfair that she should receive a ticket for it, considering she moved it before the hour was up.

Do you think she has a good case if she appeals? :confused:

I'm by no means an expert, never having had a parking ticket, but I'd say it's worth a try, if nothing else on the grounds that the sign doesn't specify that the 'no return' means no return to that street, not that spot! This may work if the parking spaces are individually marked, but I don't know if it'll work if the markikngs simply mark out a line of parking spaces, and she's returned to the same line of spaces. I'd appeal anyway though, worst they can do is say no!

[pixwix]

I've had a few parking tickets, like anyone else. But my worst experience was in Edinburgh about 6 or 7 years ago - a city I'll lose no sleep over if I never see again.

I lived to the south of that city at the time, and in a medical emergency was driven by a kind neighbour to hospital there. The neighbour parked in a perfectly legal parking space on the street (parking in on hospital premises being - of course - quite out of the question), but didn't pay as we displayed my Disabled Parking Badge. When we left the hospital some hours later, we were horrified to find a parking ticket on the windscreen. Hospital staff told us that was par for the course - the private-firm wardens were on a quota system, and they'd ticket anyone they thought they could get away with.

I felt a moral duty to pay the £40 charge, of course, but not without a fight. On querying the ticket, I found it claimed that we'd been causing a major obstruction a street away(!), and that no Disabled Badge had been on display. Parking tickets are one thing, but plain unvarnished lies are quite another. I challenged the ticket, pointing out I had several hospital staff as witnesses (they'd had to help me from the car) both as to where the car had been parked and to the fact a Disabled Badge had been clearly on display. I also made it clear I was so upset by all this I'd take the matter to court and spend whatever was necessary rather than give in to this kind of bureaucratic BS (and I meant it).

A week later I got a brief letter telling me the ticket had been withdrawn - but no explanation or apology.

A month later I got a surcharge bill because the fine hadn't been paid...

You can guess the rest...

I later talked to another neighbour who parked in Edinburgh, and got a ticket (which they simply paid) because their Disabled Badge had slipped to an angle of 90%, rendering it (according to the warden) 'unreadable'.

Where do they get such people - clone them in factories, somewhere?

[skipsmum]

What was the fine for?
Parking in a loading bay

What was the problem with it?
Parked in a bay outside Macdonalds in Gillingham. There were a mix of disabled and loading bays. Got 3 disabled children and a toddler from the van into mcdonalds, also unloaded two wheelchairs and a buggy. Displayed all 3 blue badges in the window. When we came back 1/2 hour later we had a parking ticket.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
Tried to appeal on the grounds that we displayed blue badges, but the council said we were in a loading bay so they weren't valid. Surely 4 children, 2 wheelchairs, and a buggy need unloading!
Did it work?
No, still had to pay. However local newspaper took up the case and finally got it refunded.

Other interesting stuff?
I was most upset that the traffic warden had actually been standing by the bays, had watched me struggle to get all the kids out, hadn't even bothered to hold the door open to Mcdonalds, didn't say a word about not being able to park there, and then slapped a ticket on the van.

[paulaaliwell]

I got a fine in a Pay & Display car park, after my ticket had fallen off the windscreen onto the floor. I wrote to the Borough, enclosing the ticket, but they refused to waive the fine.

I took the case to the adjudicator, on the grounds that I had met the legal requirement as I had both paid and displayed my ticket. I argued that the fact that the ticket fell off after I'd displayed it was irrelevant. The adjudicator found in my favour!:j

Incientally, this was due to a loophole in the wording of the Terms & Conditions - some car parks do specify that the ticket must be displayed at all times.

[lynneinjapan]

What was the fine for? Parking on a single yellow line at the wrong time.
What was the problem with it? The bay was almost full and I couldn't see a sign stating the restrictions (I did get out of the car and walk a few yards in both directions to check - I found a post the looked as if it had once held such a sign but the sign itself was missing) so I assumed it was OK to park there at that time. I was gone for about an hour, I think, and came back to find all the other cars gone and a ticket on my windscreen. Apparently you weren't allowed to park there after 4pm or something like that.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I immediately wrote to the Council appealing on the basis that I had looked for a sign but there hadn't been one visible, and mentioning the signless post.
Did it work? The Council replied to my letter FIVE MONTHS later saying that there was a sign "outside Bright House" and the penalty still stood (though they did extend the deadline for payment at the reduced rate). I had no idea where Bright House was so I went back to the location - not a part of the city that I visit regularly - and found that the missing sign had been replaced at some point during the intervening 5 months. (There was actually another sign too, but it was about 100m away, past two shopping centre entrances and a double-length bus stop.) So I took a photo, labelled it up with "I parked here" and "This sign was MISSING when the ticket was issued on ...th July" and wrote back to them again, enclosing the photo and saying that I would take the case to NPAS if they continued to demand payment. That was in late 2004 and I haven't heard anything since, so I can only assume that the penalty was waived.

[lulu650]

What was the fine for?
Two different carparks while on jury service

What was the problem with it?
1. All available spaces in immediate vicinity were full due to BBC coverage on the case in different court. I had to park in a shop's carpark which was free for the first 2 hours. Stupidly, didn't realise that as this was the summing up day that we would actually be locked in a room for the deliberation. Therefore couldn't get out to move the car to a feepaying carpark.
2. Paid for my parking but couldn't find designated space so parked near a mini and didn't block any other users. Fined me because it wasn't a designated bay

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
Yes. Cited doing my duty for queen and country!

Did it work?
Yes. Slapped wrist, don't you dare do it again. One was County Council and the other was a private carparking firm.

Other interesting stuff?
Ex copper and many others on the jury all said that I'd never get off the fines.
But never had the chance to tell them that I did as I never saw them again after the trial

[Hymie]

The whole parking ticket appeals system is just a scam, run by the same people issuing the tickets.

A couple a years ago my mother received a parking ticket, which was obviously due to the parking attendant miss-reading the car registration plate.
Parking attendants take details from the vehicle tax disc (tax disc no. etc), thereby providing additional proof that they ticketed the correct vehicle.

In contesting the ticket, the relevant authority requested a copy of my mother tax disc in order to compare details. I pointed out that once the authority had details of her tax disc, they could just claim that they were correct, and demand payment of the fine. The alternative was to go through the appeals process, which could be done through a paper submission of supporting documents, rather than each party having to attend.

The process involves each party independently submitting their case (in documents), which are then presented to the appeals authority. Much was made of the fact that the appeals authority was independent and that no documents submitted would be seen be the parking authority before the deadline for submitting documents. Dates were set by which documents had to be received – which would then be sent to each party.
My mother duly sent her documents, which included a copy of her cars tax disc. Soon after (before the appeal date - and before the deadline for document submssion), she received notification that her tax disc did not match the details held by the parking authority, and that the fine was void.

Clearly the parking appeals authority had colluded with the ticket issuing authority to check the details of documents submitted by my mother (before the appeal hearing date).

The information originally submitted by the appeals authority claimed that they acted in the same manner in terms of impartiality, as a court of law – clearly from my mothers experience, this is complete nonsense.

[ecki_thump]

Our local swimming pool offers free parking for 2 hours when using the pool. The idea is you get a ticket, tear off the refund and hand it in to receive your £1.50 fee back.

We took the family swimming one Sunday, as normal we purchased a ticked for what we thought was 2 hours parking. When we came out of the swimming pool we could see a ticket had been slapped on our windscreen. We looked at the ticket and realised we had only been given 1 hour when we put in the money for 2 hours.

I thought it would be no problem to get our fine stopped as we could prove we had used the swimming pool and had nothing to gain from only putting an hour into the meter.

We appealed the ticket but was told we still had to pay the fine as we should have checked it. I agree we should have checked it but it was a genuine mistake, and anyway what the hell are traffic wardens doing working in a small town on a Sunday, they must have better things to spend our Council Tax on!

[Moke]

Well I'm so glad that you are investigating this as I have had a recent issue with a ticket and haven't been sure what to really do.

I parked outside a friends house in Islington recently. This is a resident's only area between the hours of 8.30am to 1.30pm on a Saturday. I parked after 1.30. The sign additionally said that on a match day (at-home footie matches I presume) the restriction was from 8.30am until 4.30pm.

On returing to my car later that evening I'd received a ticket, and on contacting Islington was told that there had been a match underway.

I disputed this twice on the basis that they hadn't made clear that a match was underway that day. My friend hadn't been aware of any match, and there were no obvious signs in and around Islington that one was underway (e.g. fans or blocked roads).

This really infuriates me as I don't think it was made clear enough that a match was in progress that afternoon - I actually think a timetable for matches should accompany the signs, or a number or other method given to ascertain the dates that these run.

On both cases that I have disputed they have said that they were unwilling to reserve the penalty, and then asked me to wait until a notice to the owner was sent to me by the DVLA if I wanted to take this any further.

I opted to pay the ticket as they wouldn't guarantee that whilst the case was underdispute the ticket cost wouldn't rise.

If there is any advice on what to do, that would be appreciated.

[db21111]

What was the fine for? Allegedly parking in a none parking are
What was the problem with it? I was in a clearly marked box outside a shop.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? According to the code I was written up on, the box had to be marked differently to make it illegal for me to park there. Also the ticket didn't state the exact location of the offence. It just said Dudley Road.
Did it work? Yes
Other interesting stuff? No, I still have the original ticket though.

[trubster]

What was the fine for? Failure to display a valid parking ticket
What was the problem with it? I did not have one... I did not know it was 24 hour pay and display and it was 23:55
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? According to the invoice I recieved it said I was seen at 12:00hrs and ticketed at 12:10hrs and clearly it was 0000 and 0010 so I returned to the same car park and paid £1 for a 1 hour ticket between 11:44 and 12:44 and sent that with the invoice back to the private parking company
Did it work? Yes
Other interesting stuff? Sad people issuing invoices at midnight!!!

[Wivsi]

I was really pleased with this one.

What was the fine for? Parking in a residents bay (oops - but the residents bays outside my house were suspended, I parked down the road not realising this was a different zone.) I got clamped, and had to pay £125 to get it removed.

What was the problem with it? I thought it was unfair that while our bays were suspended we just couldn't park!

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? This is the bit I was pleased with. I read the Hackney Parking Enforcement Policy; it did not refer in any way to clamping on public roads, only on estates. I appealed on the grounds that the council had not made a decision to clamp.

Did it work? Yes

Other interesting stuff? I think anyone who gets clamped in Hackney could possibly use this!

Hope it helps.

[innerpeas]

What was the fine for? parking in a no loading area using a blue badge
What was the problem with it? you're not allowed to park in a no loading area with a blue badge... or otherwise!
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? i appealed on the basis that the no loading sign was not visible
Did it work? they agreed that the sign was not visible and cancelled the ticket

also i've just had this one...

What was the fine for? parking in a loading bay with a blue badge
What was the problem with it? local authorities say that this is not allowed
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? i am currently appealing it on the basis that in UK law you are allowed to park in a loading bay with a blue badge
Did it work? waiting to see...
Other interesting stuff? sunderland city council had to refund all the parking fines they'd got form people with blue badges who's parked in loading bays after it was revealed that they were going against UK law.

[beerqueen]

What was the fine for? Parking in a staff car park
What was the problem with it? No terms and conditions displayed at all. Inadequate signage
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Am appealing today
Did it work? It better!
Other interesting stuff? I visited a clinic at the hospital that we have visited for about 10 years and parked where we usually do. Came out to a ticket. Asked attendant why and he replied it was a staff car park. I asked him where the sign was - there was none visible from where I was parked. he said there were two at the entrance. When I checked these they were two home-produced on compter A4 sheets simply saying staff car park!!! These were displayed at about shin height!!! No board with terms and conditions or anything. They are obviously in the process of making the car parks more official but have employed an attendant before putting all the signs up!!

Incidentally the car park is very scruffy, with no marked bays - more like a bit of wasteland. Does it have to have marked bays etc as well?

I don't intend paying and don't think they have a leg to stand on.

[lalinka]

What was the fine for? Parking in a bay on a Saturday for longer than 2 hours
What was the problem with it? There was a sign that indicated you could park there on a saturday at the end of the pay i parked, yet at the other end of the bay a sign saying you couldn't - guess which sign the council quoted in its letters?!
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I tried to appeal by the fact that the sign my car was parked right next to had information saying you could park on a saturday unrestricted and that it was unresonable to expect people to check every sign on the street for conflicting formation. Then what are they supposed to believe? I provided photo evidence of my car, the signs and also a map of the area in relation to the route i walked to work - showing i didn't pass the other sign.
Did it work? I had no success and after several rather scary sounding letters from my council i felt forced to pay the fine as I did not understand what they the implications (e.g. court) would be of not paying.
Other interesting stuff? How can something that is blatently wrong and an error on the councils part by incorrect signs - and is still wrong might I add - be argued as being right by the council?

[Sandyharman]

After spending a nice week in Newquay, I often used a parking company call A.S Parking who have private a car park in Newquay but are based in North Cornwall.

On one of the days we used the car park the attendant was unable to read the ticket which was displayed on the windscreen.
I was issued a parking ticket of £85.
I immediately wrote them a letter of appeal with proof of the ticket that was purchased and also other tickets to prove that I do not dodge parking fees.
The appeal has been rejected and again they have demanded £85.

I am sure you will agree that this is extremely unfair and unacceptable and they are simply just after my money when I have done nothing wrong.

I am now at a loss of what and feel very strongly against paying a penalty.http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

[stwb]

Sorry if this has been already mention here, but I highly recommended reading "The Parking Ticket Awards"- by Barrie Segal : available >HERE< (http://www.whsmith.co.uk/CatalogAndSearch/ProductDetails-The+Parking+Ticket+Awards+-9781906032029.html)

It covers many cases similar to those here, as well as many hilariously stupid ones, along with lots of helpful legal information.

Barrie also runs a very helpful site called AppealNow.com (http://www.appealnow.com/)

Hope this helps

:)

[Krasnoludek]

hi Sandyharman

I got a ticket in Lancs as my car was parked with the windscreen against the wall and the attendant couldnt be bothered to read it, I was fuming.
I contacted them immediately and emailed and photocopied my ticket. At the time I was visiting my family and making funeral arrangements for my Gran who had died a few days previous. I was absolutely livid. I told them about the situation and said the family solicitor had been instructed to contact them if they had not revoked the ticket withing 7 days, funnily enough they sent a letter cancelling it. I would just bombard them with copies of the ticket and threaten legal action and say you will seek compensation

K xx

[Pew Pew Pew Lasers!]

After spending a nice week in Newquay, I often used a parking company call A.S Parking who have private a car park in Newquay but are based in North Cornwall.

On one of the days we used the car park the attendant was unable to read the ticket which was displayed on the windscreen.
I was issued a parking ticket of £85.
I immediately wrote them a letter of appeal with proof of the ticket that was purchased and also other tickets to prove that I do not dodge parking fees.
The appeal has been rejected and again they have demanded £85.

I am sure you will agree that this is extremely unfair and unacceptable and they are simply just after my money when I have done nothing wrong.

I am now at a loss of what and feel very strongly against paying a penalty.http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/images/icons/icon8.gif


Ignore any further communication with them. They'll not take you to court with evidence like that. In future, with private car parks, don't ever respond to anything they send you.

[loveangel]

I used to go on the lambeth labour internet forum, as 'PCN Terminator' before they were swept back into power in lambeth in 2006, since then they do not like me helping people get unfair parking tickets cancelled and have frozen all postings.
I am what lambeth have referred to as a professional litigant, basically anyone who picks them up on everything just like they do to motorists. I could i suppose call them professional thieves if i were to look for a label based on my experiences of fraud, collusion and dishonesty in Lambeth.

What has happen to me:-

1. Ticket while parked where there was no yellow lines - photo was taken by warden close up of his pcn on the windscreen and from an angle to show yellow lines in the distance - deliberate fraud. pcn cancellation refused by lambeth after what they claimed was a thorough investigation by their parking investigatior as the lines were perfectly clear. on appeal to PATAS lambeth never turned up and the pcn was cancelled the mninute i walked in and lambeth's own photos were viewed in comaprison to my photos.

2. I received phantom pcn's claiming i was at various places in lambeth when i was on holiday when i asked for photos - photos of another car in those streets with pcn on windscreen were supplied with no photos of the registration plate - i examined the dashboard and features of the car and noted the differences querying why no number plate photo - for this one i was also forced to appeal all the way to patas even though it was obvious fraud.

3. parked on unmarked piece of road and was ticketed - appeal went in and was ignored - i accidentally paid this one by mistake and when an identical one was quashed by patas and lambeth agreed to cancel this one as well, i heard nothing. the lambeth officer who agreed the cancellation went on sick leave and the others refused to cancel on the basis that they had my money in their pockets and there was no legal obligation to pay it back.

4. there were numerous others that i believe were attempted fraud in retaliation for beating the system, but the latest treat was when i parking in my street on a single yellow on a saturday which i was allowed to do and the 'lambeth 'retribution squad' schemed up a way to ticket me again - they took a photo of a restriction sign for double yellows in a different street which was applicable on a saturday. when i asked for the photos they proudly produced the fraudulent photo from the next street claiming it was from where my car was parked.

over the years I have sued them in the County court and won, well over £1000 on one occasion and a few hundred on another - they refused to deal with my complaint competently for 3 and 4 above and so i referred their behaviour and deception onto the Local Government ombudsman - who fascinatingly have a section who deal exclusively with complaints agsinst Lambeth Council - what a priveledge.

the only problem with the LGO is that their cases are not fully published - various issues dealt with are featured in anon form in their annual reports but recently some skeleton cases have appeared on their website as they felt it was in the public interest.

To summarise in all I have recieved over 30 pcn's from lambeth 29 were eventually cancelled I paid one - is it worth appealing if you have a case - yes, but the problem for most is that they do not have a copy of the Parking and traffic signs regulations which is easier to peruse in hard copy than online.
Also useful in london PATAS allows you to visit and view other cases against various councils. the other government independant adjudicator has recently changed it's name to the traffic penalty tribunal from NPAS.

Sample cases are listed on both websites but i feel some cases are listed to disuade appeals such as the one on patas for yellow lines etc - which is the only listed case and is where the motorist lost - oddly enough i have never lost one signs and lines but they mysterious choose not to publish my cases - i don't know why but i woudl love to know.

Compenastion is always something to ask for if they have unreasonably resisted your appeals - go to the county court or local government ombudsman - the parking tribunals adjudicators have become extremely stingy over teh past few years and even if you can prove fraud they give you nothing - one insane adjudicator even told me when i had shown the fraudulent evidence was blatant and lambeth claimed there were lines when their street works department confirmed that the area was never painted(obtained by and FOI request) - he said the council contribute to the cost of these hearings so i am not going to award compensation. I wrote in to appeal but was unbelievably heard by the same dissillusioned adjudicator who refused - clearly a case of judge and jury but rather perverse i felt. Perhaps he also felt any compensation woudl be coming out of his pocket as a taxpayer and so that was another reason for not paying compo.
the problem is there are no rules that the adjudicators have to follow for the definition of wholly unreason behaviour on behalf of the council - clearly some adjudicators think fraud is not wholly unreasonable!

[toxic shock]

does anyone have experience with getting a parking ticket in BRIGHTON? stayed at a friends, didn't wake up in time for 9 O clock to move the car and got a ticket. £35 if i paid within 14 days. whatever. the thing that irks me, is that they a) got the car colour front b) said my tax disk was 'obscured' - when maybe 5 milimetres of the top were. c) it was just shoved under my windscreen wiper, not even affixed properly. it could've easily blown off. d) i found another parking ticket on the floor when i was walking into town and it was £10 cheaper than mine!

i'm thinking i deny ever receiving a ticket. if anything just to give me 28 days to pay the thing!

[VHE]

We recently received a £30 ticket (if we paid within a few days or £70 if not) for using a 'parent and toddler' space without having our toddler in the car when we parked and when we left.

Basically, my partner was trying to be considerate by dropping myself and our toddler directly outside a specific shop on a Retail Park. He then proceeded to park our car in the 'parent and todder' space. We then returned to our car together.

I've tried to appeal with the above information and been told that the fine still stands as we didn't as our toddler wasn't actually sat in the car when it was park in the 'parent and toddler' space.

I tried appealing again, stating that the signage in the car park doesn't say you MUST have a toddler sat in the car when parking and leaving but I've just received a one line letter saying their original decision stands.

I don't want to have baliffs knocking on our door but feel that this is totally unfair. Also, if their operative saw my partner parking the car, its a very sneaky to wait for him to leave the car and instantly give us a ticket, why didn't he just ask my partner do move the car to a generic parking space !!!:confused:

Has anyone got any advice ???

[loveangel]

toxic shock

Yes I have had a Brighton & Hove pcn. i was parked up for 3 days and i had hotel parking vouchers - special parking vouchers which have 24 hours to run on them you state the particular 24 hours by scratching out the relevant parts.
anyways wheras the book of tickets that the hotel had did have an upper portion that coudl be folded over and closed in the nearside window displaying the voucher, i wanted to pop three tickets on the dashboard and leave the car for three days. one voucher slipped off the dashboard and i got a pcn next morning.

I requested a copy of the council's discertionary parking appeals procedures - which councils are advised to have by PATAS - the independant tribunal who you eventually appeal to in london - it's the parking tribunal service elsewhere in england(previously NPAS - national parking appeals service).

The PCN was not fixed to my windscreen as the sticky tape was not removed from the back of the plastic envelope - this therefore is evidence and i have won a case on it before.

Brighton and Hove however appeared uneasy about disclosing their discertionary appeals procedures and in stead told me they would let me off thsi once in the letter of cancellation - how very nice of them. i suggest you do the same if your pcn had fallen from the windscreen, or if the voucher you bought had fallen.

As i say i nearly alway win and was hopeing to hear today about whether the Central London Court Bailiffs section had collected my £385 that i have successfully sued TFl for regarding twoing my car away, unfortunately they have a shortage of bailiffs at the moment, so i'll have to wait for the good news - personally i like to video the bailiffs going in but they won't allow that unfortunately. I mut point out though that the issue was mishandled during ken livingstone's tenure as mayor as opposed to the champion of motorist Boris who is looking to retract the western extension of the congestion zone - hip hip hip horray! and kids and be safely ferried to school without perents being nailed for £25 - hip hip hip horray!

hope the brighton advice is useful

regards

PCN terminator

[bargepole]

Has anyone got any advice ???
There's loads of advice available under the "Parking Tickets" section on the forum at pepipoo.com

Basically, the position is that what you have received is an invoice, not a fine. It is based on a presumed contract between the driver and the private car park operator, and cases have shown that it is not enforceable in law.

Parent & Toddler space markings in retail parks have as much legality as graffiti on the wall saying "Kilroy woz 'ere".

The Private Parking Companies are operating a complete scam, with their official-looking tickets, and threats of court action, bailiffs, etc., but it's all rubbish. You should never reply to any of their letters, and "appealing" is also a waste of time - your letter will be laughed at by some hobnail-booted thug in a portakabin, who will probably be saying "hey lads, we've got another right mug here."

[Tony_Montana]

Hello

Wonder if any one can help me with this one.

May Bank Holiday Monday - parked in Edgware Road London, thinking Sunday rules/restrictions applied.
how wrong was I, appealed once, fine now £120 waiting to for hearing.

Any help/advice would be grateful before sending my letter of defence off.

Thank you

[stokesy01]

Hello. I just received a fine for overstaying at a car park in town. It has 3 hour limit and is run by one of those private firms. Before the 3 hours were up, I moved the car to another space in the car park. I contacted the company but they say that doesn't count and I would have needed to leave the car park. I only moved it to stay on to go to Asda to do my shopping.

Does anyone know if that is the case that moving to another space doesn't count? I am sure you can do this when you use on street meters, that's why I thought the system would be the same. Really annoyed as car park was half empty anyway. And why are Asda penalising people via these parasitic car park operators for shopping in their store? I might write to Asda and ask them for a contribution!!

any advice gratefully received.

Thanks

[tomstickland]

Private parking invoice - just ignore the letters.

[bargepole]

Hello. I just received a fine for overstaying at a car park in town. It has 3 hour limit and is run by one of those private firms. Before the 3 hours were up, I moved the car to another space in the car park. I contacted the company but they say that doesn't count and I would have needed to leave the car park. I only moved it to stay on to go to Asda to do my shopping.

Does anyone know if that is the case that moving to another space doesn't count? I am sure you can do this when you use on street meters, that's why I thought the system would be the same. Really annoyed as car park was half empty anyway. And why are Asda penalising people via these parasitic car park operators for shopping in their store? I might write to Asda and ask them for a contribution!!

any advice gratefully received.

Thanks
No you haven't received a "fine", it's an invoice from a private company, and is not enforceable in law.

Check out the forums at Pepipoo and CAG for shedloads of advice on this, but in a nutshell:

Do NOT pay them a penny
Do NOT contact them
IGNORE all their letters
IGNORE all their threats of Debt Collectors, Court, etc.
After about 5 or 6 letters, they will realise their SCAM won't work, they will go away and try to con some other mug

[stokesy01]

Thanks for that advice but I am still worried as they have threatened debt recovery after 28 days. I know nothing of these matters but surely they can and do act sometimes? I could ignore it but then the charges would increase and I don't want to end up thinking I could have paid the £40 rather than the hundreds it could turn into.

Has anyone ignored these letters and then had further action taken against them?

Thanks

[bargepole]

Thanks for that advice but I am still worried as they have threatened debt recovery after 28 days. I know nothing of these matters but surely they can and do act sometimes? I could ignore it but then the charges would increase and I don't want to end up thinking I could have paid the £40 rather than the hundreds it could turn into.

Has anyone ignored these letters and then had further action taken against them?

Thanks
Of course they threaten debt recovery, court bailiffs, damaging your credit rating, etc., it's all part of the scare tactics these fraudsters use.

There are no known cases of PPCs winning in court against a defended case, but plenty of examples of Judges throwing out their claim, because it's based on a Penalty Charge, which we all know from the Banks saga won't stand up.

If you pay them, I'm going to issue you with an invoice for £10 million pounds, and take you to court if you don't pay up - get the picture?

[stokesy01]

Thanks Bargepole. Does it matter that I phoned them earlier to ask a question and admitted that it was me driving the car though my husband is registered keeper?

[bargepole]

Thanks Bargepole. Does it matter that I phoned them earlier to ask a question and admitted that it was me driving the car though my husband is registered keeper?
Not really, it just means they'll think they've got a fish on the hook, and may pester you a bit longer.

Private parking is based on a presumed contract between the landowner and the car driver. The landowner can take action to recover his losses, which, in the case of Asda's free car park, amount to £0.00. Any "penalty charge" which they seek to impose, regardless of what the sign says, is illegal under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts act, as Martin has been banging on about for ages in relation to banks.

You really should check out those other forums I mentioned, there's plenty of info there to put your mind at rest.

[digitalline]

What was the fine for?
Parking in a residents' only bay in a controlled parking zone without displaying a resident's parking permit.

What was the problem with it?
The whole street is marked with bays which can be used by residents at all times, pay-and-display at some times, and free for all at some times.

The signage is about as clear as mud: I quickly read it and assumed it was okay to park at 8pm on a Sunday without a permit.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2111/2235297848_4f10562453_m.jpg

Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
I told a colleague who'd managed to appeal on similar grounds before - he told me to check the signs against The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20023113.htm), and it turned out they didn't comply. He also gave me a copy of his appeal letter, which included the wonderful sentence "In the case of Davies v Heatley [1971]R.T.R 145, it was ruled that no offence is committed if the sign is in any way contravened, even if the sign is clearly recognisable to a reasonable man as a sign of that kind."

Did it work?
The last I heard from the council on the matter was an email advising me that they'd recieved my appeal, and would write back to me within ten working days. That was in February, and I've not heard anything since...

Other interesting stuff?
Following the recent news coverage (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7424955.stm) about dodgy yellow box junctions and parking bays, my local council have started tightening up a bit - they've already repainted the yellow box opposite my house, as apparently it was previously a little bit too big.
While I've managed to get hold of some visitor's permits to save the hassle of getting a ticket and appealing for the occasional times I need to park there, I think I might keep quiet about these particular bays, just in case they notice and take away the free parking!

I have been given a ticket for exactly the same thing as I thought both sides of the road had the same parking rules. Can you give further info, maybe the letter you sent so I can avoid this fine also. Do you have a link to how the sign should be displayed?

[malibu1967]

Hi , ive searched these forums but cant find anything concerning my problem.
i used to own a taxi up untill january 2007, when i decided to get rid , so i imformed my local council that i was giving up the hackney plate, i cancelled the insurance on the car, and filled out and sent off the log book.
I thought that was the end of it untill sometime in 2008 when i started getting parking tickets for a town ive never even been too,at the time i owned the car i was living in my own rented house,after giving it up to move 100 miles away to newcastle, i left a c/o address of my sisters.
the parking ticket went there and as i wasnt in everyday contact with my sis i didnt know at the time i had received a ticket untill a month or so down the line wehn there was letters saying i owed now £90 each ticket.
i phoned up the council to explain my circumstances, the quickley dismissed it, saying i was the resgisterd keep at the time.
so i apealed ,and eventually got the same reply apeal unsuccsesfull.
i didnt here anything else about this untill yesterday when my sister had got in contact with me to say the bailiffs had been , and they were coming back to remove goods (even though i have never lived there).
I ive worked all my life up untill a couple of months ago when the prices or petrol have gone up so mutch making a self employed taxi driver worthless.
im still out of work and not claiming any benafits, i stay at my gf house in newcastle.
My point is i understand that i was still the registerd keeper of the car , but i did what was required of me by law , that was to fill out and send off the log book.
Is there anything i can do about this as the bailiff cost asre now £250 wich i simply dont have?

[sarahg1969]

you will get some helpful advice from the forums at www.pepipoo.com.

[panzer]

I have parked the same car on the same street in my local town of Halifax, West York's every Tuesday and Wednesday between 9.45am and 2.30pm displaying a valid disabled drivers badge for over a year now. Yesterday I displayed my badge on the dashboard as usual but due to the nature of my disability, I have to lift both legs out of the car, twisting on the drivers seat and supporting my weight with my elbows on the dash and seat backrest. In doing so I must have knocked the badge off without noticing it and when I returned to the car I had a parking ticket and found the badge in it's black leather case, face down on the black carpeted floor of my vehicle. Is it worth trying to get the fine cancelled or do I not have a leg to stand on, so to speak! Even allowing for shift changes and rotating staff, the parking attendants must know that I have a valid disabled badge. I would be very grateful for your advice.

[Crabman]

I have parked the same car on the same street in my local town of Halifax, West York's every Tuesday and Wednesday between 9.45am and 2.30pm displaying a valid disabled drivers badge for over a year now. Yesterday I displayed my badge on the dashboard as usual but due to the nature of my disability, I have to lift both legs out of the car, twisting on the drivers seat and supporting my weight with my elbows on the dash and seat backrest. In doing so I must have knocked the badge off without noticing it and when I returned to the car I had a parking ticket and found the badge in it's black leather case, face down on the black carpeted floor of my vehicle. Is it worth trying to get the fine cancelled or do I not have a leg to stand on, so to speak! Even allowing for shift changes and rotating staff, the parking attendants must know that I have a valid disabled badge. I would be very grateful for your advice. Mrs Carol Duggan
Hi Carol, welcome to MSE :)

There have been cases where the council has rescinded tickets on goodwill grounds for disabled badges accidentally not displayed, though this isn't guaranteed. The second thread is probably more relevant to your circumstances:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1001913

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=835221

If you have a scanner it may be helpful to scan the ticket in (blanking out any personal details and reg number) and posting it on www.pepipoo.com (http://www.pepipoo.com) as the ticket itself may not comply and could be appealed on that basis too.

[maka]

If you get a ticket either from a parking attendent or the police do they have to send you the photo as evidence that you were incorrectly parked at the time of the ticket? maybe a silly question but if they cant produce this evidence surley there is nothing more they can do. or is this not the case? otherwise they could just sit in an office picking random cars tickets.

[Wivsi]

I won an appeal against Hackney council for clamping my car, on the grounds that the Hackney Parking Policy issued by the council did not mention using clamping other than on housing estates - and therefore the parking enforcement division's clamping regime was illegal.

(I was chuffed)