Parking Fine for having a puncture

dchurch24

Hi,

My partner and I recently had a weekend away in the IOW.

Unfortunatly we suffered a puncture in our car and pulled over at a safe and convenient place - this happened to be a pay and display area and what with 2 kids in the car and the puncture we didn't notice.
We all walked up the road to wait for a chap from a local tyre place and to ensure that he could see us.

When we returned to our car, we found we had a ticket.

I wrote to the council and explained that we we were not actually 'parked' more 'broken down' and I explained that we didn't see the pay and display boards as we were pre-occupied with the puncture.

They have written back saying 'tough' more or less and that I have to send the money within 7 days.

Can this be right? We wouldn't have been there at all if we hadn't suffered a puncture.
I even took a photo of the puncture to show that we were not lying to them.

Is there a way in which I don't have to pay this fine?

Any help would be appreciated.

wazza

not expert here but i would pay the fine within 7 days to avoid extra charges but say that you are doing it under duress or something. its a word that says you are forced to pay it against your will, someone here will tell you the correct terminology. if you have a receipt from the tyre repair shop then that should be your proof of puncture and the date time should match those of the ticket. the picture can be taken at any time. use this and appeal the fine

Bossyboots

I'm playing devils' advocate here (because I think they could have some compassion) but your vehicle was unattended in a pay to park area. It really was up to you to check whether you could park there and whether you would need to pay. I am sure it is of little consequence to the land owners why you there, simply that you were. Our local council have recently had to write off a huge number of incorrectly issued tickets, but they are totally dogmatic on all the others.

That said, I think they are being really mean not letting you off this in the circumstances but I suspect they have heard this excuse plenty of times before.

It would have been interesting to see if you would have got a ticket if one of you had stayed with the vehicle and been able to explain to the warden what the situation was. I would like to think they would have left you be, or at worst ask you to get a ticket to pay for your parking.

dchurch24

I have also written to my MP asking him if this is strictly legal and if anything can be done.

I am also considering not paying and letting them take me to court for it - I believe that in a court, they would lose.

I agree that it is my responsibility to get a ticket for the car, but there were, of course mitigating circumstances.

I am also aware that the picture could have been taken at any time, but why else would I have a picture of a flat tyre :-)

The receipt I have for the tyre is about 2 days prior to this incident, as it was punctured before, the repair was not done correctly and the tyre went down again - resulting in this incident. The tyre co. sent a chap to us who came and put a spare on for us and then we went back to their depot and had it repaired again at no extra cost - hence no recipt at this time.

It doesn't look good does it?

Bossyboots

I don't agree they would lose in court I'm afraid. Compassion is not a legal requirement of operating a parking scheme. You were parked where you should have paid and you didn't. Your only defence would be that you weren't there and you are saying that you were.

I agree there were mitigating circumstances and I do think they are being harsh but unfortunately, you don't have any proof of the puncture on the day in question.

Unless you can show that the ticket was wrongly issued I am not really sure you have anywhere to go from here but to pay the fine.

I hope others take on board from this the need to check parking arrangements. My OH dropped me off at the hospital a couple of weeks ago for me to deliver a letter. I told him to wait at the entrance as I knew I would only be seconds but he knew better. I blipped his mobile to say I was ready and was horrified to see him exiting the private housing estate opposite. This has electronic gates and they are normally closed. (I go to the hospital every week and have never seen them open unless a resident is going in or out). I pointed out to him what he had done and he said he didn't see any signs. They are on the gate posts and clear to see. I still break out in a hot sweat over what would have happened if the gates had been closed before I blipped him!

dchurch24

I think the difference is that I wasn't 'parked', more 'broken down'.

I can't believe the warden actually gave it a ticket in the first place - the puncture was clear for all to see.

It's really annoying, 'cos the combined cost of the puncture and the fine amount to about half what the whole weekend cost us!!!

Bossyboots

dchurch24 wrote:

I think the difference is that I wasn't 'parked', more 'broken down'.

I can't believe the warden actually gave it a ticket in the first place - the puncture was clear for all to see.

It's really annoying, 'cos the combined cost of the puncture and the fine amount to about half what the whole weekend cost us!!!

I don't think there is a distinction. The vehicle was "stopped" on land on which you had to pay for the privilege. Otherwise everyone could claim they had broken down to try to avoid paying to park.

I'm not disagreeing with your take on this, just trying to throw up the arguments the council are likely to raise and why it is unlikely you have a defence.

How do you know the warden would have noticed the puncture anyway? We watch them from our office window and they only look in the vehicle windows. They even ticket cars that have been clamped for having no tax.

dchurch24

Yeah, sorry I didn't mean to come across as 'narky' - I'm just annoyed at the IOW council.
I do hate it when things like this happen though - we wouldn't have been stopped there at all if it were not for the puncture!

Tyler_Durden_UK

Bossyboots wrote:

My OH dropped me off at the hospital a couple of weeks ago for me to deliver a letter. I told him to wait at the entrance as I knew I would only be seconds but he knew better. I blipped his mobile to say I was ready and was horrified to see him exiting the private housing estate opposite. This has electronic gates and they are normally closed. (I go to the hospital every week and have never seen them open unless a resident is going in or out). I pointed out to him what he had done and he said he didn't see any signs. They are on the gate posts and clear to see. I still break out in a hot sweat over what would have happened if the gates had been closed before I blipped him!

My mother in law has those gates where she lives, you do need the code to get in but not to get out.

wazza

i think it pays to double check where you park in case there are hidden signs. i wonder if you would have got a ticket if you put a notice in the windscreen stating the car has broken down and you have gone to get assistance

dchurch24

Probably not - with all the fuss (2 kids in the back) I really didn't think that it was pay and display - I didn't even think about it, as it was by the side of the road like a normal parking space.