Parking ticket issued. Do I have a leg to stand on to raise a second appeal?

mrdogcat

Hi I was wondering if someone can help me with this one.

Basically I was issued a ticket for not returning to my car before the ticket expired. Here's why...

On a THURSDAY night I used my debit card to buy a ticket. When using a card you have to select which hourly tariff you want by pressing '+' or '-' buttons to cycle through a list. What is displayed on the screen on the ticket machine is the amount you need to pay.

I needed a 2 hour ticket so pressed the '+' button once which increased the amount I had to pay from £1.60 to £2.00 believing this moved the tariff from a 1 hour tariff to a 2 hour one.

I returned to the car an hour and 20 minutes later to find a ticket on my windscreen. After closer inspection I saw that I was just issued a 1 hour tariff! Knowing I pressed the + button and payed more than the £1.60 fee I looked at the board and saw I had not bought a 2 hour ticket as was intended and believed, but a SUNDAY all day tariff! This was on a THURSDAY and also was at the very bottom in the list on the main sign in the carpark but second in the list on the machine!

I've emailed the council and my first appeal has been rejected I can pay £25 now but if I took it further would I be paying the maximum £50? Also what do you think my chances are like at winning the second appeal when I fully intended to buy a 2 hour ticket (by pressing the + button and wanting to pay more) but was foiled by a machine offering a ticket that is useless for 6 days of the week and does not appear in the list in the same order on the main board in the carpark?

Thanks for your help.

peter_the_piper

This is a complicated one, try copying back and front of the fine and parking ticket and posting here,

Crabman

Read these threads (all are stickies on the board) if you require help getting the paperwork uploaded:

Welcome! *PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING*

How to Upload & Post Images (PCN/NtO/other related paperwork)

mrdogcat

Hi, here's a scan of the tickets...

And also the reply from the lovely Noel from the council (who aparently doesn't drive and has never use a ticket machine in his life!!!!!! I found that out when her rang me after I sent a reply to his reply)




***EMAIL***

Thank you for your letter, which we received on 7 July 2009.

I have carefully considered your letter but on this occasion I have taken the decision not to cancel your parking ticket.

You were given a parking ticket because the time on your Pay & Display ticket had run out at 19:43:00. The Civil Enforcement Officer issued the parking ticket to your vehicle at 20:11.

I have noted the comments you have made in your letter: that you were given a Pay & Display ticket at the Sunday tariff. However, this was not the case. As Pay & Display machines do not give change, you paid £2.00 and were given a one-hour ticket; the tariff for one hour's parking is £1.60.

It is the driver's responsibility to make sure that enough parking time has been bought for the length of their stay and to return to their vehicle before a Pay & Display ticket expires.

Therefore, I am satisfied that your parking ticket was issued correctly.

You have these choices:
1 The penalty charge will be reduced by a discount of 50% to £25.00if it is paid no later than the last day of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which this letter is served.
2 You can pay £50.00 after the last day of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which this letter is served.
3 If the penalty charge is not paid on or before the end of the 28 day period beginning with the date on which this letter is served or successfully challenged, the Council may serve a Notice to Owner (NtO) on the owner of the vehicle requiring payment of the penalty charge. The owner can then make representations to the Council and may appeal to an independent adjudicator if those representations are rejected. The NtO will contain instructions for doing this.

How to pay
The back of this letter explains how to pay.

Yours sincerely



Noel Bayley
Customer Services
Street Management and Parking
Neighbourhood Services

Photo_Stylus

Had the fees increased making the £2 payment insufficient for 2 hours parking?

Get some photo's of the machine and the board with the charges on before they change it.


Just re-read the post & it does seem like the £2 fee was insufficient for 2 hours parking. If you can prove £2
was enough then you should contact them again with that proof.

The letter states a Sunday tariff yet the ticket was issued on a Thursday?

mrdogcat

The fees hadn't changed. I had to pay by card I had to scroll through a list of tariffs that displayed only the price.

My point is that I obviously fully intended to pay for a more expensive 2 hour ticket (hence not paying the £1.60) but the Sunday tariff I didn't even know existed or would expect to see on a Thursday made me buy a 1 hour ticket unawares.

The main board in the carpark would have been layed out as follows:

£1.60 - 1 hour
£2.20 - 2 hours
£*.** - 3 hours
£*.** - 4 hours
£*.** - 5 hours

---

£2.00 - All day Sunday

The list of tariff on the machine would have been listed and displayed as follows:

£1.60
£2.00
£2.20
£*.**
£*.**
£*.**

So yes, the £2.00 was insufficient for 2 hours parking but as I mentioned I had to use a debit card to pay, so scrolled through a list which I thought would match the main board (didn't actively input what I wanted to pay using a key pad), saw the increase in price and thought I had selected a 2 hour tariff.

Here's a pic (not got a photo) of the card machine...

king100

So what you are basacially saying is that on Thursday you purchased a ticket. The ticket machine started at £1.60 for 1 hour. You then pressed the + button assuming that the next value that would be displayed would be the value for 2 hours paking in this case £2.

Basacially I would suggest that the way the machine increases its amounts does not tally with the day. So on anyday you can still purchase a Sunday ticket irrelevant of the day. The ticket machine should be configured to take in what day it is and each press of the button should increase the hours and therefore the correct price in this case £2.20.

I would not be surprised to find that this hasent happened before to other people.

mrdogcat

So would you say I have a leg to stand on to argue the case? Or do you think I should pay the £25 pounds...with a strong letter? :-(