Parking fine and now threatening to clamp my car!

irishgirl62

I hope you can help me ... i paid for a ticket in park and display for three hours as I was at a craft class for two hours .. when i got back to my car i had a ticket on my window for a fine of £60 which would be reduced to £30 if paid in 14 days I was fuming as i couild not find my ticket, it must have fell off the window as i closed the door.

but I paid up the £30 within the 14 days... few weeks later i get a letter to say it arrived late and they want another £30 quid! I wrote back saying it was posted in time and no way royal mail would have taken an extra two weeks to deliver the cheque!

Heard nothing more until today i recieved a letter saying I owe them £60! and they have issued a clamp and removal warnign and can do it if my car is legally parked!

I rang them and siad how come it is now £60? they denied gettign my letter and said I would have to fill a form and they take me to court for the remainder 60 quid!!

what should I do? any advice would be gratefully recieved.

it is from the D.O.E which is northern ireland road service a government branch here.

DaveF327

If what you say is true, then let them take you to court. The date of the cheque should be proof enough of when you wrote it. Proof of posting would help, but the court would have to rely on the cheque date in the absence of anything else. Did you check when the cheque was debited from your account? Your bank may be able to prove when the cheque was first presented.

I can't comment on Northern Ireland legislation, but a lot of road traffic penalty legislation makes reference to time limits allowing for the "normal course of post" so this would naturally work both ways.

Let them prove it was sent late in court.

irishgirl62

thanks dave... they siad on the phone something about sending me forms to fill in and that they still want the extra £60 quid

davetrousers

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Oops

custardy

im assuming you have chequed the date the cash left your account?

irishgirl62

They said it arrived on 30th the cheque was cashed on the 30th but it was sent on the 9th the 14 days expired on the 16th

Coblcris

I am unfamiliar with Northern Ireland but would posit that it the time of arrival of the cheque that counts not they date it was banked. Do you have evidence of the date of its arrival ?
The Bills of Exchange Act does apply to N.I.and within that Act "delivery" is defined as "Delivery” means transfer of possession, actual or constructive, from one person to another. and “Acceptance” means an acceptance completed by delivery or notification.

So once delivered is made, and the cheque is not dishonoured, then payment is 'made'. When sending cheques to official bodies always send them by a means which records delivery. This really means use special delivery postal service or by hand with a signed dated receipt obtained. yes it adds to your costs and you should not need to do it bu this thread evinces thatr of you do not then you are exposed to a risk of being what I can only call cheated.

Once delivery is proven the BoE Act takes care of the rest as a cheque is a Bill of Exchange..

Unfortunately many bodies, both commercial and Governmental, completely ignore the BoE Act when taking payments. This can generate much extra revenue for them in the manner of the case described herein. In what seems a paradox but in fact is not many official bodies also use the BoE act to gain revenue in other ways but that it is a large subject and is it not germane to this forum.