Parking fine doubled - but I *did* pay on time

chrism29

I'm wondering if anyone here can advise me... I made a silly but innocent mistake when parking in the council's multi-story carpark recently. Because the system had changed since I was last there, I thought we paid at the end and I didn’t buy a pay-and-display ticket. I accept liability for that mistake and have paid the fine.

The problem is that they double the fine if you don’t pay within 14 days. I did pay in time, but they don’t accept that. Here’s what happened. First I tried to pay by phone, the morning after I got the ticket, but they said the ticket wasn’t registered on their system yet – apparently it takes 24 hours – so I should wait and call back. I did that, and the next day they were having general computer problems. I tried again a couple of days later and was left holding for 40 minutes with no answer at all. Eventually I gave up and put a cheque in the post instead. This was still only seven days after the ticket, so well within the 14 days.

They banked the cheque, but wrote to me claiming not to have received it in time and saying I owed another £25. I rang and explained what had happened, and that I had paid within 7 days, and the lady told me not to worry. She said it happens a lot and if they needed more details someone would call me back but I could ignore the letter.
Today I discovered that a Charge Certificate has been ordered and the council are threatening to register the charge at the local County Court.

The amount is small but the principle is important to me. I pay my council tax and am a good citizen. The council shouldn’t use its resources to bully me into paying something I don’t owe. I admitted my mistake immediately and made every effort to pay on time. It is their inefficiency that caused the original delay and I am very angry that I was told it would be resolved and now they’re threatening to take me to court, which would damage my credit rating at a critical time for me.
Is there anything I can do?

peter_the_piper

Did the council bank the cheque within the 14 days? Do you have proof of posting the cheque?

DaveF327

Ask your bank to track down a photocopy of the cheque with the receiving branch stamp. Even if it didn't clear until after the 14 days, you may be able to prove they presented it within that time.

Coblcris

Receipt of the cheque itself by the council constitutes payment, submission to the bank and subsequent processing are after the event. I refer readers to the Bills of Exchange Act.

The issue here appears to be one of proving when it was delivered but as yet the council do not appear to to have averred that it did not arrive in time (as per the Interpretation Act), instead they rely (erroneously) on processing after arrival.

After the event for you I know but proof of postage is always advisable in this situation, better yet absolute proof of delivery. Failing either you have the rebuttable presumption of delivery as per the above.

Some councils appear to have this issue more frequently that others do according to my observations.
The reasons for this are not obvious but they are disquieting.

taffy056

Wouldn't your bank statement show some proof as well? We know that it takes 5-7 days to clear through the bank, so logically they must have received the cheque before it shows on the statement.

AlexisV

Ignore the Charge Certificate (even though this goes against what you'd expect) and wait for the Order for Recovery to arrive. It will come with a form for you to fill in.