Council warden

astrogeezer

I overstayed in a council on-street parking bay by a few minutes and as I approached my car to drive away, a particularly offensive and arrogant warden stopped me and said I had overstayed and unless I paid for an additional ticket from a nearby machine she would arrange for the 'office to issue a fixed penalty notice'. When I apologised and said I was going to drive away right away, she said that if I did that she would ensure I received the penalty notice regardless. She never issued me with penalty notice or attached one to the windscreen, or photograph the vehicle (which I have seen them do many times), or asked for my name and address etc etc. She just threatened me that unless I paid for another ticket I would get a fixed penalty notice. The area in question is Southport and the council street parking bays are patrolled by a private concern which, so I'm told, is the British Legion. My wife became quite distressed by the threat of a £60 fine and the warden's overbearing attitude and quickly rushed to get another ticket from a nearby machine. Meanwhile, the warden had casually strolled off down the street, without a backward glance. What advice can forum members give me. Should I have been effectively blackmailed to get another ticket or was the warden out of order and exceeding her authority? If so, what should I do to prevent this sort of harassment to others?

give_them_FA

So what makes you think the parking spaces are council? Usually if they are, they are enforced by a proper Civil Enforcement Officer wearing a correct uniform? What did it say on the ticket machine? Bit mystified here

astrogeezer

The council control all on-street parking bays and collects all fines at their council offices. They employ wardens who wear uniforms, but whether they are issued by the council or by their 'enforcement' agents (British Legion?) is unknown to me. The meters are owned by the council. I have since heard that the current enforcement agents have lost their contract and will cease at the end of March this year. If so, good riddance. If new sub-contractors are appointed to oversee meter compliance, let's hope they're instructed to be civil instead of aggressive and overbearing.

give_them_FA

True, sometimes Councils act in "partnership" with some disreputable private company and the result is that the company issues PCNs on behalf of the Council. This is VERY different from the same Company issuing its own fake tickets which are unenforceable. No doubt your warden has been told she is being sacked so not in a good mood. You will just have to see if anything arrives, if so come back. If she didn't stop to take photos or anything its not very likely she is reporting you, or, if she did, that it would stick.

peter_the_piper

I very much doubt the "British Legion" would get involved with anything as disreputable as parking. I would imagine its someone like Legion group which use a similar name as a convincer to drivers to think that by paying they are helping the British Legion.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3820973 for example.

astrogeezer

Thank you for your replies. I will try to discover who are the appointed operators of the on-street parking scheme here in Southport. I definitely know they operate from the council office where fines are collected, and these offices are located within a council-owned building. The point is, should I complain about her offensive attitude and her insistence that we have to pay for another ticket from the machine even though we were ready to drive away before she interceded. We both consider it inconsiderate and childish behaviour, if not a mild form of blackmail, to tell us that if we didn't pay for another ticket she would ensure we received a fixed penalty notice from the council.

pogofish

peter_the_piper wrote: »

I very much doubt the "British Legion" would get involved with anything as disreputable as parking. I would imagine its someone like Legion group which use a similar name as a convincer to drivers to think that by paying they are helping the British Legion.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3820973 for example.

I'm afraid they did - Legion Group were indeed a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal British Legion until 2009 when they were sold-off to SectorGuard.

Needless to say, the old MO was to employ ex-servicemen as attendants to manage their car parks proactively and IME, tickets were very rarely if ever issued. This all changed when SectorGuard took over.

If it is any help, The Legion did manage one off-street car park in Aberdeen under a longstanding agreement with the council that predated the sale. Again though, they just took fees, didn't issue tickets and were generally very helpful. However, the council ended that agreement last year and took over enforcement themselves.

give_them_FA

astrogeezer wrote: »

Thank you for your replies. I will try to discover who are the appointed operators of the on-street parking scheme here in Southport. I definitely know they operate from the council office where fines are collected, and these offices are located within a council-owned building. The point is, should I complain about her offensive attitude and her insistence that we have to pay for another ticket from the machine even though we were ready to drive away before she interceded. We both consider it inconsiderate and childish behaviour, if not a mild form of blackmail, to tell us that if we didn't pay for another ticket she would ensure we received a fixed penalty notice from the council.

As you have already stated that you overstayed, there are many, many CEO's that would not have had a conversation with you at all, but would have just slapped you with a PCN. The fact that you were leaving no longer saves you if the offence has already been committed though it does make evidence more difficult. You can hardly take that story to the Council. Probably annoying but ultimately what you are complaining about is that she talked you into paying the correct parking- you won't get any sympathy on that one, methinks, even if her manner could have been improved on.

27col

Actually, what the traffic warden said was very reasonable. I wish that I had had the offer last year when I mistook the time and overstayed in the on-street parking in Lewes. Had to pay a lot more than the parking charge as a penalty.