parking fine from Town and County

McCain

My 82 yrs old dad parked in a disabled bay and forgot to put my mums badge on the dashboard. Mum carrys it in her bag not in the car because I sometimes take her so badge goes with her rather than car and both of them forgot to put it up and display

I have told him not to pay it but reason I am looking for advise is because he is 82 he is getting all worked up. Is Town and County and Smart Parking one of the companies that are allowed to get his address and details from DVLA. I was thinking if they were not then just ignore but if they were maybe better sending them an appeal with copy of the badge.

If they cannot get his details then I think it would be less stressful for him to just completely ignore than start off an Appeal with these guys.

Ticket he got was at Breahead retail park, glasgow

thanks

gardner1

they will get his details from dvla...think it costs them £3-4 to get
then they will send out letter they normally stop after 2nd letter....he just has to ignore every letter and DO NOT CONTACT

Do not appeal you will not win

AVOID ALL FORMS OF CONTACT WITH THEM

McCain

thanks

I knew there was a website showing the companies that have registered for getting details from the dvla but couldnt find it

Does these companies work differently in Scotland than England and Wales?

Wondering what the likely hood of them taking action against him

Stroma

Yes they can get his details unfortunately, so will be writing to him. He needs to ignore them as its Scotland as there is no appeals worth the mention there. If you wish to deflect the letters on to you tell them that you are dealing with it because your parents are disabled, here is a copy of their blue badge (even though it doesn't apply on private land) , and as they are disabled to cancel the invoice.

Another way is to write to the retail park with this, I'm guessing an asda is on this site ?? Write to them as well. Tell them that they are in breach of the Equailty Act 2010 if they dont get this cancelled. The important thing is not to pay them and try and get your parents not to worry about this.

gardner1

odds on taking action are almost NIL
whether scotland differs...i dont think so but someone on here will confirm it

Just remember to tell your dad to ignore all letters and not be tempted to appeal because he didint put a valid disabled permit on dashboard
it makes no difference they will still refuse then bombard him with threatning letters which most 82 yr olds will worry about

McCain

Stroma wrote: »

Yes they can get his details unfortunately, so will be writing to him. He needs to ignore them as its Scotland as there is no appeals worth the mention there. If you wish to deflect the letters on to you tell them that you are dealing with it because your parents are disabled, here is a copy of their blue badge (even though it doesn't apply on private land) , and as they are disabled to cancel the invoice.

Another way is to write to the retail park with this, I'm guessing an asda is on this site ?? Write to them as well. Tell them that they are in breach of the Equailty Act 2010 if they dont get this cancelled. The important thing is not to pay them and try and get your parents not to worry about this.

it was Braehead which is a large retail type car park housing Halfords and Sainsburys, Currys, they went shopping for a new fridge!

Quite happy to send of a letter to whoever the owners are but on the other hand thinking just ignore the whole thing.

will tell him to give me all the letters and if stuck will ask for help here

Coupon-mad

McCain wrote: »

it was Braehead which is a large retail type car park housing Halfords and Sainsburys, Currys, they went shopping for a new fridge!

Quite happy to send of a letter to whoever the owners are but on the other hand thinking just ignore the whole thing.

will tell him to give me all the letters and if stuck will ask for help here

Send a letter to the owners like this one discussed here, it has to be strongly worded and clear about the disability need:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4534913

Or like the email caryl2506 sent to the retail park management when her old Mum was victimised for not showing her Blue Badge (same as your case):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4244645

The fake PCN in her case was cancelled as soon as the retail park saw the email complaint threatening Court, even though the PPC scum had rejected an appeal!

And even though this is Scotland, where we normally say ignore the PPC, I would actually include a copy of the letter to Town & City (Smart Parking or whatever they are currently calling themselves, see other threads about Smart Parking to learn about those shenanigans!).

The point being, that if they 'knew or should have known' that the customer was disabled then they are breaking the law to harass them further over this. So you need to tell all parties what the truth of the matter was so that they are then in that position 'knew or should have known' and then have no lawful excuse to continue with the jumped up 'charge'.

The Equality Act 2010 covers all disabled people who have a longterm condition and a need for a certain provision (like a bay close to the store), not just those with a Blue Badge. Forgetting the BB can be a characteristic of some conditions or sometimes just being very elderly/forgetful - all of which is covered in the Act. And a missing BB on one occasion, of course, doesn't mean the disability disappeared too - but the parties involved won't know that unless you tell them.

As soon as you TELL the retail park and the PPC that there's a disability law issue here and enclose a copy of the Blue Badge as proof then IMHO they will be in breach of the Equality Act 2010 if they pursue it (= becomes illegal harassment of a 'known' disabled person). Spell that out like the other posters I linked.

I would send the letter either in your name - or your Dad's name but not actually saying who was driving, just say 'the registered keeper received' and write it in the third person without naming the driver - BUT WITH YOUR POSTAL ADDRESS. That way none of the replies go to them. There's no way a couple in their 80s are going to feel happy about ignoring debt collector or solicitors' letters, even if you tell them to ignore.

Guys_Dad

I would wait for their letter/charge. I would then follow coupon-mad's advice. and inform them that your father has a badge, is 82 and the badge was not displayed.

If the car tax is marked "disabled, £0.00", then I would say that this should have been noted by their operative.

I would also say that now you have informed them, supplied a copy of the Blue Badge, reminded them that the Car Tax identified th driver as disabled, that you expect that, with this additional information, they should cancel the charge to avoid being in breach of the Equality Act 2010.

Half_way

As above if the car had a disabled 'tax' disc, or there was any other obvious signs, then this should have been noted and the ticket should not have been issued.

Before wheeling out the equalities act armoury, you should notify both the retailer and the pakring company that that person is disabled and that any further action against the registered keeper/driver will be taken to be a breach of the equalities act.

AltheHibby

Mccain, feel free to completely ignore these muppets. They dont do court and up here they cant even threaten you with popla. Please tell your dad not to worry.w

Coupon-mad

AltheHibby wrote: »

Mccain, feel free to completely ignore these muppets. They dont do court and up here they cant even threaten you with popla. Please tell your dad not to worry.w

I agree except:

- I cannot see an average law-abiding elderly couple being able to ignore a flurry of scary debt collector letters that will follow what they'll think is a 'parking ticket'.

- it only needs the parties involved to be told about the disability for them to have to stop this harassment. And if they don't drop it once they know about the disability then they deserve a small claim against them TBH.