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Warning!A parking trap in South Carriage street Hyde RarkO
malchish
Posts: 341 Forumite
To anyone who may have been caught, and to everyone who wants to enjoy parking in London - my warning:
in South Carriage Drive, Hyde Park, there is a 200 m long parking bay. It is illegally marked (double interrupted lines at the ends - this is only suitable for a single split parking bay system).
The place belongs to Royal Parks and is enforced by Royal Parks ticketmen and metropolitan police Royal parks special unit.
Parking there is pay and display : chargeable from 8.30am to 6.30 pm. No overnight parking. Big white signs tell this clearly.
There is also a pay/display meter. It confirms parking restrictions. It also says "tickets purchased from 5.30 am with commence at 8.30". Which means you are invited to park in the morning before the start of charges, and your payment will count from 8.30.
Well, if you ever park there at 8am, or stay until 12.30 after midnight (during the free period) - you will get a scary Fixed Penalty Notice from metropolitan police.
It will threaten criminal prosecution, criminal offence alleged committed etc. With the offence code 023 "parking where not permitted" (ha-ha, in a specially designated parking bay!). This code does not exist in either criminal offences list, or a civil parking contravention list.
You are offered to pay £40, otherwise you will be seems like hanged, cut into pieces, and generally destroyed.
Because you park in full accordance with the signs, you get really upset.
Call 101 metropolitan police, register a complaint against Royal Parks special unit for an unfair fine.
You will be connected to Special Traffic control unit, who are only open from 10am to 12am and generally try to stay as unaccessible as possible.
You will be offered to make an informal representation. Basically, to appeal.
You will get an aknowledgement - however your appeal will be called a "mitigation letter" (as if you admitted your guilt!).
Anyway, when you try to talk to the officers who ticketed you - they will claim that there was a sign "no parking between midnight and 8.30 am. hey ignore the fact that both the meter and the parking sign do not have such a restriction.
So, go on location and make the following photos:
1) at the entrance to Hyde Park, there is a big sign with restrictions - it does not mention no parking from midn-8.30am
2) go to the 200m long bay - on the left hand side of this bay there is a yellow sign hat does claim no parking 12-8.30am. Wow, 200m away from the other end of the bay! just to catch law abiding people unfortunate enough to park in the other side!
3) now become a detective - you will see a big traffic sign - under which, hiding, there is a faint white (not regulation yellow) sign - without a regulation black outline - which has smaller than regulation 20mm letters - "no parking midnight-8.30am". .this tiny sign is carefully turned at an angle, not parallel to the road, so you for sure would not notice it.
And finally, the very restriction of midn-8.30 seems to be illegal - since in Royal Parks regulations, on which the police claim to rely - there is no mention of such a restriction.
What a lovely money making exercise , in my opinion - most victims will just pay to avoid trouble... Obtaining money by deception?
So, do send the request for the court hearing by Special delivery!!!! because, even if you get an acknowledgement, you can still get - 3 months later- a threatening letter claiming that, since you never responded and never paid, a fine will be registered against you.
This letter will claim a different offence "parking WHEN not permitted (the ticket had WHERE)...
How clever...
So, go the site, gather evidence that the signs are conflicting in a sinister and seemingly deliberate way - and you will win without having to go to court.
:j:beer:
in South Carriage Drive, Hyde Park, there is a 200 m long parking bay. It is illegally marked (double interrupted lines at the ends - this is only suitable for a single split parking bay system).
The place belongs to Royal Parks and is enforced by Royal Parks ticketmen and metropolitan police Royal parks special unit.
Parking there is pay and display : chargeable from 8.30am to 6.30 pm. No overnight parking. Big white signs tell this clearly.
There is also a pay/display meter. It confirms parking restrictions. It also says "tickets purchased from 5.30 am with commence at 8.30". Which means you are invited to park in the morning before the start of charges, and your payment will count from 8.30.
Well, if you ever park there at 8am, or stay until 12.30 after midnight (during the free period) - you will get a scary Fixed Penalty Notice from metropolitan police.
It will threaten criminal prosecution, criminal offence alleged committed etc. With the offence code 023 "parking where not permitted" (ha-ha, in a specially designated parking bay!). This code does not exist in either criminal offences list, or a civil parking contravention list.
You are offered to pay £40, otherwise you will be seems like hanged, cut into pieces, and generally destroyed.
Because you park in full accordance with the signs, you get really upset.
Call 101 metropolitan police, register a complaint against Royal Parks special unit for an unfair fine.
You will be connected to Special Traffic control unit, who are only open from 10am to 12am and generally try to stay as unaccessible as possible.
You will be offered to make an informal representation. Basically, to appeal.
You will get an aknowledgement - however your appeal will be called a "mitigation letter" (as if you admitted your guilt!).
Anyway, when you try to talk to the officers who ticketed you - they will claim that there was a sign "no parking between midnight and 8.30 am. hey ignore the fact that both the meter and the parking sign do not have such a restriction.
So, go on location and make the following photos:
1) at the entrance to Hyde Park, there is a big sign with restrictions - it does not mention no parking from midn-8.30am
2) go to the 200m long bay - on the left hand side of this bay there is a yellow sign hat does claim no parking 12-8.30am. Wow, 200m away from the other end of the bay! just to catch law abiding people unfortunate enough to park in the other side!
3) now become a detective - you will see a big traffic sign - under which, hiding, there is a faint white (not regulation yellow) sign - without a regulation black outline - which has smaller than regulation 20mm letters - "no parking midnight-8.30am". .this tiny sign is carefully turned at an angle, not parallel to the road, so you for sure would not notice it.
And finally, the very restriction of midn-8.30 seems to be illegal - since in Royal Parks regulations, on which the police claim to rely - there is no mention of such a restriction.
What a lovely money making exercise , in my opinion - most victims will just pay to avoid trouble... Obtaining money by deception?
So, do send the request for the court hearing by Special delivery!!!! because, even if you get an acknowledgement, you can still get - 3 months later- a threatening letter claiming that, since you never responded and never paid, a fine will be registered against you.
This letter will claim a different offence "parking WHEN not permitted (the ticket had WHERE)...
How clever...
So, go the site, gather evidence that the signs are conflicting in a sinister and seemingly deliberate way - and you will win without having to go to court.
:j:beer:
0
Comments
-
Thanks for that.
Can you now go and delete your duplicate post please?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/50127490 -
Ref. your duplicate post ... if you click the EDIT button is there not an option to Delete?
(I'm replying here because if I reply in the other thread then you definitely WON'T be able to delete it).0
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