Council ticket for wrong class of vehicle - worth appealing?

alex1985_2

Hi all,

Some advice on whether it's worth appealing a ticket I received today would be much appreciated - I've had a search for anything similar on MSE - no luck though.

I drive a normal sized hatchback, VW Golf. Recently I went to drop some old clothes off at a charity shop, and grab a few things from a supermarket, so parked my car on a side road in the town I live in (England/Wales). As I knew I was only going to be quick I parked in a 20 minute loading only bay (have parked here before with no issue). When I came back 10 minutes later I had a ticket on my windscreen, the contravention on it states "parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle".

One of the signs next to the parking bay does state "goods vehicles loading only". Now my thinking initially was that I was using my vehicle to transport goods, and so parked in the bay to be able to load and unload them.

I've done some googling, and from pepipoo there is a similar case (but with a 4wd), unfortunately as a newbie I can't post links, but the thread's called "Goods Vehicle Loading Bay ticket, PCN code 23L - ENFIELD".

Section 192 of RTA 1988 states:
"goods" includes goods or burden of any description,

and further defines a "goods vehicle":
"goods vehicle" means a motor vehicle constructed or adapted for use for the carriage of goods, or a trailer so constructed or adapted.

The definition of a goods vehicle is also in the TSRGD:
"goods vehicle" means a motor vehicle or trailer constructed or adapted for
use for the carriage or haulage of goods or burden of any description"

To me, this could imply that a car where the back seats were folded down (ie "adapted"), in order to carry goods, can under the RTA be classed as a goods vehicle. Has anyone had any luck appealing this with councils? Or should I just take a hit and pay the fine?

Umkomaas

As we tend to major on private parking tickets here, PePiPoo will be your best bet for council tickets. Here's your link:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=30

Have a read through some of the other threads there before you post your own to get the hang of what information they need from you in your opening post - but as a minimum you will need photos/scans of all correspondence you've received from the council (both sides, if appropriate).

PePiPoo has an excellent success record in dealing with council tickets.

HTH