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Contesting legality of increasing fines for parking!
ultimatefighter
Posts: 137 Forumite
in Motoring
I was curious, regards the justification for increasing a penalty charge by a massive amount of 50% where no financial loss has been incurred.
Currently a parking fine in London for parking in a resident area, or yellow line or similar is £130 with a reduction to £65 if paid within 14 days.
If not, then the full £130 (which is more than speeding which can cause loss of life) must be paid.
If not paid within 28 days, it is increased to £195 which is 150% of the original discounted amount....
A council does not have more power than the letter of the law itself... and councils have made errors in the past...
What can be done about this (.e.g. if you have a fine that has jumped to 195 for any reason.... how can one proceed to pay the original amount?) Nowhere can you earn 150% within 28 days.... and if statute is 8% interest when claiming, how can this increase be justified?
Currently a parking fine in London for parking in a resident area, or yellow line or similar is £130 with a reduction to £65 if paid within 14 days.
If not, then the full £130 (which is more than speeding which can cause loss of life) must be paid.
If not paid within 28 days, it is increased to £195 which is 150% of the original discounted amount....
A council does not have more power than the letter of the law itself... and councils have made errors in the past...
What can be done about this (.e.g. if you have a fine that has jumped to 195 for any reason.... how can one proceed to pay the original amount?) Nowhere can you earn 150% within 28 days.... and if statute is 8% interest when claiming, how can this increase be justified?
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Comments
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ultimatefighter wrote: »I was curious, regards the justification for increasing a penalty charge by a massive amount of 50% where no financial loss has been incurred.
Currently a parking fine in London for parking in a resident area, or yellow line or similar is £130 with a reduction to £65 if paid within 14 days.
If not, then the full £130 (which is more than speeding which can cause loss of life) must be paid.
If not paid within 28 days, it is increased to £195 which is 150% of the original discounted amount....
A council does not have more power than the letter of the law itself... and councils have made errors in the past...
What can be done about this (.e.g. if you have a fine that has jumped to 195 for any reason.... how can one proceed to pay the original amount?) Nowhere can you earn 150% within 28 days.... and if statute is 8% interest when claiming, how can this increase be justified?
Because the fine is £130, and early payment gives you a 50% discount.
The increase would be 100%, not 50% as you suggested. - hence why it's clear that you are saving money by paying early, not punished for paying late.0 -
ultimatefighter wrote: »I was curious, regards the justification for increasing a penalty charge by a massive amount of 50% where no financial loss has been incurred.
Currently a parking fine in London for parking in a resident area, or yellow line or similar is £130 with a reduction to £65 if paid within 14 days.
If not, then the full £130 (which is more than speeding which can cause loss of life) must be paid.
That's a 100% increase, not 50%. Just so you're clear.
ETA: Damn, beaten to it.0 -
It's justified because London has a higher population of wealthy individuals who would park where they like, as the fine is negligible to them.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
Because the fine is £130, and early payment gives you a 50% discount.
The increase would be 100%, not 50% as you suggested. - hence why it's clear that you are saving money by paying early, not punished for paying late.
If one is willing to accept £65 and it suggests that the true cost of the fine not being £130 but a smaller amount, then how can £195 be anywhere near fair or proportional for the amount of time that has elapsed?0 -
ultimatefighter wrote: »If one is willing to accept £65 and it suggests that the true cost of the fine not being £130 but a smaller amount, then how can £195 be anywhere near fair or proportional for the amount of time that has elapsed?
Fair or proportional doesn't come into it. It's a fine - supposed to be a punishment - not an invoice for services rendered.0 -
ultimatefighter wrote: »If one is willing to accept £65 and it suggests that the true cost of the fine not being £130 but a smaller amount, then how can £195 be anywhere near fair or proportional for the amount of time that has elapsed?
You're confusing contract's & loss / cost, with penalties.
Penalties are payable for breaking the law. Usually ordered by a court, but in recent years (comparitavely speaking) the use of Fixed Penalty Notices (and Disorder Penalty Notices - though not applicable to driving standards) are more prominent.
THe 'cost' of the fine, is 0. There is no cost. (there are wages, but these are payable whether a FPN is issued or not)
They are offering you a 'good deal'. 50% off your fine.0 -
Couple of small problems with that logic...ultimatefighter wrote: »If not, then the full £130 (which is more than speeding which can cause loss of life) must be paid.
1. £100 is the minimum you will pay if you are prosecuted for a speeding ticket. Ignore that initial fixed penalty (analogous to the initial discounted parking ticket), and it WILL result in a court date and a much, much higher penalty.
2. Nobody is going to get banned from driving because they've had four parking tickets in a period of a few years.
3. Exceeding the speed limit doesn't "cause loss of life". That's the kind of emotive rubbish which has led to deaths on our roads increasing and us losing our place as the country with the lowest levels of road deaths in the world. Bad driving, careless driving, dangerous driving, not looking - they cause loss of life. If somebody is driving dangerously above the speed limit, is "speeding" the correct thing to charge them with? How about if they drive dangerously below the speed limit? Sure, exceeding the speed limit can be a symptom of those, yes, but they can also happen within the speed limit - and leaving a car parked somewhere stupid can also seriously exacerbate risks to other road users.0 -
Evidence of an inability to keep to the speed limit is evidence that the vehicle is being driven without "due care and attention" or of "careless driving".
If the vehicle was being driven carefully then the driver would be fully aware of the speed limit in force and would be adhering to it to comply with the law.0 -
ChiefGrasscutter wrote: »Evidence of an inability to keep to the speed limit is evidence that the vehicle is being driven without "due care and attention" or of "careless driving".
If the vehicle was being driven carefully then the driver would be fully aware of the speed limit in force and would be adhering to it to comply with the law.
Intentionally exceeding the speed limit is nothing to do with 'due care and attention' since it's intentional. Neither is it necessarily careless, as it's quite simple to be driving carefully at 40mph.0 -
ChiefGrasscutter wrote: »Evidence of an inability to keep to the speed limit is evidence that the vehicle is being driven without "due care and attention" or of "careless driving".
If the vehicle was being driven carefully then the driver would be fully aware of the speed limit in force and would be adhering to it to comply with the law.
So why do the deal with you for speeding rather than careless?0
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