Car towed for parking by dropped kerb- please help

Sophie_Steele

Hi all,

Any help on this would be massively appreciated.

I came home from work at around 6.45pm yesterday to find my car had gone from across the road from my flat. I rang the police and it turns out the council had towed it because I was parked adjacent to a dropped kerb. I was only adjacent to the sloping part and not at all covering the fully dropped part and in no way blocking someone's drive. I have been told that the sloping part counts as the dropped kerb so I accept that technically I was illegally parked. But surely they can't just tow my car? Surely a fine would have been sufficient??

It cost be £255 and they only towed my car at 5.50pm that evening, they had my car for less than two hours in total!

I am livid and also really quite upset by it, let's just say it was the last thing I needed on top of a not brilliant day, any advice on this would be great. Shall I appeal, do I have any grounds? Or just move on and try and forget about it?

Thanks!!

Redx

as this is council, ask over on pepipoo forums where the council gurus are

Sophie_Steele

Sorry what does that mean? I'm new here! Thanks for the advice.

Browntoa

he means

http://www.pepipoo.com/

Redx

google PEPIPOO FIGHTBACK FORUMS and post the same questions over there, this forum rarely deals with council issues, but pepipoo forums have a section and experts, I assumed you wanted gurus to look over your post, so sent you to a different "store" where they "stock it" and have experts on hand to help you

ps:- the sloping part of a dropped kerb is a part of the dropped kerb , so if somebody at that address has paid a lot of money to have the kerb dropped then they have paid for the sloping part as well as the bottom part and you should avoid all of it in future

the typical cost to the owner is between £600 and £2000 depending on the length and which council did the work

Sophie_Steele

Thanks, I do appreciate that they paid to have the kerb dropped, and I would never park blocking someone's drive. I understand I was (without realising) parked illegally and if I had received a fine I would not be posting on here trying to get out of it, my issue with it is that towing my car seems completely out of proportion to the parking violation and caused me a great deal more distress.

System

towing my car seems completely out of proportion to the parking violation

Not if it was blocking somebody's ability to get off their drive.
Council don't just move the car to enable the person to get out, they tow it away to totally remove the obstruction

Sophie_Steele

So they would have only towed it if it was blocking someone's drive?

As I said earlier it was most definitely NOT blocking a drive, I am sure of this, it is inconceivable for them to suggest I was. And in which case I will definitely appeal.

tykesi

Surely by virtue of the fact you were parked on part of a dropped kerb you were causing an obstruction, whether you agree or not and this is the reason the car was towed?

peter_the_piper

Lets see the pics they gave you , over on pepipoo

Sophie_Steele

I'm sensing from the fact that there isn't much sympathy for me going around that there would be little point in me appealing. I don't know how else to describe the fact that I wasn't blocking a drive other than to do a diagram!!
___________________________________
/
/
Kerb: _________________________________ /

The front tip of my car: x


So as you can see, yes I was parked on the sloping part of the dropped kerb, but I am not exaggerating when I say there was LOADS of room to get in and out of the drive, I wouldn't have left my car there otherwise, I know not to park selfishly.