Fined while parking for wedding!

dilby

Hi all -

Recently I was a groomsman for a wedding in Oldham at the council's buildings, and I parked in their car park. The ticket sign is a little confusing, but I'll write out what it says for Fri (which is the day I parked):

0-1hrs: £1.20
0-2hrs: £1.80
0-3hrs: £2.50
0-4hrs: £3.50
0-5hrs: £3.70
Over 5 hrs: £8.00
Evening (7pm - midnight up to 5 hours): £1.20
If you are attending an event:
Arrival after 17:30 but before 19:00 - £1.30
This will entitle you to park until midnight irrespective of the expiry
time on the p&d ticket.


Essentially I found this complicated, more so because I wasn't sure how a parking attendant would know which car was attending an event or not. The machine didn't accept cards and I didn't have £8 in coin on me (it didn't take notes) and I needed to get to the wedding and there was no cash point within walking distance. I had to assume that it meant after 7pm parking was £1.20 or after 5:30pm it was £1.30 so I paid enough to cover me up to those periods and include that amount. However when I went in I was told by a member of staff that as long as I had parked 'past the barrier' I wouldn't have to pay and not to worry. This was again announced at the wedding as an official message relayed from the staff.

However when I got back to my car I had a big fine stuck to my window which was issued at 19:35, staying i had overstayed at time of issue by 32 minutes.

I wrote an appeal immediately when getting home, and yes, after reading the notes on this forum I realise I broke some golden rules there, so I accept that (didn't say who was driving). I essentially stated I was told I could park there and also mentioned I was a groomsman for a wedding which they had paid the council no small fee to hire but this is what I got back:

"I acknowledge that you may have been given wrong advice by staff, but please be advised that it is the responsibility of the driver to be aware of, and adhere to the relevant signage, or to seek alternative parking arrangements to ensure their vehicle is parked without contravening any restrictions in force.
I cannot comment on the "building for rental" or the "barrier" you mentioned in your comments, as it has no bearing on the outcome of this PCN and case, as the vehicle was parked in a Pay & Display Car Park bay, it was therefore subject to the regular parking orders put in place, as indicated by the signage."


Am I now stuck here in a case of one person's word against another? Many thanks for reading this far!

Redx

I assume this is a council PCN ?


if so, you need to post the above and pics etc over on pepipoo fightback forums and ask for their advice in their council section as we dont deal with council tickets here


do not use hotmail for signup, try gmail or similar

twhitehousescat

ok , you mention counsil car park , pay and display , who issued the ticket

dilby

It was issued by Oldham council themselves; the car park in question is actually the car park to their offices where they also hold events such as weddings.

Redx

in that case - pepipoo