Contesting Manchester bus gate fine based on council error

Doctor_Fruitbat

Hi all, on the 23rd Nov I may have driven through one of the bus gates on Manchester Oxford Road - I had no idea I might have done it (the signage is pretty notorious) until someone at work asked which route I'd taken, so I waited to see if I would receive a letter about it, but nothing came through and I put it entirely out of mind by the time Christmas rolled around.

I then received a letter a couple of days ago stating that I had failed to pay the fine, which had now increased to £90, and that I had 7 days to pay or it would be taken to court. I paid the fine online, as it completely blindsided me and put me in a panic.

However, I've now taken another look at the letter, and it was posted to number 3 on my street, not 33 where I actually lived. The only reason I've received this letter is because I've very recently moved and set up mail redirection, so presumably my name, street and postcode were enough for Royal Mail to get it to me at my new address.

So while I've paid the increased fine of £90 already, I have evidence that it was sent to the wrong address (which can only be due to council error, as I was registered at the correct address on the electoral roll and with the DVLA) and the first piece of correspondence that actually reached me is dated the 23rd January, two months exactly after the incident in question, and only through pure luck. Is it possible to contest the fine based on this, even after paying?

Umkomaas

As we major on private parking tickets here, PePiPoo will be your best bet for council tickets. Register there (but please note that a hotmail address won't work - try using a gmail account instead if you do have trouble registering) and post a new thread; 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 to post redacted photos/scans of all correspondence you've received from the council (both sides, if appropriate) as they need to see all the small print.

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

HTH