Parking ticket - Southport

NicolaH_2

Just been to Southport this morning parked just off the main street for an hour and paid 80p. Displayed my non-sticky ticket on my dashboard as it stated and went shopping. Came back to my car 50 minutes later (within the hour) and found my ticket still displayed in my window on my dashboard but a fixed penalty notice on my windscreen directly above my parking ticket stating "06 parked without clearly displaying a valid ticket/permit/voucher".

The fine is £60 within 28 days, charge will be reduced to £30 if payed within 14 days.

Cannot understand why the traffic warden didn't even bother to look on my dashboard where they were sticking the fixed penalty notice. How can they get away with this when it was clearly displayed?

Just about to start writing the letter, will definately not be paying the fine!!

Anyone got any advice? thanks.

libra10

Parking is so expensive in Southport.

Good luck

NigeWick

NicolaH wrote:

Displayed my non-sticky ticket on my dashboard as it stated and went shopping. Came back to my car 50 minutes later (within the hour) and found my ticket still displayed in my window on my dashboard but a fixed penalty notice on my windscreen directly above my parking ticket stating "06 parked without clearly displaying a valid ticket/permit/voucher"

Check to see if there is any small print about the way the ticket should be displayed, Vehicle Excise Licences must be displayed on the nearside, and, there may be something on those lines to comply with their regulations. Write your letter straight away so that you are well within any time limits.

When writing your letter of complaint, stick to facts and don't make it sound emotional. Keep the ticket and write down what happened while the incident is fresh in your memory.

Nigel.

BenL

There was something in the paper this week about 50% of parking tickets being overturned on appeal.

Send them a letter as another poster has mentioned.

It should get overturned for the price of a stamp.

Ben

shrek101

I would complain to the council politely giving your reasons and sending them a photo copy of the ticket as proof of it being valid.

If, like our council they may well just fine you a admin fee off £5 or so, if your lucky they may let you off or if you are unlucky may charge you full wack.

digp

This is not my field, although if you PM me privately I am happy to help as best I can. In the meanwhile, I suggest that you take a look at https://www.appealnow.com and whatever you do contest it. The whole parking penalty scheme is one big con.

daveboy

Certainly make sure you never send them the original, and always keep copies of everything you send to them.

In terms of NigeWick's reference about tax discs on the nearside, whilst I can't categorically say it is wrong, I have never read that anywhere. Whilst the huge majority stick it in that corner, there are some who put it elsewhere.

I am tempted not to display it, as it happens.

As those DVLA adverts said - it's all computerised. They know I've paid.

I remember a few weeks ago seeing a programme on the BBC about the tactics used in order to issue enough parking tickets. Chances are whoever issued the one to the OP is purely issuing them as part of a competition. If I was you, I'd fight it and let them take me to court if necessary.

digp

the suggestion by shrek101 is somewhat absurd. a local authority derives its powers to do something, e.g. levy a charge for something, from statute or statutory instrument. it has, to my knowledge, no common law power to do this. the law must generally speaking authorise charges expressly otherwise the courts, in the exercise of their supervisory role, will grant a writ of certiorari (or quashing order as it is nowadays known) quashing the decision to charge.

shrek101

I disagree Digp. I have had a ticket before which fell from the screen and I appealed and I got a letter saying that I can pay a admin fee, of which I refused and got eventually got off. So I am talking from my own experience of course it may not work for everyone.

If I had deliberately avoided paying for a paying ticket then I would of course not appeal.

I have also had several tickets from displaying valid parking permits, in one case the council changed the goal posts and said that I was only allowed to park in a certain area of the street. On another occasion they gave residents parking scratch cards which hadn't got zone numbers on, but the following year they gave new residents scratch cards out with the zone marked on them. I didn't receive any new ones hence thought I had parked legally when displaying a parking scratch card.

I don't think my post was absurd as you put it.

wheeze

I used to work in the local council answering these appeals and we often had this type of scenario!

If your ticket displays the correct time; is from the correct car park (there are some places where two car parks are adjacent so you must use the correct machine); and was displayed correctly - the office staff would have a hard job pursuing it further. We also checked if there was any `previous` by the way...some motorists have a tough time sticking their ticket to the window time after time (not suggesting that's what happened here)

As another poster says, stick to the facts, remain unemotional and check they have your letter a few days after posting. You dont want it getting lost and then your fine escalating.

Although I will often stick up for traffic wardens, just doing their job etc, - there are a few who seem to have problem seeing a perfectly obvious ticket/permit!

HTH

digp

shrek: i was suggesting the fact that you said that they can levy an admin fee is absurd. i am doubtful of its legality. of course, just because they do it, does not make it lawful.