Unfair Parking Tickets: Have you appealed or spotted a loophole?

trubster

What was the fine for? Failure to display a valid parking ticket
What was the problem with it? I did not have one... I did not know it was 24 hour pay and display and it was 23:55
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? According to the invoice I recieved it said I was seen at 12:00hrs and ticketed at 12:10hrs and clearly it was 0000 and 0010 so I returned to the same car park and paid £1 for a 1 hour ticket between 11:44 and 12:44 and sent that with the invoice back to the private parking company
Did it work? Yes
Other interesting stuff? Sad people issuing invoices at midnight!!!

Wivsi

I was really pleased with this one.

What was the fine for? Parking in a residents bay (oops - but the residents bays outside my house were suspended, I parked down the road not realising this was a different zone.) I got clamped, and had to pay £125 to get it removed.

What was the problem with it? I thought it was unfair that while our bays were suspended we just couldn't park!

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? This is the bit I was pleased with. I read the Hackney Parking Enforcement Policy; it did not refer in any way to clamping on public roads, only on estates. I appealed on the grounds that the council had not made a decision to clamp.

Did it work? Yes

Other interesting stuff? I think anyone who gets clamped in Hackney could possibly use this!

Hope it helps.

innerpeas

What was the fine for? parking in a no loading area using a blue badge
What was the problem with it? you're not allowed to park in a no loading area with a blue badge... or otherwise!
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? i appealed on the basis that the no loading sign was not visible
Did it work? they agreed that the sign was not visible and cancelled the ticket

also i've just had this one...

What was the fine for? parking in a loading bay with a blue badge
What was the problem with it? local authorities say that this is not allowed
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? i am currently appealing it on the basis that in UK law you are allowed to park in a loading bay with a blue badge
Did it work? waiting to see...
Other interesting stuff? sunderland city council had to refund all the parking fines they'd got form people with blue badges who's parked in loading bays after it was revealed that they were going against UK law.

beerqueen

What was the fine for? Parking in a staff car park
What was the problem with it? No terms and conditions displayed at all. Inadequate signage
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Am appealing today
Did it work? It better!
Other interesting stuff? I visited a clinic at the hospital that we have visited for about 10 years and parked where we usually do. Came out to a ticket. Asked attendant why and he replied it was a staff car park. I asked him where the sign was - there was none visible from where I was parked. he said there were two at the entrance. When I checked these they were two home-produced on compter A4 sheets simply saying staff car park!!! These were displayed at about shin height!!! No board with terms and conditions or anything. They are obviously in the process of making the car parks more official but have employed an attendant before putting all the signs up!!

Incidentally the car park is very scruffy, with no marked bays - more like a bit of wasteland. Does it have to have marked bays etc as well?

I don't intend paying and don't think they have a leg to stand on.

lalinka

What was the fine for? Parking in a bay on a Saturday for longer than 2 hours
What was the problem with it? There was a sign that indicated you could park there on a saturday at the end of the pay i parked, yet at the other end of the bay a sign saying you couldn't - guess which sign the council quoted in its letters?!
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I tried to appeal by the fact that the sign my car was parked right next to had information saying you could park on a saturday unrestricted and that it was unresonable to expect people to check every sign on the street for conflicting formation. Then what are they supposed to believe? I provided photo evidence of my car, the signs and also a map of the area in relation to the route i walked to work - showing i didn't pass the other sign.
Did it work? I had no success and after several rather scary sounding letters from my council i felt forced to pay the fine as I did not understand what they the implications (e.g. court) would be of not paying.
Other interesting stuff? How can something that is blatently wrong and an error on the councils part by incorrect signs - and is still wrong might I add - be argued as being right by the council?

Sandyharman

After spending a nice week in Newquay, I often used a parking company call A.S Parking who have private a car park in Newquay but are based in North Cornwall.

On one of the days we used the car park the attendant was unable to read the ticket which was displayed on the windscreen.
I was issued a parking ticket of £85.
I immediately wrote them a letter of appeal with proof of the ticket that was purchased and also other tickets to prove that I do not dodge parking fees.
The appeal has been rejected and again they have demanded £85.

I am sure you will agree that this is extremely unfair and unacceptable and they are simply just after my money when I have done nothing wrong.

I am now at a loss of what and feel very strongly against paying a penalty.

stwb

Sorry if this has been already mention here, but I highly recommended reading "The Parking Ticket Awards"- by Barrie Segal : available >HERE<

It covers many cases similar to those here, as well as many hilariously stupid ones, along with lots of helpful legal information.

Barrie also runs a very helpful site called AppealNow.com

Hope this helps

Krasnoludek

hi Sandyharman

I got a ticket in Lancs as my car was parked with the windscreen against the wall and the attendant couldnt be bothered to read it, I was fuming.
I contacted them immediately and emailed and photocopied my ticket. At the time I was visiting my family and making funeral arrangements for my Gran who had died a few days previous. I was absolutely livid. I told them about the situation and said the family solicitor had been instructed to contact them if they had not revoked the ticket withing 7 days, funnily enough they sent a letter cancelling it. I would just bombard them with copies of the ticket and threaten legal action and say you will seek compensation

K xx

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Sandyharman wrote: »

After spending a nice week in Newquay, I often used a parking company call A.S Parking who have private a car park in Newquay but are based in North Cornwall.

On one of the days we used the car park the attendant was unable to read the ticket which was displayed on the windscreen.
I was issued a parking ticket of £85.
I immediately wrote them a letter of appeal with proof of the ticket that was purchased and also other tickets to prove that I do not dodge parking fees.
The appeal has been rejected and again they have demanded £85.

I am sure you will agree that this is extremely unfair and unacceptable and they are simply just after my money when I have done nothing wrong.

I am now at a loss of what and feel very strongly against paying a penalty.

Ignore any further communication with them. They'll not take you to court with evidence like that. In future, with private car parks, don't ever respond to anything they send you.

loveangel

I used to go on the lambeth labour internet forum, as 'PCN Terminator' before they were swept back into power in lambeth in 2006, since then they do not like me helping people get unfair parking tickets cancelled and have frozen all postings.
I am what lambeth have referred to as a professional litigant, basically anyone who picks them up on everything just like they do to motorists. I could i suppose call them professional thieves if i were to look for a label based on my experiences of fraud, collusion and dishonesty in Lambeth.

What has happen to me:-

1. Ticket while parked where there was no yellow lines - photo was taken by warden close up of his pcn on the windscreen and from an angle to show yellow lines in the distance - deliberate fraud. pcn cancellation refused by lambeth after what they claimed was a thorough investigation by their parking investigatior as the lines were perfectly clear. on appeal to PATAS lambeth never turned up and the pcn was cancelled the mninute i walked in and lambeth's own photos were viewed in comaprison to my photos.

2. I received phantom pcn's claiming i was at various places in lambeth when i was on holiday when i asked for photos - photos of another car in those streets with pcn on windscreen were supplied with no photos of the registration plate - i examined the dashboard and features of the car and noted the differences querying why no number plate photo - for this one i was also forced to appeal all the way to patas even though it was obvious fraud.

3. parked on unmarked piece of road and was ticketed - appeal went in and was ignored - i accidentally paid this one by mistake and when an identical one was quashed by patas and lambeth agreed to cancel this one as well, i heard nothing. the lambeth officer who agreed the cancellation went on sick leave and the others refused to cancel on the basis that they had my money in their pockets and there was no legal obligation to pay it back.

4. there were numerous others that i believe were attempted fraud in retaliation for beating the system, but the latest treat was when i parking in my street on a single yellow on a saturday which i was allowed to do and the 'lambeth 'retribution squad' schemed up a way to ticket me again - they took a photo of a restriction sign for double yellows in a different street which was applicable on a saturday. when i asked for the photos they proudly produced the fraudulent photo from the next street claiming it was from where my car was parked.

over the years I have sued them in the County court and won, well over £1000 on one occasion and a few hundred on another - they refused to deal with my complaint competently for 3 and 4 above and so i referred their behaviour and deception onto the Local Government ombudsman - who fascinatingly have a section who deal exclusively with complaints agsinst Lambeth Council - what a priveledge.

the only problem with the LGO is that their cases are not fully published - various issues dealt with are featured in anon form in their annual reports but recently some skeleton cases have appeared on their website as they felt it was in the public interest.

To summarise in all I have recieved over 30 pcn's from lambeth 29 were eventually cancelled I paid one - is it worth appealing if you have a case - yes, but the problem for most is that they do not have a copy of the Parking and traffic signs regulations which is easier to peruse in hard copy than online.
Also useful in london PATAS allows you to visit and view other cases against various councils. the other government independant adjudicator has recently changed it's name to the traffic penalty tribunal from NPAS.

Sample cases are listed on both websites but i feel some cases are listed to disuade appeals such as the one on patas for yellow lines etc - which is the only listed case and is where the motorist lost - oddly enough i have never lost one signs and lines but they mysterious choose not to publish my cases - i don't know why but i woudl love to know.

Compenastion is always something to ask for if they have unreasonably resisted your appeals - go to the county court or local government ombudsman - the parking tribunals adjudicators have become extremely stingy over teh past few years and even if you can prove fraud they give you nothing - one insane adjudicator even told me when i had shown the fraudulent evidence was blatant and lambeth claimed there were lines when their street works department confirmed that the area was never painted(obtained by and FOI request) - he said the council contribute to the cost of these hearings so i am not going to award compensation. I wrote in to appeal but was unbelievably heard by the same dissillusioned adjudicator who refused - clearly a case of judge and jury but rather perverse i felt. Perhaps he also felt any compensation woudl be coming out of his pocket as a taxpayer and so that was another reason for not paying compo.
the problem is there are no rules that the adjudicators have to follow for the definition of wholly unreason behaviour on behalf of the council - clearly some adjudicators think fraud is not wholly unreasonable!