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

stokesy01

Thanks Bargepole. Does it matter that I phoned them earlier to ask a question and admitted that it was me driving the car though my husband is registered keeper?

bargepole

stokesy01 wrote: »

Thanks Bargepole. Does it matter that I phoned them earlier to ask a question and admitted that it was me driving the car though my husband is registered keeper?

Not really, it just means they'll think they've got a fish on the hook, and may pester you a bit longer.

Private parking is based on a presumed contract between the landowner and the car driver. The landowner can take action to recover his losses, which, in the case of Asda's free car park, amount to £0.00. Any "penalty charge" which they seek to impose, regardless of what the sign says, is illegal under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts act, as Martin has been banging on about for ages in relation to banks.

You really should check out those other forums I mentioned, there's plenty of info there to put your mind at rest.

digitalline

teflon wrote: »

What was the fine for?
Parking in a residents' only bay in a controlled parking zone without displaying a resident's parking permit.

What was the problem with it?
The whole street is marked with bays which can be used by residents at all times, pay-and-display at some times, and free for all at some times.

The signage is about as clear as mud: I quickly read it and assumed it was okay to park at 8pm on a Sunday without a permit.


Did you try and appeal and on what basis?
I told a colleague who'd managed to appeal on similar grounds before - he told me to check the signs against The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002, and it turned out they didn't comply. He also gave me a copy of his appeal letter, which included the wonderful sentence "In the case of Davies v Heatley [1971]R.T.R 145, it was ruled that no offence is committed if the sign is in any way contravened, even if the sign is clearly recognisable to a reasonable man as a sign of that kind."

Did it work?
The last I heard from the council on the matter was an email advising me that they'd recieved my appeal, and would write back to me within ten working days. That was in February, and I've not heard anything since...

Other interesting stuff?
Following the recent news coverage about dodgy yellow box junctions and parking bays, my local council have started tightening up a bit - they've already repainted the yellow box opposite my house, as apparently it was previously a little bit too big.
While I've managed to get hold of some visitor's permits to save the hassle of getting a ticket and appealing for the occasional times I need to park there, I think I might keep quiet about these particular bays, just in case they notice and take away the free parking!

I have been given a ticket for exactly the same thing as I thought both sides of the road had the same parking rules. Can you give further info, maybe the letter you sent so I can avoid this fine also. Do you have a link to how the sign should be displayed?

malibu1967

Hi , ive searched these forums but cant find anything concerning my problem.
i used to own a taxi up untill january 2007, when i decided to get rid , so i imformed my local council that i was giving up the hackney plate, i cancelled the insurance on the car, and filled out and sent off the log book.
I thought that was the end of it untill sometime in 2008 when i started getting parking tickets for a town ive never even been too,at the time i owned the car i was living in my own rented house,after giving it up to move 100 miles away to newcastle, i left a c/o address of my sisters.
the parking ticket went there and as i wasnt in everyday contact with my sis i didnt know at the time i had received a ticket untill a month or so down the line wehn there was letters saying i owed now £90 each ticket.
i phoned up the council to explain my circumstances, the quickley dismissed it, saying i was the resgisterd keep at the time.
so i apealed ,and eventually got the same reply apeal unsuccsesfull.
i didnt here anything else about this untill yesterday when my sister had got in contact with me to say the bailiffs had been , and they were coming back to remove goods (even though i have never lived there).
I ive worked all my life up untill a couple of months ago when the prices or petrol have gone up so mutch making a self employed taxi driver worthless.
im still out of work and not claiming any benafits, i stay at my gf house in newcastle.
My point is i understand that i was still the registerd keeper of the car , but i did what was required of me by law , that was to fill out and send off the log book.
Is there anything i can do about this as the bailiff cost asre now £250 wich i simply dont have?

sarahg1969

you will get some helpful advice from the forums at https://www.pepipoo.com.

panzer_2

I have parked the same car on the same street in my local town of Halifax, West York's every Tuesday and Wednesday between 9.45am and 2.30pm displaying a valid disabled drivers badge for over a year now. Yesterday I displayed my badge on the dashboard as usual but due to the nature of my disability, I have to lift both legs out of the car, twisting on the drivers seat and supporting my weight with my elbows on the dash and seat backrest. In doing so I must have knocked the badge off without noticing it and when I returned to the car I had a parking ticket and found the badge in it's black leather case, face down on the black carpeted floor of my vehicle. Is it worth trying to get the fine cancelled or do I not have a leg to stand on, so to speak! Even allowing for shift changes and rotating staff, the parking attendants must know that I have a valid disabled badge. I would be very grateful for your advice.

Crabman

panzer wrote: »

I have parked the same car on the same street in my local town of Halifax, West York's every Tuesday and Wednesday between 9.45am and 2.30pm displaying a valid disabled drivers badge for over a year now. Yesterday I displayed my badge on the dashboard as usual but due to the nature of my disability, I have to lift both legs out of the car, twisting on the drivers seat and supporting my weight with my elbows on the dash and seat backrest. In doing so I must have knocked the badge off without noticing it and when I returned to the car I had a parking ticket and found the badge in it's black leather case, face down on the black carpeted floor of my vehicle. Is it worth trying to get the fine cancelled or do I not have a leg to stand on, so to speak! Even allowing for shift changes and rotating staff, the parking attendants must know that I have a valid disabled badge. I would be very grateful for your advice. Mrs Carol Duggan

Hi Carol, welcome to MSE

There have been cases where the council has rescinded tickets on goodwill grounds for disabled badges accidentally not displayed, though this isn't guaranteed. The second thread is probably more relevant to your circumstances:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1001913

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=835221

If you have a scanner it may be helpful to scan the ticket in (blanking out any personal details and reg number) and posting it on www.pepipoo.com as the ticket itself may not comply and could be appealed on that basis too.

maka_2

If you get a ticket either from a parking attendent or the police do they have to send you the photo as evidence that you were incorrectly parked at the time of the ticket? maybe a silly question but if they cant produce this evidence surley there is nothing more they can do. or is this not the case? otherwise they could just sit in an office picking random cars tickets.

Wivsi

I won an appeal against Hackney council for clamping my car, on the grounds that the Hackney Parking Policy issued by the council did not mention using clamping other than on housing estates - and therefore the parking enforcement division's clamping regime was illegal.

(I was chuffed)

MustBeatThis

I have to say a huge thanks to this Forum.

I parked in a Sainsburys Car Park last week, and never even thought to look to see if it was a paying car park. I returned to my car to find a ticket stuck to the window. It was only then that I realised it was a pay car park. The ticket machines were grey and I had just never noticed them. None of the supermarkets I use normally have pay car parks, so I never even thought to look!

I didn't have spare money to pay it until today so I sat down to see what to do next. Read the "ticket" a bit more carefully and realise it's just a private company working for a shopping centre, and I now understand it's worthless.

It is labelled "Parking Charge Notice" and states that "Failure to pay the parking charge may result in your name and address being requested from the DVLA and action being taken through the County Courts to recover the amount due".

Good luck to them, I say. I'm ignoring it. They want £25 but £50 if not paid within 14 days.

Thing is, previously I think I'd have just paid up, thanks to MSE I'm a bit more savvy now!

I wonder if they will take a next step at all or if they just do this and assume that most people will just cough up.
:beer: