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

eurovision_fan

Me and my family were in the Skegness Area for our family holiday and we thought as it was our last day to come and spend the day in Skegness itself.
My mum is classified disabled, and because in our home county (Warwickshire) as well as our local borough (Nuneaton & Bedworth) my mum can claim free parking as long as she displays her disabled badge with valid documents.
We assumed that this would be the case else where in the country after the recent concessions to the disabled and elderly on public transport, on to find we were ticketed because we didn't purchase a ticket.
It was only after I came back to my sister's car during lunch because I had an uneasiness whether we were permitted to park in the car park; only to find she did get ticketed £30, on leaving the car park with my sister's ticket did i find in very tiny print (Font size 10 or 11 if that) on a parking meter stating that claiming disability doesn't exempt you from a parking charge.
I looked further around the car park and found that on the overhead limiting bar on a sign no bigger than A5 was a sign in blue with the same message, what got me was it is not very noticeable when in a small family car, especially when the driver is concentrating on the road and me and my mum trying to calm down my 2 year old niece (who was very warm and hadn't slept much all holiday).

Well we paid our FPN of £30 but grudgingly, and even if we couldn't claim it back, I wish to urge all other drivers that you check at the parking meter if disability excuses you from charges.

sarah_2-2

What was the fine for? Parking in an area outside of the 'parking allowed' times
What was the problem with it? The ticket was never physically given- I drove off before the attendant put the ticket on the windscreen (even though it may have been issued). I then received a notification 1 month later telling me the fine had increased to £90 since I had not paid within 30 days of issue.
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes- the fine was not valid since the ticket was never officially issued (and physically given to the driver). It was therefore entirely unfair to be told the fine had increased after 30 days- when I had no knowledge of the fine in the first place.
Did it work? Yes. At first I was told that the council had proof that the ticket had been placed on the windscreen (which was untrue)- so I wrote back, asking them to send a photograph of my car with the parking ticket on the windscreen (as the parking attendant must take after issuing a ticket). A court date was set in the small claims court (I think), but then mysteriously was cancelled, and I received a letter a couple of weeks later telling me that the charges had been dropped.
Other interesting stuff? This is slightly different in that I did deserve the parking ticket. However, my problem was with the fact that I had no knowledge of the ticket and was then penalised for not paying within 30 days.

JUSTABOUTTO

I parked in a permit only parking area, right next to a 2 hour parking area. I just got on the wrong side of the sign. I came out and there was a ticket on my window. Anyway, car registration was correct but make of car was wrong. I appealed and they have let me off.

callow

What was the fine for? Overstaying the free 1 hour on street parking.

What was the problem with it? I had lost my keys. By the time I had walked home, called out a locksmith to get me into my house, got my spare car key and got back to the car I had received a ticket.

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? I wrote a letter appealing the fine. I explained the situation and enclosed my locksmiths bill.

Did it work? Yes, the fine was revoked.

shirin.alavi

What was the fine for? I was parked in a parking lot in Windsor and turned up 10 minutes later than the time I had paid up to.

What was the problem with it? First of all it was only 10 mins later. Second, the parking was actually quite expensive, the most expensive I've ever been to. And thirdly, the fine was £120, while if I had parked on the street (and not paid for parking meter in the first place) I would have been fined £30 or £60 (not sure what the figure is). What was also funny was if I had chosen the other praking lot across the street, the fine would have been £60 rather than £120 as the other was not a privately owned one. :mad:

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? No, cause I was 10 mins late and didn't think I'd accomplish anything with the appeal.

Did it work? N/A

Other interesting stuff? The fine just doesn't make sense. Knowing this I will NEVER EVER park in a parking lot again and pay for the parking, as its cheaper to get fined on the street :money:

meester

shirin.alavi wrote: »

What was the fine for? I was parked in a parking lot in Windsor and turned up 10 minutes later than the time I had paid up to.

What was the problem with it? First of all it was only 10 mins later. Second, the parking was actually quite expensive, the most expensive I've ever been to. And thirdly, the fine was £120, while if I had parked on the street (and not paid for parking meter in the first place) I would have been fined £30 or £60 (not sure what the figure is). What was also funny was if I had chosen the other praking lot across the street, the fine would have been £60 rather than £120 as the other was not a privately owned one. :mad:

Did you try and appeal and on what basis? No, cause I was 10 mins late and didn't think I'd accomplish anything with the appeal.

Did it work? N/A

Other interesting stuff? The fine just doesn't make sense. Knowing this I will NEVER EVER park in a parking lot again and pay for the parking, as its cheaper to get fined on the street :money:

why have you paid them?

On what basis are they going to enforce this charge?

I don't understand this 'did you try and appeal' thing, surely it's 'did you pay their charge, and why?' first, and following that, if you did, 'did you appeal'

farley95_2

What was the fine for? Ticket not displayed


What was the problem with it? When I had shut the door the wind had moved it so th corner was under my tax disc
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Yes I took photos on my mobile there & then to proved I had purchased a ticket and how it was displayed
Did it work? Too right it did - they couldn't argue it
Other interesting stuff? The letter warned me that this would be the only parking ticket they would reverse

But a month later........

What was the fine for? Outside the doctors on yellow lines


What was the problem with it? Parked on yellow lines directly outside doctors surgery
Did you try and appeal and on what basis? Explained I was helping my 14 yr old daughter into the doctors after she had sprained her ankle and what else was I s'pose to do to get her in the doctors! plus attached printed doctors appointment for proof
Did it work? Yes
Other interesting stuff? Never had a ticket attached to the car this time it was a letter through the post about 3 weeks later saying I'd parked illegally and it was only just in time to appeal.

ronenjen

Hi,
I parked on GoldersGreen Rd. in London.
I was with my two young kids (aged 1 and 4), who were sleeping in the back as I parked the car.
I decided to take advantage and quickly buy the ticket that was right next to the car before they wake up.
I bought it and when I got back to the car, they were both crying as they thought I've left them...
I quickly put the ticket in the window and tended to them to calm them down.
We went about our business, came back and saw a ticket in our window. Apperantley in my haste, I put the ticket facing downwards instead of facing upwards.
I thought to myself that that is no problem - surely as I actually legally paid for my right to park in that road (easly proven as the ticket time was between the time the ticket was bought and the time it was due to expire), as soon as I explain this to the Borough (Barnet), the ticket will be cancelled.
No way, Jose!!
Once they got my money, they did not want to let go. My appeal was rejected based on some rule insisting that the ticket should be proparley displayed.
With understanding this rule and what it is about, surley the whole point of a parking ticket is to buy a right of parking in a certain place for a certain amount of time. If this right was legally paid for in the means provided by the council, this should suffice.

Ronen

Tightfisted_2

What was the fine for? Parking in a loading bay

What was the problem with it? The area was a square with disabled parking bays in the centre and yellow lines around the outside in Canterbury. All the bays were full and some contained cars without visible disbility cards. Other people with blue cards were parked around the outside of the square. I parked next to a solid wall of a building and correctly displayed my 89 year old mother's cards. On our return to the car we found an attendant had just finished writing the ticket. He was VERY nice to us but pointed out a tiny notice high up on the adjacent wall stating "Loading Bay". Apparantly there had been road markings but these had worn off.

Did you try to appeal and on what basis? Yes I wrote to the address on the ticket fully explaining the situation as outlined above.

Did it work? Yes it did. I got a lovely letter back cancelling the ticket and warning me not to do it again!!! :j

number10

I suppose bus lane charges are also relevant here.
I received a penalty notice after my second time driving in Manchester. I had got lost despite checking my A-Z beforehand and presumably strayed into the lane while concentrating on trying to find my way off the dual carriageway I found myself on.
I asked for the CD the notice promised but it hadn't arrived before the time to pay the reduced charge arrived, so I paid and complained. I must say the staff were very cooperative, but I couldn't get the CD to run. They then checked with their IT dept and sent me a link to download some necessary program - I have a new PC running Vista Home Premium - but that didn't help. My contact said she's not knowledgeable about IT, but will investigate further.
At first it was just curiosity but, after a TV programme showing how 1000s of these charges are illegal, I now really want to check. Surely, if there's a legal obligation to provide this evidence, it should extend to it working on the most common "platform" without additional bells and whistles, but there's no way to find out without paying a lawyer.There must be many like me: maybe through one of your media you could help.