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I'm not advocating civil unrest or anything but I got a parking ticket from Fife Council for "not parking in the marked bays" at a free car park in Dunfermline. Now the carpark is a dead end and I was parked at the very end next to a piece of wasteground so I am peed off at this. But the question is what happens if I don't pay up?
Tickets from, or on behalf of, the council are legally enforcible. Unless Scotland has different laws, anyway.
If it's not clear that you weren't supposed to park where you parked, you might have grounds for contesting it I suppose?
Have you got pictures?
I got my first ever one and as you can see it was easy for them to miss the ticket.
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You should have photographed where you parked and contested it. The rent-a-wardens used by many councils for parking enforcement are frequently on commission, and push the boundaries of honesty and common sense when issuing tickets. Some appeals processes are applied fairer than others.
My wife got an equivilent one, she'd parked on a line (only space and next to a badly parked car) - no option but to pay...
Round this here London way they have to take a photo to go with their ticket to prove that you were contravening how they say so you have no get out by rolling back three feet or whatever.
If they dont have evidence is a you vs them situation...
Drac, drive round for a few months with the ticket on your windscreen nd claim you were an unauthorised person and didnt want to remove it, if they can play silly arses then so can you.
If it is defiantly Fife council that have issued the ticket I'd appeal it..
If its a Private company (PPC) Ignore it
www.Pepipoo.com have lots of good advice for this sort of thing
I got my first ever one and as you can see it was easy for them to miss the ticket.
Are you an authorised person? You'll have to leave that ticket on your windscreen unopened otherwise. I wouldn't risk it myself.
If it is defiantly Fife council that have issued the ticket I'd appeal it..If its a Private company (PPC) Ignore it
With the caveat that if it's a private company empowered by the council, then it falls into the first category.
We got a ticket on Saturday. In Durham, we parked in a park and ride car park, but walked into the centre instead of taking the bus.
*Please note that free parking at Park and Ride sites is only available to those people purchasing a Park and Ride bus ticket and using the bus service as the service is financed by passenger fare income. Please do not park and walk or park and cycle from the sites, otherwise you may receive a penalty charge notice.
OOH Mike schoolboy error, read the tiny small print on the sign posts eight feet up a lampost...
Its not that carbon friendly a policy is it
http://www.Pepipoo.com have lots of good advice for this sort of thing
It has lots of advice that people who don't want to pay parking tickets want to hear, which is not necessarily the same thing as good.
How do they know?
CCTV, one would guess.
Together with about 50 other motorists we got a ticket, from the Police, at the foot of Snowdon on Saturday. Due to the Snowdon Marathon large sections of the normal parking we coned off and not being used.
We'll contest it, we were parked off the road, there were no markings or signs to indicate no parking. All very tedious and not exactly encouraging tourists.
NWP have previous for entrapment with traffic-related offences. The council moved the 30 mph zone out of Bangor back by about 200 yards, then NWP plonked a van and pinged hundreds of people. All they did was remove the 40 mph signs, and not replace them with 30 mph signs.
Fortunately, it turned out that the council hadn't followed due process and the coppers had to give all their 'hard won' cash back.
Also after a bit of help here.
Have received a Parking Charge Notice from CP Plus - private company who do Donnington Services - as registered keeper. Letter came with two CCTV pics of Mrs Stoner arriving and leaving services having stayed for a period longer than permitted. However Mrs S had actually paid £10 at the services (at the Eat & Drink shop) for parking - but the letter doesnt seem to tie up payments for parking and their ANPR system.
Personally Im happy to ignore the buggers, but just wanted to check that the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 which has just come in doesnt move the goalposts a bit? Although I have the evidence that parking was paid for (I have the receipt) I cant be arsed to enter into any communications with them. Do I have to?
My Mrs got a PCN from the jobsworths at Leeds General for 'irresponsible parking', she took a photo of where she was parked & sent them the photo with a 'please explain'.
Well they couldn't explain it could they, so they had to cancel it.
Although I have the evidence that parking was paid for (I have the receipt) I cant be arsed to enter into any communications with them. Do I have to?
I had similar in Southampton when I actually paid.
My letter was something along the lines of:
Dear Sirs,
Poke it.
Love
Jam Bo.
It worked and they wrote back a couple of weeks later accepting my argument.
jam bo - did you send them your receipt or anything?
I just tried calling their "contact" number and its just a recording saying to send evidence to them that you paid. Personally I cant be bothered to waste the stamp on them. Is it still the case that their claim only lies in contract law and so their "charge" is an illegal penalty?
No, just told them that I had the evidence and they should check their records.
I know it didnt have to as per the pepipoo stuff but as I had actually paid I felt aggrieved...
Stoner,
ignore all the letters..
don't throw them away though, just in case
Stoner. Ignore it. Ignore all future threats/warnings, same with threats from their debt recovery agents. They will go away. I know; I have tried this.
It has lots of advice that people who don't want to pay parking tickets want to hear, which is not necessarily the same thing as good.
With regards to PPC's, the advice from my friendly solicitor was;
"Ignore it, they are legally unenforceable and require people bottling it and paying up"
He described the chances of being taken to court as minuscule.
OK - cheers guys pretty much what I was thinking. Just wanted to check the new law protecting us from clampers didnt leave us open to extortion by another route.
Stoner, I believe you are correct to be 'concerned' about s56 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and its associated Schedule 4. I haven't studied it in detail as it is not applicable in Scotland but it does appear to contradict much of the advice that pepido used to put out.
Ok well I am going to contest this, if they don't have photo evidence and cannot prove to me that it is not a legit parking space i don't see why I should pay.
There are people who park at the entrance and exit of the car park which blocks the view of the road when getting in our out, but as I said I was parked at a dead end and blocking nothing or no one.
Ask them for a copy of evidence - do they have a photo of you parked incorrectly?
Since moving to Luxembourg I've had 500 euros of parking penalties (20 years in London, I got two tickets). Last time the car was towed because I'd parked in a carpark that was being taken over for a market. Spoke to the parking bloke and he said "There are signs saying no parking" to which I said "They're there every day as some bays are suspended for workmen and the signs don't differentiate clearly". He agreed and said the penalty was unfair but that I still had to pay. 220 euros and 2 hours later, I get the car back.
@zokes, in Wales does the Police Authority get to keep a portion of the fines ?
Warning all Londoners - Mrs K got caught last week parking on an empty road with no lines - yet with 2 wheels on the pavement - Contravention 62J, illegal only in London / inside the M25.
Hurumph, there goes this weeks pocket money...
Yeah, London has its own set of additional laws, just to aid confusion.
Hurumph, there goes this weeks pocket money...
Think yerself lucky you didn't get impounded - £255 at the beginning of the month for parking next to a dropped kerb in an industrial estate in Acton - according to the clerk who took my money it was quite a "popular location"
If it is defiantly Fife council that have issued the ticket I'd appeal it..
As he does seem to have "parked outside the marked bays" as the ticket stated he was.
On what grounds would you appeal against it ?
Inadequate signage?
It's definitely worth appealing if you definitely feel justified in appealing.
Appealed against a ticket in Sheffield, didn't have my permit displayed so technically the ticket was warranted. But simply explained that I'd removed it(it hangs of the rear view mirror) to nip down to Waitrose blah blah blah, and ticket cancelled.
Not sure about Private Parking company tickets though, never used to be worth it. Not sure how the POPLA thing is working out.