Parking Tickets - Just Got One.

[Splash]

Chaps,

I'm in Worcester at the moment seeing a friend, the road I park on overnight prohibits parking from 08:30-18:30 Monday - Saturday.

This morning I moved the bike off the road and onto the path, same side as the parking restrictions. Thinking as it wasn't really an obstruction on a wide path, could have easily got a pushchair or wheelchair past but received a fixed penalty notice. I have paid this already.

Now the ticket states:

- PARKED IN A RESTRICTED STREET DURING PRESCRIBED HOURS

Now, to me that is incorrect as that basically tells me that, had I parked on the path on the other side of the road that has no such restrictions, nothing would have been done, otherwise I would have had a ticked stating something like: 'Obstructing Footpath'

Should I protest this? I feel I should, just wondered what your thoughts were?

Cheers

Ash :

[Swanny]

Don't pay it.

Have a look here http://www.nomoreparkingtickets.com/
and here http://www.yourstrawman.com/



Less than 1% of parking tickets are appealed, mainly because motorists don’t know how. Two thirds of appeals are successful and 30% of those appealed never go to arbitration and one third of tickets should never have been issued. When you appeal, the Local Authority is likely to feed you meaningless and confusing information in order to get you to give up on your appeal. They may even tell you to pay the fine and then appeal, knowing full well that you can’t appeal after the fine is paid and they may well tell you that additional charges and costs will be added if you don’t pay immediately. Their objective is to part you from your money and they may even issue an automatic rejection of the appeal and fail to follow the appeals procedure which they are required to follow.

In some cases, the Council knowingly reject your valid grounds for appeal, hoping that you will give up and pay them. If you continue with your appeal, then 40% of the time, the Council will not turn up for the adjudication and so they lose automatically.

Many parking tickets are invalid and the appeal will be immediately successful because of this. The people issuing tickets are instructed to issue so many each day that they are very rushed when writing out each ticket. Each ticket must show:

1. Your vehicle registration. If this is wrong, they will not be able to determine your address and so the ticket can just be ignored.

2. The make of your vehicle. A copy of your V5 form demonstrates that the ticket is invalid.

3. The precise location of the alleged offence must be shown on the ticket, that is, the house number outside which it was parked, or some other exact location described. If only a road name is given, then ask the Council to specify exactly where your vehicle was supposed to have been.

4. Date and Time. If these are not shown correctly, then write to the Council stating that your vehicle was not at that location at that time, and if they can’t prove otherwise, then the ticket has to be cancelled.

5. If there is an entry describing the colour of your vehicle and that entry is clearly wrong as the stated colour could not easily be mistaken for the actual colour, then the ticket is invalid.

6. If the stated offence is not correct, then the ticket is not valid.

7. If the amount of the fine is incorrect, then the ticket is invalid.

8. The traffic Management Act 2004 requires that tickets which have been placed on vehicles must state:

a. The date on which the notice is served.
b. The name of the enforcement authority.
c. The vehicle registration.
d. The date and time of the offence.
e. The grounds on which the fine is thought to be payable.
f. The amount of the penalty charge.
g. A statement that the charge must be paid not later than the last day of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the ticket was served.
h. That if the fine is paid within fourteen days starting on the issue date, that there will be a reduction of any applicable discount.
i. The manner in which the charge must be paid.
j. If the fine is not paid within the period of g. above, then a notice to the owner may be served by the enforcement authority on the owner of the vehicle.

If any of these are wrong or are omitted, or if the ticket is issued more than six months after the alleged offence, then the ticket is invalid and unenforceable. Interestingly, they will not admit that the actual owner of ‘your’ vehicle is the DVLA and that you are only the “registered keeper” of that vehicle.

The exact wording is critical and the ticket becomes invalid if the prescribed wording is not there. The required wording is:

1. The date of the notice, which must be the date on which it is posted and this must be on the main body of the ticket as the tear-off section at the bottom does not form part of the actual Penalty Charge Notice. It has to say “Date of Notice” and if it doesn’t, then it is invalid.

2. That the penalty charge must be paid not later than the last day of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the penalty charge notice is served.

3. That if the penalty charge is paid not later than the applicable date, the penalty charge will be reduced by the amount of any applicable discount.

4. That if after the last day of the period referred to in 2. above, then (i) no representations have been made in accordance with regulation 4 of the Representations and Appeals Regulations; and (ii) the penalty charge has not been paid, the enforcement authority may increase the penalty charge by the amount of any applicable surcharge and take steps to enforce payment of the charge as so increased;

5. The amount of the increased penalty charge; and

6. That the penalty charge notice is being served by post for one of the following reasons:

(i) that the penalty charge notice is being served by post on the basis of a record produced by an approved device;

(ii) that it is being so served, because a civil enforcement officer attempted to serve a penalty charge notice by affixing it to the vehicle or giving it to the person in charge of the vehicle but was prevented from doing so by some person; or

(iii) that it is being so served because a civil enforcement officer had begun to prepare a penalty charge notice for service in accordance with regulation 9, but the vehicle was driven away from the place in which it was statio

[Conehead]

Not sure a about the law but as you have paid this already it means you have accepted liability and it would be too late to contest. All I think you can do is contact them and ask advice. I might be wrong but that is my thinking.

[Mitch9128]

You've paid it, tough titty.

[Gooz]

where does it say he paid it already ?..?
fight it always worth a try cost of a stamp versus £30 you might get lucky, hammer home the fact parking restrictions are applied to the road there and your bike was actually removed from the road completely and causing no obstruction hence the ticket did not claim such, also that you were staying overnight at a local residents hence the removal of your bike from the road onto the pavement (outside) their house

[Splash]

Points 3 and 6 are false, so really, the ticket wasn't valid.

Yes I have paid it but I will fight it. I paid it on the grounds that I didn't want to get charge the higher sum and not that I accepted liability nor does the ticket say once I have paid I accept liability.

I have written to them, lets see what they say because I have three counts against them now with the ticket. Out of principal I just want to know if in the future I can park on the footway as I don't believe they have traffic regulation orders in place to prevent motorcycles from doing so.

[Mitch9128]

Ha you've paid it, it is in the eyes of the law admitting liability. Also parking on the pavement is the same as parking on the road with restrictions, already been through this recently on TRC

[Splash]

Ha you've paid it, it is in the eyes of the law admitting liability. Also parking on the pavement is the same as parking on the road with restrictions, already been through this recently on TRC

I have paid it, I really couldn't care about £35.00, it's the principal that I'm working on because I parked in a different street under the same circumstances for one year and did not once receive a ticket.

Parking on the footway is different from the carriageway unless Specific Traffic Regulations have been published stating otherwise, from the local Council.

[Swanny]

I might be wrong but I think once you've paid it you've entered into a contract with them and on their terms so you can't win

[Swanny]

There is a notice you can put on your car/bike etc that prohibits them touching or sticking anything to it, if they do they are entering into a contract with you and on your terms. I don't have it on mine yet but will do as soon as I can find it