http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7877596.stm
OK, so its completely ludricrous.
They should remember though, that they have no problem with issuing a ticket for a vehicle parked 1 inch outside a bay, and enforcing it, but when an award is made against them they don’t like it.
They say there is a procedure for challenging parking fines, but they should remember that there is a standard procedure for seeking damages which has been in existence for an awful lot longer.
Personally I think there should be some sort of mechanism in place whereby the motorist is paid for the unnecessary hassle involved in having to appeal false penalty charges, i.e. where the adjudicator finds the council has been negligent to the legalities and can be proved so it is then forced to pay the motorist possibly half the cost of the original penalty.
That way they’d be forced to look at the standards of their parking attendants more closely and it would actively discourage overzealous enforcement from occurring if the council knew that issuing false tickets or ignoring protocol would cost them money directly. This would resettle the balance between the council and motorist.
The problem with decriminalised parking enforcement is the way its been turned into a highly profitable industry for those involved, something which it was never intended to be.
That council’s like Westminster have a business plan stipulating their desired yearly profits from parking only emphasises how the parking laws have been misused.
councils should be forced to make more parking available, better roads into town and stop using the car as an excuse to theive from us, they should also stop wasting moneuy and sack half the staff so we dont have to pay so much in rates.
Couldn’t agree more. The number of incorrect tickets I get, particularly in Westminster is staggering. I’m actually wishing I had the time and energy to to take them to court for wasting my time and causing unessesary stress with bailiff letters etc.
I only half agree with this. Parking tickets are a risk that people take when they park illegally - the alternative is to pay to park in a car park or on a meter. In the past it was perhaps a risk worth taking but the use of cameras etc. has narrowed the odds significantly.
I agree that we need a better system of redress for those who have been penalised in error.
That’s only half the story though, as authorities like Westminster employ private firms who themselves flagrantly ignore the rules surrounding parking enforcement it makes a mockery of the notion of illegal parking.
As someone who regularly needs to park across London simply doing my job I could give countless instances where the powers that be have issued false penalty charges.
Over the last year alone I’ve had perhaps ten tickets overturned, most falsely issued.
The reality is parking enforcement is a huge money spinner for the councils and this is why they routinely act in a heavy handed manner, they simply wish to use parking enforcement to create revenue.
Since parking was decriminalised in 1991 the net income from parking tickets has increased exponentially, this is largely because local authorities have noticed what a profitable activity it is.
Formerly where the police controlled enforcement there wasn’t a financial incentive, now there is.
Hence even the pettiest infraction will land you with a highly exaggerated fine…
