Parking ticket for loading...grrrrrr....

[blackadder]

eater81 Wrote:

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> The only way to get off tickets is to go to

> court.

>

> The brainless morons in the council offices rarely

> have enough intelligence to understand an appeal,

> even if sent in with conclusive evidence.

>

> A couple of years ago I got a ticket for "parking

> in a loading bay with no evidence of loading" in

> Stoke newington. I had at the time been collecting

> panes of glass from a nearby glass shop.

>

> I obtained a signed and dated receipt from the

> glass shop as evidence, and sent it into the

> appeals office. Turned down so I went to

> Marylebone Magistrates court to get off.

>

> What a circus, a complete and utter shambles. The

> place was full of people like myself whose tickets

> should have been reversed at an earlier stage, but

> instead had to take a morning off work for the

> court to waste thousands of pounds of tax payer's

> money (judges and CPS lwawyers don't come cheap)

> to go through the formailities of aquitting them.

>

> The whole system is a farce, I'm off out on lunch

> now, hopefully I will encounter a traffic warden

> on my way out so that I can batter him with a dead

> fish.

You do not go to court appeal a ticket.

Parking offences has been decriminalised across london for nearly 20 years.

[blackadder]

Skye Wrote:

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> Hope no one minds me jumping on the back of this

> thread, but I am looking for a bit of advice too.

> I got a parking ticket 8pm on a Saturday evening

> (20th March) for parking in a disabled bay. I

> totally never knew it was there, it was dark and

> raining and I simply missed it. Anyhow, when I

> pick my car up the next morning I noticed I had a

> ticket, ironically I drove to LL so to save in cab

> fares - not happy I come home, accepted defeat and

> coughed up ?60.

>

> Last week I get a letter saying I owe ?180. I call

> up and explain I have paid this and I am told I

> was issued with 2 tickets and that I omitted to

> pay the fine for Sunday 21st March which was

> issued at 8.30am. Now there was without doubt only

> 1 ticket on my car, and can they even fine me for

> the same offence twice? Cheeky sods!

>

> Should I appeal?

The fact the fine has gone up to ?180 means you have received

a Charge Certicate. It also means you have gone beyond the appeal stage.

If you were not aware of a PCN or Notice to Owner for the second pcn then

you will have to wait for the Order of Recovery letter and then complete the

Statutory Declaration letter. The council may then cancel the original

PCN or issue a new one at the discount stage.

Don't bother contacting the council, they will either give you incorrect information

or just give you the run-around.

[Skye]

Thanks for the feedback everyone - I'll appeal it and see what happens. These local councils have a good gig here, a licence to print money.....grr!

[Mikey]

I recently appealed successfully against a fine for parking adjacent to a dropped kerb and I get the impression a lot of tickets are issued unlawfully in the expectation they will just be paid and not appealed.

The relevant legislation requires the kerb to be completely flush with the road - many are not and I used this in my appeal.

There are exemptions too - eg you can park lawfully if you have permission to do so, or you are loading / unloading for less than 20 mins.

I would appeal and start by asking for copies of the enforcing officer's notes and any photos taken. (In my case the photos were so poor they could not have been used as evidence.)

Parking fines are just a stealth tax - fight back and if you don't get it turned over at the first appeal (just a tactic on the council's part) press on !

Good luck

[zephyr]

The highway code gives some indication about loading bays for example I do not think a 'plumbers van' could be construed as a goods vehicle. The council will be inforcing this most likely at a basic level

quote

ALWAYS CHECK THE TIMES SHOWN ON THE PLATES.

Lengths of road reserved for vehicles loading and unloading are indicated by a white ?bay? marking

with the words ?Loading Only? and a sign with the white on blue ?trolley? symbol. This sign also shows

whether loading and unloading is restricted to goods vehicles and the times at which the bay can be

used. If no times or days are shown it may be used at any time. Vehicles may not park here if they are

not loading or unloading.

[Jeremy]

Mikey Wrote:

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> Parking fines are just a stealth tax

I've also been ticketed by over-zealous traffic wardens, so I know the feeling.

But parking next to a dropped kerb is forbidden for good reason, I'm sure you agree that access for wheelchair users is important. How do you propose enforcing the rule other than issuing fines?

[Mikey]

Jeremy,

I agree parking on a dropped kerb is forbidden for good reasons, but I was loading / unloading which is permissible under the relevant legislation. I also think tickets are issued when they are technically unlawful, and if the local council want to play by the rules then they should abide by them (in my case this this wasn't a "dropped kerb" in the strict legal sense rendering the ticket unenforcable).And I guess I find the whole business of blatantly generating revenue through parking fines pretty cynical, so if can beat these bureaucrats at their own game then RESULT !

[Jeremy]

Mikey, I wasn't criticising your particular incident, just the assertion that the fines are a stealth tax.

In principle the fines are there for good reason, the problem is the enforcement contractors who get rewarded for their predatory behaviour.

[cate]

Saw someone getting ticketed for being parked in front of dropped kerb last night about 815 on Pellat Road, just past Jack's Cafe. I totally agree with this. You are selfish and thoughtless if you park in front of these. Wheelchairs, buggies, blind/partially sighted people need these to cross the roads.

[Smiler]

We recently paid a ?60 fine online and it was a good thing we printed out the receipt as proof (the email receipt never came through) because we got threatening letters saying that because we had not paid the fine we would be chased up by the courts etc. etc.

[ruffers]

A lot of those dropped curbs are within 10 meters of the junction anyway, and parking there contravenes the highway code whether it's dropped or not.

[blackadder]

pepsi Wrote:

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> Anyway, parking in breach of

> > parking regulations isn't strictly 'illegal',

> it

> > is merely contrary to parking regulations

>

> Yes - and therefore due a ticket. Like it or not

> (and I don't), nobody should be surprised to get a

> ticket for this. It is after all pretty obvious

> that double parking is a bad idea unless you want

> to risk a ticket.

There are exemptions for double parking in the Traffic Management Act 2004.

(4)The third exception is where?

(a)the vehicle is being used for the purposes of delivering goods to, or collecting goods from, any premises, or is being loaded from or unloaded to any premises,

(b)the delivery, collection, loading or unloading cannot reasonably be carried out in relation to those premises without the vehicle being parked as mentioned in subsection (1), and

©the vehicle is so parked for no longer than is necessary and for no more than 20 minutes.

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Primary&PageNumber=7&NavFrom=2&parentActiveTextDocId=1606563&ActiveTextDocId=1606674&filesize=5619

[Huguenot]

That clause only seems to refer to 'special enforcement areas' and only seems to refer to parking more than 50cm from the edge of the road blackadder?

In that sense it only seems to be referring to 'bad' parking, not illegal parking?

[eater81]

On page two of this thread, Blackadder says:

"You do not go to court appeal a ticket.

Parking offences has been decriminalised across london for nearly 20 years."

So my trip down to Marylebone Magistrates court back in May 2002 was all a dream then, shit!

[R&A]

my partner just pulled into a bus lane cos he broke down (ran out of petrol). he was there probably 30 mins whilst i went and got him some petrol.

i assume he's got no chance....? It was a Mon-Sund 7-7pm bus lane on Camberwell New Road

any ideas as to whether he's got a chance to appeal? I've been reading around and had he NOT pulled into the bus lane and just stayed in the middle of the road - he'd be fine. But he thought he was doing the right thing by pulling over....

I've spent an hour googling but i think we're going to have to take the hit

[blackadder]

R&A Wrote:

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> my partner just pulled into a bus lane cos he

> broke down (ran out of petrol). he was there

> probably 30 mins whilst i went and got him some

> petrol.

>

> i assume he's got no chance....? It was a Mon-Sund

> 7-7pm bus lane on Camberwell New Road

>

> any ideas as to whether he's got a chance to

> appeal? I've been reading around and had he NOT

> pulled into the bus lane and just stayed in the

> middle of the road - he'd be fine. But he thought

> he was doing the right thing by pulling over....

>

> I've spent an hour googling but i think we're

> going to have to take the hit

Unless you can provide evidence that the vehicle ran out of petrol due to an

electrical or mechanical fault,TFL will probably reject your appeal.

[R&A]

is it possible to get done for being in a bus lane AND stopping on a red route?

I.E. ?240 fine

*blood drains from face*