I hate Traffic Wardens!

[madness]

Ibby and I spent the weekend visiting a friend in Durham. We parked outside her house which is subject to pay and display/resident permit parking. Our friend gave us 2 temporary permits to cover the period for which a parking fee was payable. After having a wander around the city we got back to the friends house and found a parking ticket on my car.
Both permits were correctly filled out and clearly visible. Needless to say the ticket issuing authority have received a polite email challenging this ticket.
There is no way I'm paying this parking fine, even if I have to go to court.
How many people would just pay the fine? It seems that councils are just using parking fines as a way of raising revenue.

Rant over.

[gruntygiggles]

All sorts of fines are handed out like this, when there is no need as it is a nubers game. I bet for every 100 tickets like this they give out, only 10-20 actually challenge them all the way and don't pay. Most people just don't bother fighting and so they carry on.

Go get 'em!!!!

[madness]

I have a trump card up my sleeve!

[Red Herring]

You do sometimes just have to wonder if they put tickets on just for the heck of it. I had to deal with one that was put on a marked police car that was in a loading bay whilst the officers were in the store arresting someone! The council office told me the traffic warden had no way of knowing the police car was on official business. As if they wouldn't be........

[timwilky]

A few years ago I got one whilst queueing to pay at a pay/display machine. The adjudicator refused my appeal as my printed payment ticket was 1 minute after the parking ticket was issued and the attendant lied that he had waited 5 minutes between identifying my car and printing the ticket.

Still not so bad as a family friend, her boyfriend and her bought a house in an area that was resident only parking. As soon as they moved in they applied for their permit but in the first week waiting for it to arrive they got £300 in fines and their cars towed twice.

[madness]

Durham has a 'Parking Shop' where you can pay your fine and residents can buy termporary parking permits for their visitors. It seems to be run like a business to make money rather than control illegal parking.

[Spiderman]

Thats all modern parking laws are about, revenue generation and not clearling the streets of badly parked or traffic blocking vehicles.

However i fight plenty of tickets and have helped a couple of the Soho-ers get off theirs, 1 had to go all the way to appeal but ask Bender/Davies just how chuffed he was when we came out winners. ;) Another got killed by writing them plenty of letters and playing them at thier own game. We never actually got a letter saying the file had been wothdrawn so they obviously just binned the case at thier end so it dont make thier stat look bad.

Madness...have a good read of the parking policy there mate. Some councils allow you to place x number of those tickkets to cover the time you want to stay...others will only allow the use of one ticket at a time as they say thats the maxium time you are allowed in that bay.

2 of the boys got caught out by a sneaky warden a couple of weeks ago in soho and i'm helping them fight those at the moment too, so if you need any help or advice feel free to PM me :)

[PsychoCannon]

Nail on the head there :)

I recently had to appeal a ticket I was given whilst parked on Private property.
Since succeding they have started ticketing on private property again, only now the refuse appeals saying "But the bikes are still blocking access to the pavement".

Firstly, this is B**s as they are parked in a corner on private property with more than enough space to walk around them with a double buggy!
Secondly, IT'S PRIVATE FREAKING PROPERTY!!!

Stinks of them trying on scare tactics knowing full well they haven't got a leg to stand on but have just lost a very lucrative spot (They used to ticket 10 or so bikes a day on this spot before security got the hump and told each and every single person that parked there to appeal if they get a ticket)

[Spiderman]

You should never reply to private tickets issued on private land. They dont stand up in court. I think this was on Watchdog recently or some consumer programme on telly anyway in the last few weeks.

[timwilky]

You should never reply to private tickets issued on private land. They dont stand up in court. I think this was on Watchdog recently or some consumer programme on telly anyway in the last few weeks.



My understanding that a private ticket on private land can only be issued under contract law, ie you entered into a contract and broke the terms of that contract by your parking related action.

However, contract law has requirements for fair terms and penalties. I.E. that a penalty cannot be punitive, nor exceed to the losses attributable to your breach of contract.

However, I guess the argument would be, whose losses, the land owner because you had parked, or the private ticketing company who would argue that it costs them £80 to issue the ticket.

I am still waiting to read of any court decisions regarding private tickets. But would guess the operators would try to harass payment from the poor sods inflicted with a private ticket.

[PsychoCannon]

It's London Borough council doing the issuing despite the company that owns the land give their permission for people to park here, even installed plates in the pavement stating clearly this is PRIVATE land beyond this point and have security on the watch for people parking to tell them their rights and enjoy their stay.

Had a very nice chat with one of them about bikes a few days ago which is when I found out the council were denying appeals.

[Red Herring]

Could the owner of the land write to London Borough Council telling them their employees are not welcome on their land and should they enter they will be regarded as trespassing. Might be interesting to see how they issue the ticket then, especially as by doing so they will be providing the evidence that they trespassed.

[Owenski]

In kirklees I know they have to take photo's of Car in offending location, Windscreen and front side windows, Signs saying restricted parking, and something else. 6 in total which are shown on the website.

If this is the same with your council wont it show the ticket did exist?

[PsychoCannon]

I learnt this the hard way London is the only place in the UK that doesn't require signage displaying parking restrictions, I know this as I parked by up by some street furniture I normally associate with locking up bikes, checked for signs restricting parking, saw none and parked up, got a ticket, found out they don't HAVE to signpost in London and it's down to you to know where you can and can't park :(

That said they still can't issue tickets on private property and haven't got leg to stand on, they know this but are persisting anyway, before they could of blamed rogue or over zelaous wardens, but now they are official turning down appeals they are knowingly endorsing this illegal action and I'm going to have a word with security about possable action.

It basically boils down to, they are all money grubbing crooks out to squeeze what they can out of you knowing full well most people will bend over, and the few that don't won't hurt them, I mean whats the worst that's going to happen? they get told to stop it but hey keep the £1,000's of illegal fines you've already collected, carry on!.

[Owenski]

it's down to you to know where you can and can't park :(.

That sounds really stupid/stupidly unfair at the very least.

[Spiderman]

I learnt this the hard way London is the only place in the UK that doesn't require signage displaying parking restrictions, I know this as I parked by up by some street furniture I normally associate with locking up bikes, checked for signs restricting parking, saw none and parked up, got a ticket, found out they don't HAVE to signpost in London and it's down to you to know where you can and can't park :(

Not strictly correct there mate. You obviously eneterd a CPZ (controlled parking zone) and on entry to the zone there are signs telling you of the restrictions in force. The joke is that you may not notice the sign or the flow of traffic is such that you cant read it all...and you cant stop somewhere to read it without risking getting a ticket by doing that. I brought this up at appeal once and the appeal judge agrred with me that it was a very silly system.

That said they still can't issue tickets on private property and haven't got leg to stand on, they know this but are persisting anyway, before they could of blamed rogue or over zelaous wardens, but now they are official turning down appeals they are knowingly endorsing this illegal action and I'm going to have a word with security about possable action.
Dont worry if you get a rejection notice from them mate. Its The Parking and Traffic Appeals Service that deals with appeals and if your local council try to fob you off tell them that you are happy to take it to the PTAPS and let them decide. They will confirm that the council do not have thr right to ticket on private land.

It basically boils down to, they are all money grubbing crooks out to squeeze what they can out of you knowing full well most people will bend over, and the few that don't won't hurt them, I mean whats the worst that's going to happen? they get told to stop it but hey keep the £1,000's of illegal fines you've already collected, carry on!.

I won an appeal against CAmden for the fact that the signage into the CPZ was either missing, defaced or facing the wrong way. I aksed the appeal judge if this now mean that every ticket Camden had issued in that CPZ was invalid as mine was and did Camnden have to pay all the fines back. He said in a technical way i was correct but unless someone took Camned to the High Court to prove they have this responsibility it was not something Camden would do voluntarily :roll:
So all those fines they took "illegaly" they should be paying back but they just wont do unless someone forces them to. Its pathetic daylight robbery really.

[Bluefish]

i used to work/ park in camden and westminster, fun times,lol.

[madness]

I've just check my email and I've had a reply from the ticket issuer. They've cancelled the ticket, so I won't get to be a pain in the back side, and I won't be able to produce my star witness, the person I was visiting, the ex leader of Durham City Council.

[appollo1]

A friend of mine got a parking ticket near Edinburgh Castle a few months ago despite having apay and display ticket displayed in his window. When he approached the warden to point it out the guy said he couldn't see it from the pavement and it was too dangerous for him to step near the road to look for a ticket. The ticket was stuck to the windscreen in front of the drivers side.

[madness]

I think far too many people just pay up. I'm sure a good percentage of tickets would be cancelled if challenged.

[Sid Squid]

It seems that councils are just using parking fines as a way of raising revenue.
You think?

Scamden's wardens do this habitually, not just to voucher users but even to permit holders, I've had several despite having a residents permit clearly fixed in my van's window.

[Spiderman]

And its surprising just hwow many people pay for no good reason too. Guy i worked with came into the office holding a ticket, fuming cos he had well over an hour left on the pay n dispay ticket.

i told him i'd happily help him fight it and its easy to do but instead he picked up the phone and started to call them. I told him they wont deal with it on the phone and he says "i know, i'm paying it" :shock:

[madness]

During that brief hot spell in early June (remember that?!) Ibby and I were having lunch in Nottingham. We were sat outside, looking out on the street. There was a car parked where it shouldn't have been, and it didn't take long for a traffic warden to come along, photograph it from various angles and then stick a ticket on it. About ten minutes later, two different traffic wardens came along, removed the first ticket, photographed it again and stuck another ticket on it. I was baffled as to why this was done. It led me to wonder whether traffic wardens get a bonus dependent on the number of tickets issued.

[Spiderman]

They used to get bonuses till there was a massive outcry against it. Now they get "targets" to achieve daily so they dont go sit in a cafe all day.

so now weather they come across illegaly parked vehicles or not they have to issue x amounts of tickets daily just to keep their job. Pathetic eh?

[timwilky]

What P's me off about all your complaints, is I would love traffic wardens to police where I live. At times it is a nightmare, traffic cannot safely exit the small estate I live on. Cars double park on the entrance etc. forcing vehicles to go round a blind bend on the wrong side of the road (You cannot see oncoming traffic because of the hedge as you go on the wrong side to get round these cars), but because we are out of town we do not warrant the attentions of those whose job it is to penalise the infringers

http://www.twsoft.co.uk/parking.png

This is my favourite. Taken from the entrance. How the hell can traffic see to the left. Plus how does a wheelchair, pram or pedestrian safely walk down this pavement. Oh the single yellow was operational at the time as well.

This pickup is guaranteed to park here at least 6 hours a day monday->saturday. (you can see it parked on the above picture but facing the other way). When I did make a complaint to two passing PCSOs who struggled to get past it. "He has to make his living" not bothered about it ws illegally parked, causing a dangerous blind spot for emerging traffic etc.
http://www.twsoft.co.uk/parking2.png