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I have been reading through the parking forums and everyone seems to refer to Parking Wardens or Private Car Park Companies. My Situation arises with the police on this matter.
One day I was asked to travel to Glasgow to collect a work collegue and as im unsure of my route was relying on Sat Nav for directions. As I neared my location the Sat Nav told me I had reached my destination so Checking there was no cars behind me I slowed to around 5mph to look for a space to park.
As it happens the location I was looking for was at a pelican crossing. While travelling slowly looking for a parking spot on a V.busy road my passenger pointed out 2 police officers running towards me and pointing at the car. Naturaly I stopped while still atleast 4 foot away from the roadside. Looking around at my surrounding realising this was a busy road I put my car into reverse to move to a safer location. Before I had a chance to reverse the policemen was knocking on my window. He asked me to turn around and come park in a "proper" car parking space to which i courtiously replied "no problem officer" when suddenly the second PC who was the senior as i was to find out later barked rudely "You better not drive off I have your registration number", a little confused at his attitude I simply replied "Im not going to drive away im legal on the car". I did as instructed.
Once Parked the senior officer said he was going to issue me with a 3 point penelty ticket and a fine. When i asked what for he told me for parking on a Pelican crossing because his orders were to ticket everyone who stops on that spot. Not wishing to sound like a tit trying to be arrogant I pleaded with the officer as nicely as I could that my licence already has 10 points on it and 3 more would mean a ban. He was extremely unsympathetic rude and very aggressive.
He then proceeded to do a "radio" check to make sure I was insured, then how many points I have on my licence and that the car did not require MOT because it was only 3 months old. Also I was asked to show him someway of identifying myself such as a tatoo at which point I showed him my birth mark. His junior partner looked physically embarrassed at his attitude thoughout.
I then explained to him that actually I wasnt parking and had simply slowed to look for a space, was still travelling slowly and was atleast 4ft from the kerb (its a wide road).
His response to me was "so your gonna try and get out of it on a technicality are you" to which I responded politely "its hardly a technicality when your issuing me a ticket for parking when i wasnt parked"
He then smiled at me and told me that I had 2 choices
1) take his ticket and pay it or
2) goto court and get a larger fine and longer ban
Im not a complete mug and I told him that I would have to take it to court as his actions were unfair. I had asked him to retain any video evidence to which he told me there was none.
Now I have been to court twice since (85 mile round trip and a day off work each time) , the first time to enter my plea of not guilty and the second to fight the conviction. On the second occasion the Officers never appeared at court even when summoned (if this was me i would have a warrent issued for my arrest). Now for the 3rd time im having to goto court to refute this charge and who knows if the officer will appear.
I have had to pay my solicitor a fee of £1750 + £50 in Fuel each time I attend.
Can I reclaim this money if I win the case? or lose and whats the procedure for this?
How likely is it I will win?
My solicitor wants me to go for a reduced points penelty but I never did anything wrong and dont want to be punished unjustly by some over zealous officer having a bad day.
I have been in a similar situation, where I was accused of running red light, which I simply didi not do. When I was stopped the police were very rude and arrogant. The female officer had a real chip on her shoulder and really hated the fact that I was driving a brand new Porsche. I took it to court and fought my case. To make things worse, they had actually made up lies about things I had said in the car!
Luckily, I had a witness in the car and so we both took to the stand and told the judge exactly what had happened. Our stories backed each other up, whereas both of the police officers told different stories. You would think that, given how much time they spend together, they could have got their stories straight!! In the end the judge believed us and found me not guilty. It cost me nothing more than time and I defended it on principle, as I was not going to accept a punishment for something I hadn't done.
It is worth fighting these things as they have to prove that you did what they accused you of. The courts do not always just accept what the police say as the truth. Good luck defending yourself...
For the record, I was told that I couldn't claim any of my costs back, as the case was being brought by the Crown, with the police acting as Crown witnesses, and claims cannot be made against the Crown!
Just a quick update. Decided to fight the case. Asked my solicitor whi is a road traffic law specialist to grill the police on why they havent appeared in court on last 2 summons. The policemen claimed the first time one had been on annual leave and the second on annual leave for second court date. My solicitor then ripped them apart by asking if they brought any official documentation to confirm this which they didnt. Also he grilled them about the night of the unjust charge. He made the judge aware of the intimidation and unethical procedures on the night in question. Also he made it clear to the judge that the police officer in question made every attempt to make the procedure as long and troblesome for me as he possibly could.
The judge then berated the officers in question for being unreasonable, aggressive and using bullying tactics, also explaining that the actions of the 2 officers on that night if repeated or a regular occurance is likely to be a key factor in the increasing mistrust and alienation of the young in relation to police.
Expensive but the money was not what i was worried about, to me my day in court was a result and the red faces of the police officers was worth it.
Just a quick update. Decided to fight the case. Asked my solicitor whi is a road traffic law specialist to grill the police on why they havent appeared in court on last 2 summons. The policemen claimed the first time one had been on annual leave and the second on annual leave for second court date. My solicitor then ripped them apart by asking if they brought any official documentation to confirm this which they didnt. Also he grilled them about the night of the unjust charge. He made the judge aware of the intimidation and unethical procedures on the night in question. Also he made it clear to the judge that the police officer in question made every attempt to make the procedure as long and troblesome for me as he possibly could.
The judge then berated the officers in question for being unreasonable, aggressive and using bullying tactics, also explaining that the actions of the 2 officers on that night if repeated or a regular occurance is likely to be a key factor in the increasing mistrust and alienation of the young in relation to police.
Expensive but the money was not what i was worried about, to me my day in court was a result and the red faces of the police officers was worth it.
Nice to see you "hitting" back at these coppers.
What was the actual result of the case? Did the judge throw it out?
For the record, I was told that I couldn't claim any of my costs back, as the case was being brought by the Crown, with the police acting as Crown witnesses, and claims cannot be made against the Crown!
And this statement made to you is absolute nonsense if applied to England & Wales
Of course you can claim costs if found not guilty
However, as this is Scotland, neither side can claim costs as the law does not allow it for summary trials
Police Parking Charge-UNJUST
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Originally Posted by N00b2
