Not sure how to post pic to tix without having 10 posts: Will try this: h t t p ://s1175.photobucket.com/user/captainkwe/media/NCP_Shenfield_redacted_zps92df3de1.jpg.html

Greetings... I'm new to these parts having just come over from Austin, Texas to live and work in UK for the foreseeable future. I seem to be making poor decisions regarding these silly parking tickets so I thought I'd stop the bleeding and consult y'all. I've waded through the stickys and quite a few of the posts and still a bit unsure of my status/next steps, so I thought I'd engage you good folks for some friendly advice. Basically, on 19.05, I was heading into London for work and staying over night. I parked and paid/displayed in a NCP parking lot (Mark's Tey Station) for 2 days, only to find the trains to London were shut down indefinitely. I decided to drive past the problem (engineering works in Colchester) and catch the train. Shenfield Station was the first point trains were working so I drove to Shenfield. Upon arriving in Shenfield Station park, which is run by NCP as well, I noticed much open parking along the fencing. However, there were signs on the chain link fencing posted that said "reserved parking". I avoided that area, and found parking in the middle portion thinking all was good. I paid and displayed for 2 days of tickets and caught my train. When I got back on the 20th, I was stunned (and SUPER angry) to find 2 stickers on my car (see attached). £75 / day for each day for a total of 2 days offering a reduction to £50 if paid within 14 days. Turns out, the middle sections were "reserved" parking as well. I looked around for signs... and saw none. I looked down, and sure enough, I saw painted on the pavement "reserved parking". As soon as I got home, I went to the NCP site to look up my fines. There were pictures showing 1) my NCP Shenfield 2 day parking payment properly displayed on my dash 2) a pic of my car showing the "reserved parking" on the pavement. I immediately chose to appeal both tickets separately and pled ignorance. In the appeal, I explained my situation, that I had paid properly in Shenfield AND in Marks Tey. Basically I played the dumb yank card but did point out, that the "reserved parking" signage was NOT obvious on the ground (when you are heads up driving/looking in a parking lot (car park) and begged lenience/forgiveness. Within a couple minutes, in my infinite intelligence, I decided to do what I should have done first, and google/research it. I found this site claiming if it's NOT from the council, you aren't legally bound to pay it. It's now been over 14 days and I haven't heard a peep. My guess is to ignore it as many other claim. However, I don't need any legal problems as I am over on a work visa and trying to establish good credit. I should have come here first! Any thoughts? Many thanks for helping out a sometimes not so bright American trying to learn the ropes over here. Cheers Kirk