Parking fine, BUT I have the Pay and Display tickets...

[james1986]

On the first weekend of April I was parked at a leisure centre and did not purchase a parking ticket.

 

I came out to find a ticket on my car.

 

My friend gave me the Pay and Display tickets from their car.

 

My mother (to her work address as that's where the car is registered) received two letters and both her and I failed to respond to them.

 

I wrote to them enclosing copies of the two tickets last week and received a response from them stating that it is too late and the matter will be going to court unless I pay up, despite me having the Pay and Display ticket.

 

Can I do anything?

[Al27]

First question - private company or a council?

[james1986]

Council

[wheelergeezer]

If they have CCTV for the car park, you could be facing jail for atempting to pervert the course of justice. Not paying is one thing, using someone else parking ticket to claim you did pay is unquestionably illegal and I am sure someone more in the know will confirm that.

[Turtle1000]

All the council car parks in my nearest town now require you to enter your car reg. They did this to stop people transferring tickets.

 

If this is the case for your council run car parks, then - as your ticket would not match up to your car - this would only exaserbate the infringement as per wheelergeezers advice.

Something to check if you have any intentions at all of defending this further.

 

Not that it affects the outcome in any way, but did you intentionally not buy a ticket or was it accidental?

[patdavies]

If they have CCTV for the car park, you could be facing jail for atempting to pervert the course of justice. Not paying is one thing, using someone else parking ticket to claim you did pay is unquestionably illegal and I am sure someone more in the know will confirm that.

 

No. It's not perverting the course of justice.

 

Tickets are only non-transferable if the TRO states this. Otherwise, there is a valid argument that the Council has been paid for x hours for parking in the car park regardless of the vehicle involved.

 

I wrote to them enclosing copies of the two tickets last week and received a response from them stating that it is too late and the matter will be going to court unless I pay up, despite me having the Pay and Display ticket.

Since the Council are quoting Court, I am assuming that this is a Excess Charge Notice issued under the RTRA 1984. In which case, the Council must prove their case beyond reasonable doubt in a Magistrates' Court. The fact that you have P&D tickets for the appropriate time makes this harder for them; they would need to prove that these were not valid - simply alleging it is insufficient.

 

However, if you state under oath that the P&D ticket was yours, that will be perjury - punishable by prison. You admit not purchasing a ticket, you should consider paying the ECN - it is, after all, justified.

 

You should also realise that for an ECN, the driver is liable and the the RK must provide information regarding the driver under s.112 of the RTRA 1984 or be liable for a further and separate offence of failing to provide.

Edited July 4, 2009 by patdavies

[wheelergeezer]

I would disagree slightly Pat. I think you and I are working from the same School of thought here.

 

My reference to perverting the course of justice was because the OP openely admits that they did not buy a ticket, but then acquired a ticket from a third party and presented it as evidence of them having paid in the full knowledge that they didn't.

 

I may be wrong, but my understanding of the law is that if you knowingly make a false statement and in particular if you fabricate evidence to the effect that you escape a penalty which you would otherwise lawfully have to pay, you are guilty of perverting the course of justice. Albeit only a parking fine, deliberitly fabricating that you bought a valid ticket would be seen as very serious by a magistrate (my wife is one).

 

If the council happen to have CCTV and view it, they will see what happened and a simple parking ticket could take a very serious turn that could end with a criminal record. That effects jobs, which effect income, which effect mortgages etc etc.

 

As long as the ticket is valid, just pay it I say.