PCN on council car park HELP!!

[wordwizard]

Hello,

 

Can someone please help me urgently. Last week I parked on our local run car park only to discover upon my return I had been issued with a penalty charge notice. £60 reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days. It said that I had parked outside the marked bays as the offence. Granted I had parked over the white line slightly as I did have with me my 6 month old child and my friend. We had to get all the baby stuff out of the car and the car park didn't have any allocated wider bays for parents and children spaces. When I spoke with the guard he said I'd have to appeal. There didnt seem to be many signs about warning about this which I find increasingly annoying. Anyway I need help urgently as I need to get a letter of appeal in asap but wanted to know if anyone could please help me. The ticket seems to be correct for vehicle reg, time date etc. Any help please?? thanks

[Sidewinder]

As a starting point can you post a scan of the PCN or the EXACT wording printed on the ticket?

[Darren]

was it an end bay or were you in the next space

[wordwizard]

Hi,

 

I haven't got access to a scanner but the ticket reads as follows:

 

Penalty Charge Notice:WI00082*****

date of issue: 26/04/07

date of contravention: 26/04/07

time of issue: 12:51

time first seen: 12:50

 

the vehicle with registration number S6 ***

Make: Audi Colour: Blue

 

was seen in Market multi storey car park

by parking attendant: 107

Signature/initials: (the person has initalled it)

 

who had reasonable cause to believe that the following parking contravention had occurred:

 

86 - parked beyond the bay markings

 

You are therefore required to pay a penalty charge of £60 within 28 days of the date of issue of this notice. A discount charge of £30 will be accepted in settlement if payment is received within 14 days from date of issue.

Payment instructions are printed on the reverse of this notice.

A photograph may have been taken on this parking contravention.

For payment instructions see overleaf.

 

(Payment slip attatched with the details of PCN, contravention code, vehicle reg and time and date on it. )

 

Any thoughts??

[wordwizard]

hi,

 

the car parked to my left was very close to my white line as I parked my car so I had gone over the right hand line slightly, it wasn't a end bay or anything like that. It wasn;t parked in the middle of both spaces though unlike the car parked opposite me, slap bang in the middle of 2 spaces and no ticket issued on that car!!

[wordwizard]

sorry I should have added it's a council run car park - don't know if this makes a difference or not??

[Guest xipetotec46]

The

"You are therefore required to pay a penalty charge of"

is non compliant as the act is aimed at the Registered keeeper/owner, and not the driver, I am going to NPAS on 29th of this month over this very issue, if you can stall the paying of the penalty charge by informing the council of the problems you had with the child and send in or take the written mitigating circumstances in on the last day, the council will have it for about 10 to 14 days and the time limit will be reset back to 14 days, I should have my decision from NPAS by then and if I win I will post new thread on here look out for it early June you can then cite the case.

[wordwizard]

many thanks for this, my appeal will be sent to them as sooon as it's drafted, anyone have any ideas??

[Guest xipetotec46]

wait till the last possible moment though, just draft something up they won't accept it anyway, they are automatons. no feelings, void of emotion. zombies.

[Esio Trot]

It said that I had parked outside the marked bays as the offence. Granted I had parked over the white line slightly as I did have with me my 6 month old child and my friend. We had to get all the baby stuff out of the car and the car park didn't have any allocated wider bays for parents and children spaces.

 

But surely once you had "unloaded" the car, your friend would/should have supervised your infant while you corrected your bad parking. Either that, or you should have "unloaded" before parking (like I do in my street with my family as the drive is not wide enough to do anything else - and is definitely not suitable as a "parent and children" space)

 

Whilst I agree that motorists should make use of every loophole available, being that they are seen as cash cows by both local and central government, in this case even if you are not legally bound to pay the fine, morally I see no defence.

[Guest xipetotec46]

Whilst I agree that motorists should make use of every loophole available, being that they are seen as cash cows by both local and central government, in this case even if you are not legally bound to pay the fine, morally I see no defence.

 

Hi Esio Trot

I tend to agree with you on the point of that the councils are using decriminilised parking enforcement as a means to raise extra revenue, wordwizard is not using a loophole to get justice he is using the law, if councils want to ignore statutes of law and collect cash illegally because there are known illegalities with their DPE regime then it is up to everyone to stop them not just the ones who are affected by it, it is easy to say "there but for the grace of god go I" we are here to help the motorist get justice and your comments whilst sent with good intentions are unhelpful to wordwizard. we arent all possessed with hindsight... carry on wordwizard.

[wordwizard]

many thanks for your words of wizdom, I have drafted the letter to the Council with both my circumstances outlined and disgust at lack of parent and child spaces and further the issues you have raised about the legal requirements of the ticket. It isn't just me that this has happended to, reading our local paper this weekend and it seems 2 other people have had their concerns voiced in the local paper having wrote letters of compliant to the local paper! It seems the security guys at the car park will have had to get the ear bashings from disgruntled parkers rather than the "pen pushers" who have to sort these messes out!! I'll let you know how I get on, many thanks again i'm going to keep my eyes open in these forums!