Anyone know the legalities re Parking Fines

R R

robsta

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I got a parking fine on 20th May. I won't go into all the detail but I appealed it as I believe I have a very good case.

Anyway the point is I appealed it within the 14 days stipulated. It said if I did not pay or appeal within that time it would double to £50. I know they received the appeal as they emailed me back.

Today, something like 6 weeks after my appeal, I got a demand letter telling me I have failed to pay or appeal and I must now pay £50. If I don't do so by 9th August it will be £75.

For one thing they don't seem to have linked my appeal to the original penalty but also the time they have taken to not respond to that appeal seems very long.

I could imagine if this was a Prem footballer then that famous solicitor would get them because the process had not been followed in a timely manner.

Are there any legal experts on here who know anything about this sort of thing.

Cheers
 
Why did you appeal it - was there a doubt of the legality of it?

First thing, is it a council fine or a private one. If it's a private one then you can safely ignore it. If it's a council one then you can appeal to an independent body and even if you're unsuccesful then you only pay the original amount.

From what you said I suspect it's a private one and it's not enforceable.
 
Unfortunately, where fines are concerned, the person receiving the fine is supposed to pay it immediately and then if they believe the fine to be incorrect they must dispute it in the hope of getting a refund.<br /><br />-- Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:24 pm --<br /><br />
Prestwich_Blue said:
Why did you appeal it - was there a doubt of the legality of it?

First thing, is it a council fine or a private one. If it's a private one then you can safely ignore it. If it's a council one then you can appeal to an independent body and even if you're unsuccesful then you only pay the original amount.

From what you said I suspect it's a private one and it's not enforceable.
Click to expand...

100% agree, it must be a council or HMCS fine to mean that it should be paid immediately.
 
gaudinho's stolen car said:
Unfortunately, where fines are concerned, the person receiving the fine is supposed to pay it immediately and then if they believe the fine to be incorrect they must dispute it in the hope of getting a refund.
Click to expand...
Not quite mate. Private operators have no powers to levy a fine. It's a penalty charge and can only be enforced if they can prove beyond doubt that you were the driver, as there is an implied contract between the driver and the land owner where the car was parked. Enforvcing it is a civil matter.

Public bodies like councils & the police do have the statutory power to levy a fine and that's issued to the owner, who has to pay. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.

Private operators will issue increasingly threatening letters and official looking demands but can't take criminal proceedings. They can go to court for recovery of the debt but rarely do. If you don't admit you were the driver and simply don't respond then they will give up.
 
It is a council one.

It said pay £25 within 14 days or I could appeal it. And it did say that as long as I got the appeal in then if I lost the appeal I would be given the same 14 days afterwards to pay the original lower fee. It just seems they have now lost the appeal I sent.

I thought because of the length of time they may have failed to meet their own tiings and a solicitor would know that.

I appealed it because the parking sign was not clear that there was a charge for parking in the evening. I had parked there loads of times at night and never had to pay. It turns out they had changed the charges in April. But when I went back and looked at the parking sign it said "Monday to Sat Charges Daytime 7am to 6pm". On second look I could see they had added at the bottom "Evening 6pm to 7am £1". I would have happily paid the £1 but it really was not obvious.
 
Go back to them and show them the email and complain that they failed to hear your appeal. Make sure you quote the original penalty notice reference.

Assuming they do take your appeal into account then even if they reject it, you have the right to appeal to the Parking Adjudication Service.
 
Just thought I would give an update to say I got a letter today to say my parking fine had been dropped. Yippeeee !!!

Daft thing is it was not dropped for the reason I originally appealed it (i.e. that the parking charges had only recently been changed and were not clear). They dropped the charges because I managed to expose the fact that they had not followed their own process for handling my appeal. And the good thing is I didn't have to go to court to prove it, which I couldn't of afforded anyway.

I didn't deliberately not pay the parking charge so I feel justice has been done here. As it's Friday I think I'll have a drink to celebrate !
 
I got a parking fine from Salford council the other week and it was a £35 fine, appealed it and it was dropped down to £25 but not revoked. Still going to send them a copy of the permit I had in my car and that should get it revoked hopefully.

From what I've been told by people who used to be Bailiffs its only council ones which actually are enforceable by law
 
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