Parking fines - I've been so stupid

[Branster]

I’m not  sure where to post this, not a strictly AIBU thread (I know I am BU as far as rules go) but I’m desperate for some sensible advice and maybe a glimmer of hope.

I’ll try and describe my situation in a rational manner. It might not be a big deal for some people but it is for me.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been partly working away from home driving to an office at various times of the day.
I got in the habit of stopping on the way back home to clear my messages, catch up on urgent calls and do minor paperwork in my car - nice and quiet, no distractions, no weird people walking by etc - before returning home where I wouldn’t get the chance to finish these tasks before 10-11PM. Clear the head sort of thing so I’m ready for doing the full on evening house duty ‘shift’. Like a lot of people, I am at the limit being in a constantly occupied house all the time without any quiet time with zero interruptions. So grabbing a short period of time to get rid of outstanding little work tasks like this does help me be a better person in the evenings at home.  

So I stop in a very safe, nearly empty secondary train station car park which has this car number plate recognition parking system which I vaguely noticed. I assumed if I stop just for a little bit and stay in my car I should be OK and didn’t even consider getting a ticket (Not exactly a ticket, it’s a pay system of some sort). Technically I was using the car park but not in the traditional sense of leaving the car there. Who am I kidding?! I was using the car park. Even though it was a stopovers.
Breaks on average between 10-30min max.

Today I got home to an £85 penalty notice dated 8th April. In theory this should be the first fine, maybe I didn’t stop there before that date or maybe there is a grace period of 15min or so and I didn’t stop for too long prior to this date or maybe earlier dated letters are yet to arrive.
If this was the first recorded breach of parking rules, I might get another 7-8 penalty notices, not sure, including today. Nearly £700, potentially. That’s an awful lot of money to me especially when I haven’t budgeted for it and when it doesn’t even  benefit anyone in practical terms. 

I’m so, so cross with myself for being so negligent and incredibly stupid and I am at a loss as to what I can do to limit the damage.
I know these tickets can be disputed within a certain amount of time. I’d need to wait at least another week to get all the letters and try to write a dispute for all of them in one go on the basis of what exactly, other than  utter stupidity.

My first thought was to try and call the company issuing the tickets first thing tomorrow morning to get the total number of offences from them and to tell them the truth and ask if there is any way of reducing the fines.

I can’t think straight, I am in a right mood about it and I feel like the biggest idiot on the planet. I feel like crying with anger at myself (and a bit of self pity).

I can’t ask anyone in RL for advice, I am very embarrassed. I never park illegally on the road and never even got a speeding ticket, I’m always do careful and mindful of  consequences and I’ve just failed in a spectacular way.

It is a lot of money, potentially. I would agree to pay 1 fine of £85 in the context of my predicament. Has anyone got any practical advice, experience in this sort of thing? How can I argue my case against all these fines which will be pouring in soon?

[jimmyhill]

All you can really do is write a pleading letter to them asking them not to uphold all the fines. If they refuse then agreeing a payment plan with them might be a good idea.

[MrsFin]

I think if you parked in a carpark, albeit you stayed in the car, you are liable to pay the parking charge. You were taking up a space which someone else couture have used, had the carpark been full.
I'm surprised though that the barrier let you out if you hadn't paid.

It's not what you want to hear, but I think you need to pay the fine(s). They might let you pay in instalments.

[alreadytaken]

Seek advice here www.pepipoo.com/

[PurpleFlower1983]

Oh dear! Those number plate recognition ones tend to be the worst! I would contact the company and plead with them to be lenient but you may have to take this one on the chin!

[Bobojangles]

Ask for advice on the money saving expert forum, I've got off "parking charges" twice using their advice - there is a lot to go through but it's absolutely fab advice

[growinggreyer]

I would say don't contact them until you have taken legal advice. It would be worth taking a day or two to get your thoughts in order. There is nothing to be gained by ringing them tomorrow, you will only get someone junior in the office who will tell you to pay. You need to have a strategy and find out who to contact in the company who can actually make a decision. Good luck

[stairway]

You might be able to win on poor signage, it’s worth a shot. If it went to court it is likely a judge would find a £700 pound fine excessive and reduce it to something more reasonable.

[Cocomarine]

Is there not a “pay within 14 days for 50% reduction”? That’s really very common.

Do not wait for other potential fines and in so doing, lose any reduction period for quick payment.

Also, be very careful to read the terms of appeal - you would think that appealing still allows you the reduction if you still have to pay, and do so within 14 days - but that’s not always the case.

Definitely check the reduction period because that might at least reduce your exposure.

I don’t think you can say “I would agree to pay.” Sorry to say it, but you have no grounds for appeal that I can see. Though of course, don’t ask, don’t get.

Fingers crossed for you that you had more in the grace period than you think!

Hope you can find a nice quite free spot - as it’s a great idea. Hugs - it’s really horrid when you don’t even know the extent of the issue.

[Alsohuman]

@Bobojangles

Ask for advice on the money saving expert forum, I've got off "parking charges" twice using their advice - there is a lot to go through but it's absolutely fab advice

This. Basically those tickets are an invoice which you’re under no obligation to pay.

[MrsFin]

@stairway

You might be able to win on poor signage, it’s worth a shot. If it went to court it is likely a judge would find a £700 pound fine excessive and reduce it to something more reasonable.

It's not a £700 fine though, is it?
It's several smaller fines totalling £700

[gamerchick]

Is there not a “pay within 14 days for 50% reduction”? That’s really very common

Same in my experience. Pay it quick and get half off.

[Cocomarine]

@Alsohuman that’s out of date advice.
Some are unenforceable invoices, but it’s no longer the case year you can safely ignore them.

OP, check out MSE on it. (Also pepipoo link you were given above is good)

www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets/

[Mrgrinch]

I don't think you'll get them taken off. I've had cases where they've refused to take away fines because my Dad forgot to put his disabled badge in the window.

To be honest they don't need to either, I know it's not what you want to hear but there is no actual reason for them not to fine you. It's definitely worth a try, especially to see if you can try and agree a payment plan or a reduced rate. But parking companies are not known for being lenient in my experience, in fact quite the opposite.

[Comefromaway]

There is a grace period enshrined in law but it’s usually about 10 mins (time for you to read the payment terms and decide whether you wish to use their services). By parking up for longer than that you are deemed to have accepted their terms and formed a contract.

That is assuming the signs are clear and legal. It might be worth checking.

[WiseUpJanetWeiss]

Is it a Penalty Charge Notice or a Parking Charge Notice?

If it’s the former you’ll have to pay up. If it’s the latter you may be able to dispute it. Ask Pepipoo for help, as linked above but put your hard hat on. They make AIBU look like a church coffee morning.

[ScottishStottie]

Unfortunately it doesnt sound like you have any reasons for an official appeal.

And also unfortunately, its very very hard to get hold of anyone at parking companies, due to lower staffing and covid office closures. (I know this from bitter experience...)

I would recommend giving citizens advice beareau a call, they were very helpful for us in giving realistic advice about what would likely happen if you refused payment and they took you to court.

I think the total amount is a bit of a red herring in terms of potential legal proceedings. Its not one fine for that amount, its lots of smaller (completely legitimate) smaller parking infringements that is resulting in the total. So cant imagine a judge is going to say the total is unfair.

Best bet is to phone citizens advice, and try and contact the company direct. But imo a good result would be if they reduced it by 50%, i very much doubt they are going to turn round and say 'you can pay for one but the rest are free'

[1Morewineplease]

You shouldn't be parking in that car park. You knew it too.

[SGChome20]

Is this from a private company or council/police? I suspect it’s from a company, in which case it is not a parking charge, it is an invoice. DO NOT appeal this notice, write to them and tell them you are not paying and state your reasoning. Or if you’re brave just ignore it and hope the cost of them taking you to court won’t be worth it for them.

[EscapeDragon]

You might be able to win on poor signage, it's worth a shot

You mean she should lie?
She saw the sign and has admitted it's her own fault.

[ProbablyLate]

I heard somewhere that the company who issued the fine won't help you but sometimes contacting the owner of the car park can. One of the proper links above might give better advice, but it might be worth contacting the station to see if there's anything they can do. I got done a few months ago as I'd forgotten to display my permit. The ticket says that that's not a grounds for appeal but I contacted the owner of the car park saying I assumed that the point of the permits/rules to ensure that people who didn't have the right to park there didn't, not to extract money from people who did have the right to. They did end up sorting it for me but when I first saw the ticket on my car I felt awful and embarrassed and didn't want to admit to anyone that I'd done something so silly, so I totally sympathise with that. All the best OP!

[growinggreyer]

There is nothing morally virtuous about paying a parking charge for a train station car park. Those posters who are saying that the OP should pay up - why? What difference is it going to make to your life if the OP decides not to be a wet lettuce? She can try to mitigate her mistake if she wants to.

[Comefromaway]

@EscapeDragon

You might be able to win on poor signage, it's worth a shot

You mean she should lie?
She saw the sign and has admitted it's her own fault.

She saw a sign. There is one at the entrance to my local Sainsbury’s. It doesn’t say much. You have to get out of your car to read the full conditions of parking on a different sign. At some car parks you get a certain amount of time free.

So it depends if there were proper, legal signs in the car park detailing charges.

[puglife]

I had a few fines from a train station once. One was because I was parked on the lines, and the other 2 because I was in my husbands car but I'd prepaid for my car.
They sent threatening letters so I googled and found a company that dispute them for you. I had to pay a small amount (around £20) but it was sorted and not heard anything since.
Can't remember name of company but can search through emails if you can't find it on google.

[cheeseismydownfall]

Oh no, you poor thing! I can hear in your post just how frustrated and cross with yourself you are feeling. I have no advice re. the actual parking charges (hopefully you will be able to get leniency on at least some of it) but remember

We all make stupid mistakes
We have all, at some point, lost money because of stupid mistakes
Many people have made far, far more stupid mistakes than this!

When I'm kicking myself over something like this, I find it helps to ask myself these questions -

Will I still feel as bad about this mistake this time next year?
Will I be genuinely suffering from the consequences of this mistake this time next year?
How about in five years?

At the end of the day, there are very, very few mistakes that stick with us. This definitely isn't one of them! Have a good rage, pay the fines if you have to, and move on.

[Comefromaway]

@growinggreyer

There is nothing morally virtuous about paying a parking charge for a train station car park. Those posters who are saying that the OP should pay up - why? What difference is it going to make to your life if the OP decides not to be a wet lettuce? She can try to mitigate her mistake if she wants to.

Because by not being a wet lettuce she could land herself with legal costs on top of what she already owes.