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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to refuse to pay?

73 replies

BeeBawBabbity · 09/03/2012 14:58

My Mum had a total knee replacement a few weeks ago. She's only just started to get back on her feet, but can only walk a short distance with a stick. She needed some shopping so I took her to tesco and parked in a disabled bay, and got the wheelchair for her. When we came out I had a £40 fine.

I found the parking guy and explained, but he said no blue badge no park, end of story. I feel quite strongly that I was not ABUSING the parking space. Am I being unreasonable?

OP posts:
BellaVita · 09/03/2012 17:42

Am not belittling your mum or how far she can and cannot walk OP, but my mum had a second full knee replacement done two weeks before Xmas and her and my dad came to stay with us on xmas eve and she was walking normally and climbing stairs etc (my mum is 67 btw).

Does your mum need to go back and make sure everything is ok?

valiumredhead · 09/03/2012 17:42

Exactly worra

QuintessentialyHollow · 09/03/2012 17:44

She was post op, not disabled. Major difference.

There would be no space ever for blue badge holders if somebody could just decide they were going shopping after whatever operation, or other ailment, and just park in disabled spaces.

HeadfirstForHalos · 09/03/2012 17:46

I wouldn't begrudge you using the space for your mum. I wouldn't pay it either.

whomovedmychocolate · 09/03/2012 17:50

I don't want to engage in blue badge politics OP but as others have said, just ignore the letters.

whomovedmychocolate · 09/03/2012 17:55

The only danger if you get this sort of fine is if you throw it on the floor as that is littering and that IS an actual enforceable offence.

2shoes · 09/03/2012 18:13

I think it is brilliant that supermarkets are fining people that park in BB without a badge.
shame that it seems they can't enforce it.

OnceICaughtAFishAlive · 09/03/2012 18:19

I have had a parking fine refunded by writing to the local authority and explaining the circumstances.

it wasn't for parking in disabled spot though. it was for not properly displaying a residents parking pass, and obv I could prove i was a resident and it was an honest mistake.

i think you have to pay but check the appeal/refund process and follow that.

TidyDancer · 09/03/2012 18:20

I would also question if your mum is okay? A close relative of mine had a knee replacement done a year ago and walked to the car when I took her home five days later. Again, not doubting your story, just wondering if everything is okay....really unusual to be that unsteady after such a long time.

That said, YABU. No blue badge, you don't park in a disabled space. You were totally in the wrong.

It'll be a private car park and therefore the 'fine' is actually an invoice so you don't have to pay, but you were still BU.

valiumredhead · 09/03/2012 18:21

Recovery rates differ from person to person, some people are walking with no problems very quickly, others take longer to heal.

scattergun · 09/03/2012 19:24

Surely in a fair society we should allow people, on some level, to decide for themselves whether they are disabled or not, even if too temporarily to get a blue badge. If we all had to wear badges to make our individual needs known, the tubes and buses would be full of people wearing 'old', 'pregnant' or 'random reason to need a seat' badges. The blue badges are there to prevent people taking the piss and I don't think you were. Who would need or be 'more deserving' of a disabled space more than your Mum in that particular situation?

WetAugust · 09/03/2012 19:51

The purpose of a 'disabled' parking bay is to

Allow easy entry and exit to the car (which is why there is a wider space between cars)

Minimise the journey between car and retaill outlet (which is why they are situated close to the entrance)

Provide a safe and sheltered area away from the main parking area (where people who have equipment to load/unload or are unsteady can do so in relative safety.

Non-disbaled parking spaces are set too close together to allow car doors to be fully opened - something that would be a necessity if you had difficulty / need assistance to get into the car.

Your mother, albeit temporarily disabled, had a genuine need to use such a space.

KLou111 · 09/03/2012 20:03

If cheeky old f**rs can park in parent and toddler spaces without children in Tesco, you can park in a disabled space with a temporarily disabled mum!

TidyDancer · 09/03/2012 20:06

If you need the extra space but aren't disabled, I would personally have chosen to park in a P&C space.

princesspuds · 09/03/2012 20:06

Sorry but yabu, your mum is temporarily incapacitated and doesn't have a blue badge.

You could have parked in a non disabled bay and gone and got a chair whilst your mum remained in the car, she could have then walked a couple of steps to the chair and you would have been ticket free.

notaniphoneownerjustabadtypist · 09/03/2012 20:09

Well ,I have seen some very able-bodied people parking in disabled spaces, leaping out of their cars and dashing into the shop, and with no blue badge on display, so don't feel too bad about it!
Disabled space are for registered blue badge holders though, which means you have to be permanantly disabled and have a disabled permit on display.
You shold appeal against the charge (it isn't an enforceable fine as its on private land) and your mum can prove that she had recently had a knee op, (eg by providing a copy of a letter from a doctor) perhaps they will let her off? I hope so.
Hope your mum gets better soon!

KLou111 · 09/03/2012 20:10

valium just reread the thread, my Dh nan has a blue badge, she isn't disabled, but she is 92 and they gave her one! She's fit as a fiddle, but I think it was age related, but shows you don't need to be disabled to have a badge :)

mingofmongo · 09/03/2012 20:56

"You could have parked in a non disabled bay and gone and got a chair whilst your mum remained in the car, she could have then walked a couple of steps to the chair and you would have been ticket free."

Same as a disabled person could have done. Given the rife abuse of the blue badge system, I'd say the OP had more right to park in the bay than many.

OP - Ignore the fine. Its not even a fine, its an invoice from a dodgy company relying on threats to make you pay. Simply ignore it. They will up the volume, with threats of court action and more fines for non payment added. They are all a bluff and intimidation to make you cave in. Ignore and they will just stop.

madasa · 09/03/2012 21:06

I had a 'parking ticket' from a private company at Sainsburys in Sept last year. I ignored it and have had three more since. the second to last one said 'do not ignore, this will not go away...you have five days to pay' the last one said the same but my time to pay had increased to seven days.
I line the cat's litter tray with them :)

bobscratchit · 09/03/2012 21:13

I used to issue these tickets when i worked in retail security, they will be held with management in tescos until they have a bunch of them to send off to a private company.

So technically the manager should be able to void it, which i mean, score the copy of it and write void and not send it to the private company.

If they don't agree to do that, you just wait till you get the reminder letter, reply with your circumstances and they may void it, or just ignore it, I very much doubt they will take you to court for £40.

But in future I would probably drop your mum off at the door then park. Cause they are obviously on the ball at that tescos with ticketing.

LadyBeagleEyes · 09/03/2012 21:16

Some people here are so mean spirited.
Her mum is temporarily disabled, and was struggling.
It's not like she's going to make a habit of it, or was taking advantage.
I wouldn't pay the fine OP.

ShellyBoobs · 09/03/2012 21:29

If cheeky old frs can park in parent and toddler spaces without children in Tesco, you can park in a disabled space with a temporarily disabled mum!

Are you for fucking real?

P&T spaces comparable to disabled spaces?

Do fuck off you ignorant cunt.

DaisyAndConfused · 09/03/2012 21:43

I won't get into the argument about disabled spaces and whether OP was/wasn't justified in this case.

But - if you have the bottle for it, don't pay the ticket, ignore any correspondence. When you park on private land you are implicitly agreeing to enter into a contract whereas you abide by the terms and conditions, and if you break them you agree to pay a fee, in this case called a fine. It's not legally enforceable unless they take you to (civil) court. They cannot affect your credit rating, they cannot send the baliffs in and they are not authorised to verify blue badges.

They are very unlikely to take you to court, the costs are not worth it and even if you did you would have a bloody good chance of winning.

I wish your mother a very speedy recovery.

mingofmongo · 09/03/2012 21:55

Thats very bad advice bobscratchit!

If you reply OP, they will know they have a person they can intimidate. They will have a name of a driver, rather than just the car owner details they pulled from the DVLA. The so called 'contract' is between the DRIVER and the company, but they dont actually know who the driver is becasue they just took your number plate. They ASSUME its the car owner, and this is why it will never stand up in court and they never take it that far.

DO NOT REPLY.

CocoPopsAddict · 09/03/2012 22:35

As others have said... no need to pay it.

I wouldn't say you were 'abusing' the space either. I know that you are supposed to have a blue badge, but your mum is temporarily 'disabled' and you felt you were doing the best thing. I wouldn't compare you and your mum to a lot of people I've seen, i.e. able-bodied young people with no blue badge, who seem to park there just for their own convenience.