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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Am I bu/goody two shoes to think...

67 replies

formerbabe · 10/01/2014 09:23

It is not that difficult to not get parking tickets?

My dh calls me a goody two shoes for this but I am baffled by people who complain constantly that they get parking tickets/fines. I have a friend who seems to get one every week, she complains that they are all unfair! Now of course sometimes they are given out incorrectly but not often enough to justify the number she gets.

I haven't got a parking ticket for 6 years now (no, I don't want a medal!). I just read the signs and follow them. Last time I got one was because I over stayed on a meter, so fair dos, my fault.

Aibu to think they are easily avoidable?

OP posts:

LessMissAbs · 10/01/2014 10:52

3, in the last house I lived in we had residents parking permits, it had snowed heavily overnight and the traffic warden came round at about 7am and ticketed everyone on the street as the permits weren't visible under the snow

That really is ridiculous. I once went on holiday and during that time my parking permit came loose and slid down the dashboard so that it was partly invisible. I got a parking ticket for every single day that it wasn't wholly visible. I appealed and lost - welcome home!

FamiliesShareGerms · 10/01/2014 10:58

YANBU - sometimes tickets are issued in error, but I gave never known one of those not overturned on appeal

Juno77 · 10/01/2014 10:58

soontobe - don't apologise, though I will point out I have been in the same situation for 9 years so I have considered the options!

To answer your points:

there isn't a park and ride, I live 15 minutes drive from work. P&R's are out of town.
the only car parks where you can leave the car all day are about 25 minutes walk away (in good weather). I don't have time in the mornings, as I have to drop DS at school and then get to work. I have tried, and can't make it on time.
public transport - Bus takes 45 minutes. Same situation as above with dropping DS at school, just worse

HesterShaw · 10/01/2014 10:59

Yanbu. I've never had one or a speeding fine, which is partly down to luck, I'll admit.

MIL is constantly complaining about speeding fines and points on her licence. She's been to court to appeal against a year ban despite having 12 points because of speeding. She's had to attend a speed awareness course, as has my own mother, and it was apparently full of people in their sixties complaining about having to attend it.

Last time she moaned, DH said to her "You could always, you know, slow down". She moaned about that too.

HesterShaw · 10/01/2014 10:59

Italics fail

Original poster

formerbabe · 10/01/2014 11:08

Juno...can't your employer help you by getting you a business permit?

OP posts:

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 10/01/2014 11:09

former
We had 8 (yes 8) in Westminster in a 2 year period. Do you know how many of them we had to pay - none. Every single one of them was overturned on appeal. Why, because the parking wardens didn't know the rules about white /blue badges and DH was driving one of his friend's who has a disability. And there was the ticket we got through the post for parking on double yellows because DH had pulled in to the side of the road to let one bus pull out past another at a stop, that one got overturned as well.

soontobeslendergirl · 10/01/2014 11:09

Juno - yup sometimes it is just the way it has to be. I used to cycle to work and OH was at home with the children, then they went to nursery in the afternoons and he went to work late shifts so I had to collect them on the way home from work. i went through all the options of getting trailers etc, but in the end, there was no safe route, they were too heavy for the trailer and I had no where decent to leave a bike plus trailer at work, so i ended up having to get a car simply to get them and me home. Luckily primary school was close enough for them to walk round to it, but now due to bullying issues and having to choose a further away High school, I am back having to drive them every day so use my car for work. I couldn't even cycle when I didn't have to transport them as there is no way I would have got home in time for them getting out.

BreconBeBuggered · 10/01/2014 11:10

Haven't had a parking ticket yet, but I can see how easy it might be to get one. Our local council car parks don't allow you to return to the car park to put more money into the meter - you have to drive off and find somewhere else if you need to stay longer. Those supermarket 'no return within 3 hours' signs get on my tits as well, as I live just far enough from the supermarket to make trudging back on foot for a forgotten item unfeasible for me (mobility issues). It's run by a private company and I don't know how legally enforceable those penalties might turn out to be, but it's a lot of unnecessary stress for the sake of nipping back down for a bag of carrots.

Juno77 · 10/01/2014 11:22

You can't get a business permit unless your car is insured for business use. Which is really expensive.

soontobe it's really annoying isn't it. It's why I get annoyed with people thinking that parking tickets are only issued to idiots who can't be bothered to park properly and such like. I try my best.

soontobeslendergirl · 10/01/2014 11:27

Juno, I can't see why the council can't make some of the spaces available for all day parking as they surely know that people are all just having to keep going out and moving their cars round which isn't achieving anything other than profits for them. It doesn't free the spaces up for casual parkers using the local shops/businesses which is probably what their justification is, it's just blatant profiteering I think.

Maybe there is an opportunity for someone to take a small fee just to move everyones cars for them during the day :)

Stinklebell · 10/01/2014 11:31

Juno. Have you checked other insurance companies for business use? DH and I both have our cars on business use insurance and it didn't cost either of us any extra

Ginocchio · 10/01/2014 11:37

Juno Maybe check around other insurance companies. I only use mine rarely for business use, so I found a policy where I was able to state eg 12k personal mileage, 1k business use, and the additional cost was minimal - less than the cost of one parking ticket.

allmycats · 10/01/2014 11:39

JUNO - both myself and my husband are with Aviva and they don't charge extra for business use on our policies - or if your insurerer charges extra will your employer pay it for you, or even, it may be better
for you to pay the extra and avoid the hassle.

Juno77 · 10/01/2014 11:49

soontobe - I absolutely agree! I've actually written to the council about it but they want to 'discourage commuting into the centre and free up use for tourists' Tourists don't tend to drive into city centres. Bloody council.

The issue with business usage for the car was that I have to have my employers permission for insuring under business use, and they weren't willing to give that (as it would be fraud, I do not need the car for business use at all).

Plus the business permits are really expensive and we couldn't afford it. Like, thousands! Sorry, I realise I made it sound like the insurance was the expensive part earlier.

badtime · 10/01/2014 13:54

Juno, folding bike in your boot to turn the 25-minute walk into an 8-minute cycle?

Juno77 · 10/01/2014 13:55

badtime lovely suggestion, but it's not really an 8 minute cycle up a very steep cobbled hill!

I bloody wish. I'd love to cycle to work.

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