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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To appeal this parking ticket even though I made an error?

35 replies

CrashDiveOnMingoCity · 17/10/2014 10:17

Fecking Parking Eye taking over my local hospital car park. Angry

I read the sign and it said "blue badges free for up to 3 hours". It did not clearly state that you must take your blue badge into the hospital reception and have it validated. I have since found out that lots of disabled badge holders have been caught out, so at least it wasn't just me misunderstanding the ambiguous sign.

WIBU to appeal the parking ticket? Part of me thinks I should just pay the £60 for a quiet life but money is pretty damn tight at the moment.

OP posts:
LornaGoon · 17/10/2014 11:52

If the sign did not clearly state what the terms and conditions are then you cannot said to have fairly entered into a contract with Parking Eye, which makes this 'invoice' both unfair and unlawful.

To prove this you might need photographic evidence to support this, ie a photo of the sign.

19lotties letter template is good. Check out Money Saving Expert for up to date legal stuff, especially regarding Parking Eye.

Smilesandpiles · 17/10/2014 12:38

So if they have to take their blue badge out to take to reception, their car will no longer be displaying the badge and is illigally parked in a disabled bay until they bring the badge back.

Depending on the distance that needs to be walked, that could be a fair few minutes, enough time to get a ticket.....

figures.

taxi4ballet · 17/10/2014 14:15

A blue badge holder may not be attending an appointment at the hospital and needing to go to reception anyway - they may be visiting a patient.

As well as an appeal to the parking firm you could maybe report it to the local health authority, your MP and the local paper (they love a story like this!).

borisgudanov · 17/10/2014 17:07

YABU to call it a "ticket" or a "fine". It is a speculative invoice. That's legalese for a try-on. They are made to look like official parking tickets because it helps to scare people into thinking they're real. They're actually about as legitimate as a nine-pound note.

These speculative invoices are without foundation because there is no reasonable preestimate of loss. £5 would be a reasonable penalty charge. £85 is out of all proportion. There is no sensible argument that shows that Parking Scum has lost £85 or whatever because someone didn't get a blue badge stamped in a car park that presumably had more space in it anyway. Ludicrous.

Ignore it, and ignore any bullying letters you get afterwards. Do not respond in any way as to do so is to acknowledge its validity and confirm your whereabouts. If you write back, appeal, or protest, what happens is that they or their "independent" appeals panel decides that you are due to pay up notwithstanding your argument, and that since you used the appeals or complaints process you must have agreed to be bound by it, so its findings stick. Instead, let any matters be adjudicated by the competent authority in your jurisdiction, i.e. the Small Claims Court.

In the few cases where they are actually stupid enough to take someone to court, they either fail to turn up, since their bluff has been called; or else they get bawled out by the magistrate or sheriff and are lucky if they don't get cited for contempt. Their use of the courts to pursue debts that they know are not due has on some occasions been held to be a contempt. The only defence you need is that £85 (or whatever) is not a reasonable preestimate of loss. Parking Spy's own claims about people they have successfully sued are lies.

If you are in Scotland know also that they cannot require you to disclose who was driving. They now can in England and Wales since the "Protection of Freedoms" (sic) Act became law, but this does not apply in Scotland. Even south of the Border it makes no difference to the preestimate of loss point.

The people that send these speculative invoices out are the most odious and disgusting parasites and revolting scum. They make their profit by persecuting and frightening vulnerable people and threatening them with baseless threats of legal action.

If you must write to someone, write to your MP asking him to prevail upon Parliament to pass a law requiring the likes of Parking Lie to be prosecuted for fraud, extorting money with menaces, holding the courts and Parliament in contempt, and generally being the vile bastards that they are.

borisgudanov · 17/10/2014 17:10

"To prove this you might need photographic evidence to support this, ie a photo of the sign. "

No. You don't need to prove any damn thing. The onus of proof is on the bottom-feeder that issued the speculative invoice. Let them bring it to the small claims court if they dare.

It is different if the ticket is issued by the Police or the local authority. They have powers to require fines to be paid for parking transgressions under bye-laws that apply in each locality. Nobody else can send you anything other than an invoice, and if that invoice is bollocks, they can whistle.

CrashDiveOnMingoCity · 17/10/2014 18:25

Thank you for all the advice.

I phoned PALS at the hospital who said they are aware of the problem and agreed that the sign is misleading. They logged my complaint and are going to take collective action. I won't hold my breath on that!

Funnily enough re: the comment on the local paper, there's already a man doing sad face in our local paper over the very issue. I've missed the boat on that one. Sad

I have definitely decided to appeal the 'ticket'/invoice/whatever.

OP posts:
Staywithme · 17/10/2014 22:43

That's great crash. Looking forward to you doing the follow up story in the paper. Smile

TamzinGrey · 17/10/2014 23:07

Please appeal. I had a similar situation where a council parking sign had been changed and was unclear and I parked during the evening without paying.

I was worried sick about the appeal hearing but in the end it actually turned out to be enjoyable - the council didn't even bother to turn up, and the appeal bloke was really sympathetic and wrote my fine off straight away.

I did go back and take a photo of the sign which turned out to be really helpful.

Good luck.

Lucked · 17/10/2014 23:18

As you were entitled to park for free they have lost no money so cannot charge you once the error is pointed out.

catspjs5 · 17/10/2014 23:55

My mum appealed a ticket she got for exactly the same reason as you OP (blue badge/hospital visit) and they waived the fine/charge. Do appeal, it's incredibly misleading the way they sign it!

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