To not pay this parking fine?

[MrsHughesCarson]

DH and I have recently moved to the UK from France. We brought our car with us, it is registered in France with a French number plate. Yesterday we got a parking ticket when we went into town. It was Sunday and we didn't think we had to pay. We were parked in a proper parking space, not on yellow lines or blocking anyone. DH thinks we should pay up but can they really find us if we don't. I'm tempted not to pay, what would you do in this situation?

We got caught out with similar. Parking in our town is free on Sundays and bank holiday Mondays. Also one of the main car parks "used" to be free after 6pm.

We entered after 6pm so didn't pay for a ticket. Went to see a show came back at 10.30pm to see a parking fine. Checked the board only to realise that the parking charges had changed, no longer free after 6pm.

For the sake of 20p it cost us £30. We paid the fine, the fault was ours as we 'assumed'

Why do you think you shouldn't pay, it's your responsibilty to check parking charges wherever you are and as you've now realised you can never assume.

Free for us on a Sunday!

Always used to be free on a Sunday in the various places I have lived (got my license 1990, left the uk in 2009). However it wasn't when I went back in 2014 for a holiday, gave me a surprise when I read the ticket machine.

Assuming op lived somewhere that it was free (as others seem to) then it's an easy assumption to make on your return.