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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Parking ticket with wrong registration!

38 replies

Kittypillar · 14/07/2019 15:58

So DH and I popped out to town quickly to grab a few things, parked the car and, in the rush to get things before the shop closed & while wrestling a screaming baby into a pram, forgot that the street we parked on still charges for parking on a Sunday (I know, we're such idiots🤦🏻‍♀️)

Anyway, we got back to the car to find a parking ticket (from our local council) smacked on to our windscreen. Both felt a bit grumpy about it but realised we'd screwed up... Until we've opened the ticket and realised that not only is the make of the vehicle incorrect, they've also got the license plate completely wrong. The plate they've used isn't even remotely similar to the one on the ticket! The times and colour are correct but that is it.

DH seems to think that would make the parking ticket unenforceable and wants to leave it. I'm a bit more risk averse in general than he is and I'm worried that could backfire, especially as the ticket warden has probably taken photos. I'm also worried that some poor sod whose license plate it actually was is going to get a letter about a parking fine when it wasn't actually them!

I've said that I think we should contact the council about it, just saying it got left on our car but the ticket isn't for our car. I mean, we did actually make a mistake so it's not like it's totally unfair! DH thinks I'd be bonkers to do that. AIBU? What would you do?

OP posts:

Original poster

Kittypillar · 14/07/2019 23:47

That's interesting. Am I right in guessing that it might still be enforceable though if it's just a case of mixing up the notices for cars, as opposed to typing in the reg incorrectly? I think I'll call the council, give them our actual reg and see if we genuinely have been given a ticket/that the mistake has been a warden error as opposed to someone leaving their ticket on our car?

DH thinks I'd be silly to contact the council voluntarily but a) I think it would be ridiculous to leave it and not find out and b) even though the wrong details are on there, we did actually make a mistake!!

OP posts:

NChangeForNoReason · 14/07/2019 23:52

What if there were two? One for ur car and one for another and he put them On the wrong cars. U will still have a ticket in ur reg!

Phone up say there's a ticket on ur car with the wrong reg and get it cancelled. Also check there is nothing outstanding for ur car.

Davros · 14/07/2019 23:59

Good luck phoning your council, it's almost impossible to do these days

Original poster

Kittypillar · 15/07/2019 00:01

*Good luck phoning your council, it's almost impossible to do these days."

Urgh, true, hadn't even considered that

OP posts:

Original poster

Kittypillar · 15/07/2019 00:02

Oops, bold fail...

OP posts:

DeathyMcDeathStarFace · 15/07/2019 02:42

It might be that someone else has swapped a ticket on their car with a ticket on your car, maybe they chose a car of the same colour etc, and they are expecting you to get their fine cancelled so they don't need to pay it.

This would work in their favour, but if they now have your fine and don't try to get it cancelled you will still be liable for the fine for your car, but you won't know you have it, therefore won't pay it. Usually the cost is halved if it is paid for in a certain amount of time, so if it doesn't get paid then it will go back to the full fee. If it is still not paid it might get sent to court, where it might go up again and costs will be added on. If it doesn't get paid then it could go to the bailiffs, where more costs get added on and someone turns up at your door looking for payment or to remove goods etc.

I recommend checking it out with the council in case someone is messing about with the tickets. You might have a fine to pay, unfortunately, but it is better to sort it out and pay a lesser amount than not sort it out and possibly end up with a bigger amount to pay.

If it is someone swapping tickets it might be they do it all the time. They could cause many other unsuspecting people to rack up higher fines. There are people out there who are more vulnerable than us and they might not notice it is not their registration plate so don't pay their own fine but get conned into paying someone else's. The owner of the car you have the ticket for needs flagged up with the council, then they can decide if it is a one-off or they need looking into.

Of course, it might be a genuine mistake too. It won't take long for the council to look on their system to see who should have a ticket and rectify it if necessary.

RighteousSista · 15/07/2019 07:06

Work colleague fessed up they had got a parking ticket at rail station car park for work related trip ( wanted to know if they were personally liable or if company would stump up). I noticed that the date was 'out 'by 1 day on the ticket so although car reg details correct, they challenged it and change got dropped.

Teateaandmoretea · 15/07/2019 07:19

I reckon that the most likely thing is that the notices have been switched in error by the traffic warden or deliberately by the other car driver in the hope it makes them unenforceable. I'd phone up and explain the situation properly if it was me. If the others have one with your name on then they do have your details to chase. It's probably also an offence to swap them round, if that's what the other driver has done. If you park without a ticket and get fined then that's the consequence isn't it? And most people have done it at some point it's an occupational hazard of driving a car.

Apolloanddaphne · 15/07/2019 07:20

You can't be made to pay a fine for a car registration that isn't yours. If there is an address on the ticket post it back with a letter saying it was on your car but totally wrong ref and you think someone has swapped it over. Then forget about it

Spam88 · 15/07/2019 07:29

I had a ticket on my car once for a completely different car, I just assumed some CF had put it there from their car and chucked it (couldn't see the car still there). Difference being I had definitely paid.

Calling up is probably sensible in your situation, just in case there has been a mix up by the warden (hopefully if that's the case then the ticket will be unenforceable, but I guess their photos will just show a ticket stuck on your car so they wouldn't know there's any problem with the ticket). Might just be a CF, but if there was a warden about then surely chances are you were supposed to get a ticket.

Angech74 · 15/07/2019 13:56

Either bin it or ring the whichever company/LA issued it to let them know that it was stuck to your car, but the details are wrong.

P1nkHeartLovesCake · 15/07/2019 14:01

This happened to me!

I went in to the nearest town to me and found a ticket on my car, now my number plate is XXX00X and they’d put XXXooX. Used o instead of 0

I sent an email explaining they had ticketed my car put it had the wrong number plate on it, but I was admittedly 2 minutes over my paid parking etc. They emailed back saying to just forget about it and an apology that the parking warden didn’t know the difference between a 0 and an o.

Hobsbawm · 15/07/2019 19:44

Challenge it.
I had similar recently (although I had paid for parking). The ticket was rescinded on the grounds it had the wrong registration on it.

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