I’m not sure where to post this, not a strictly AIBU thread (I know I am BU as far as rules go) but I’m desperate for some sensible advice and maybe a glimmer of hope.
I’ll try and describe my situation in a rational manner. It might not be a big deal for some people but it is for me.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been partly working away from home driving to an office at various times of the day.
I got in the habit of stopping on the way back home to clear my messages, catch up on urgent calls and do minor paperwork in my car - nice and quiet, no distractions, no weird people walking by etc - before returning home where I wouldn’t get the chance to finish these tasks before 10-11PM. Clear the head sort of thing so I’m ready for doing the full on evening house duty ‘shift’. Like a lot of people, I am at the limit being in a constantly occupied house all the time without any quiet time with zero interruptions. So grabbing a short period of time to get rid of outstanding little work tasks like this does help me be a better person in the evenings at home.
So I stop in a very safe, nearly empty secondary train station car park which has this car number plate recognition parking system which I vaguely noticed. I assumed if I stop just for a little bit and stay in my car I should be OK and didn’t even consider getting a ticket (Not exactly a ticket, it’s a pay system of some sort). Technically I was using the car park but not in the traditional sense of leaving the car there. Who am I kidding?! I was using the car park. Even though it was a stopovers.
Breaks on average between 10-30min max.
Today I got home to an £85 penalty notice dated 8th April. In theory this should be the first fine, maybe I didn’t stop there before that date or maybe there is a grace period of 15min or so and I didn’t stop for too long prior to this date or maybe earlier dated letters are yet to arrive.
If this was the first recorded breach of parking rules, I might get another 7-8 penalty notices, not sure, including today. Nearly £700, potentially. That’s an awful lot of money to me especially when I haven’t budgeted for it and when it doesn’t even benefit anyone in practical terms.
I’m so, so cross with myself for being so negligent and incredibly stupid and I am at a loss as to what I can do to limit the damage.
I know these tickets can be disputed within a certain amount of time. I’d need to wait at least another week to get all the letters and try to write a dispute for all of them in one go on the basis of what exactly, other than utter stupidity.
My first thought was to try and call the company issuing the tickets first thing tomorrow morning to get the total number of offences from them and to tell them the truth and ask if there is any way of reducing the fines.
I can’t think straight, I am in a right mood about it and I feel like the biggest idiot on the planet. I feel like crying with anger at myself (and a bit of self pity).
I can’t ask anyone in RL for advice, I am very embarrassed. I never park illegally on the road and never even got a speeding ticket, I’m always do careful and mindful of consequences and I’ve just failed in a spectacular way.
It is a lot of money, potentially. I would agree to pay 1 fine of £85 in the context of my predicament. Has anyone got any practical advice, experience in this sort of thing? How can I argue my case against all these fines which will be pouring in soon?