Shall I contest a parking ticket?

Question

I got a parking ticket yesterday. I had bought and displayed a ticket but it wasn't a sticky one, just one you leave on the dashboard. When I closed the car door, it must have flipped over. If I pay now it's £25. If I contest it and this takes longer than 7 days I have to pay £60. Do I have grounds to contest? Please answer soon... clock is ticking....

Answer 1

Just pay the fine. Your ticket was not visible to the attendant and that is down to your responsibility, regardless of how it happened.

Answer 2

All you need to do is produce the ticket to the company.

The reason you were given the ticket is because there was no way the warden could see if you had paid. Once you produce the ticket you they will quash the fine.

Answer 3

On a matter of principle, it is tempting to say yes, contest it.  Personally though, if it was me, I'd just pay the £25 and be done with it, I really couldn't be bothered with all the hassle.

It just depends on how strongly you feel about it.

Answer 4

Yes.  If you have the parking ticket which you paid for, it has a date and time upon it.  Also the parking fine you were issued has a date and time.  If your parking ticket is outside of the parking fine, in other words, you were still legally parked, then I think you've got a case.

You don't have to say anything about the fact that your parking ticket may have fallen on the floor of your car.

Their warden was blind drunk and just kept on issuing tickets [fines] until he had run out, etc.

Remember - this is England and they have to prove you are guilty before you pay any kind of find.

Time to boot these townhall n***s into touch. . . .good luck.

Paying and appealing parking tickets : Directgov - Home and community - Find out how to pay or appeal against a parking fine through your local council. ... Please note that this website has a UK government access keys system. ...

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommu...  

Tips to Avoid Getting a Parking Ticket - No Penalty Points (UK)Tips on how to avoid getting a parking ticket. ... Paying for Parking Once you’ve parked up, check whether or not you need to pay for your parking when you ...

http://www.nopenaltypoints.co.uk/TipsToA...  

UK-Driving-Secrets.com - Cancel Speed Camera Tickets, Speeding ...Every single day the UK Government fine THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of drivers for ... How you may be able to avoid a parking ticket SIMPLY BY DRIVING OFF! ...

http://www.uk-driving-secrets.com/  

Answer 5

Sure contest it. Prepare the documentation and your letter to the court as advised on the blog spot below and you should be okay.

Answer 6

People who are answering on the assumption that justice will win out and that because Kate H bought a ticket and can now prove it she will not be fined, please tell us all where you all live!  I want to come and live there!  It certainly can't be in any of the London boroughs where councils deliberately flaunt guidelines and law in their attempts to maintain their income stream.

Incidentally, I am not at all against fining people who commit parking offences - just against fining those who do not, against tricking people into parking where they shouldn't with confusing signs, against getting people to pay more than they should for parking by using deliberately confusing signs and against the assumption that the worst can always be expected of everybody, an assumption 'voiced'  through the use of techniques honed at the shoddier end of the debt collection business.

I hate this fundamentalism in our society.  What happened to allowing judgement and individual initiative?  We used to call those who took pleasure in refusing to exercise these 'jobsworths'.  We now laud and promote the jobsworth culture.

And no, I have not had a ticket recently.

Edit:  Kate, sorry, forgot your original question.  Give it a go - I hope it works for you.  If you tell them you are going to contest it asap, the lower tariff is (where I am) held until the decision comes through.  People posting on my local web forum say that if you actually take it beyond there, the local authority will often withdraw at that point.  A local forum might get you a better answer than here - people who have been through this share their local experience.  Good luck.

Answer 7

I would. You bought a ticket and to the best of your knowledge you displayed it. Accidents happen but you should not be penalised under these circumstances.

Answer 8

As ,long as you have kept the ticket and you are sure you got it from that car park then you can contest it by asking them to look at any camera`s that may be installed to see if you went to machine or not. see if it show`s that you got the ticket make sure of times of expiry on your ticket as that is crucial. Some time ago i got ticket for not displaying my tax disc. I got no joy for appealing even though I was able to prove that the car was taxed.

Answer 9

If the offence you are being fined for is 'failing to display' the ticket then you would have committed the offence in the circumstances you have described.

This is similar to the offence of failing to display a valid tax disc.  you can have a valid tax disc but if its not displayed then its an offence.

If you have actually bought the ticket it may be worth contesting it with your ticket as proof.

Answer 10

I would contest it.  You have the ticket to prove you purchased one.  For your defence, ask for a copy of the CCTV, if available to show you had placed a ticket on your dashboard.

Answer 11

I would pay up but with a letter saying you contest it, and give your reason (including a photocopy of the actual ticket) Ask them to explain that! Tell them you give them 10 days to effect a reply or you will take it further. And do so too!

But.............if it is a "pay and display" and you failed to "display" the ticket correctly (for whatever reason) then I guess you will lose. Let's face it, in these sort of cases we hardly ever win, do we? They are in this to make money not to discuss it with the car owner.

Good luck