Penalty Notice

davidhowson

davidhowson

Junior Member
Messages
474
The only point I would add is - did you pay to park your car in their car park or did you pay to park in a parking bay within their car park?
ie, was it an express term of the parking contract that you must park inside the white lines, was there a well displayed notice advising you of this fact before you paid your fee? That's the point at which you agreed the parking terms and the contract was made. Not when some official comes along and thinks that your a smug so-and-so for having a nice car and decides to fine you!
-David-
 
2b1ask1

2b1ask1

Special case
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20,291
I'm sure the sign and indeed the ticket will say 'park in marked bays only' you were only carrying out the instruction having read that to be a plural descriptive!!!!
 
TridentTested

TridentTested

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1,819
I have mixed feelings on this. I own one of the largest cars on the road so people in glasshouses and all that but at the same time I see the way narrow London streets that were once comfortably able to accommodate two directions of flowing traffic in the '80s are no longer able to because our modern cars have got too big.

As a motorist this is inconveniencing me.

The only way we will get manufacturers to start reducing cars' obesity is through hitting the motorist in the wallet; either we introduce a width tax and or give the parking authorities a mandate to enforce parking bay widths. I see it all around where I live, especially amongst the Chelsea Tractor brigade, it has become normal to leave your 4x4 one or two feet over the bay's width.

If the excessive car width problem starting hitting us in the pocket it would be amazing how quickly market forces would respond.
 
Felonious Crud

Felonious Crud

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21,227
The argument isn't disimilar to airlines wanting to charge bigger people more money, or even mandate that they buy two tickets and take up to seats. Newton makes a fair point: in a pre-pay car-park if you buy two tickets and put one on either side of your windscreen then maybe - just maybe - you can take up two spaces.

I suppose the question is, is some a-hole going to roundly resent that you've taken up two spaces and in their fury accidentally let their shopping trolley scrape down the side of your car.

Generally I find the Verso to be a far better town car. Taking the GTS to a town-centre car-park is a nightmare. Too big, too shiny and too attractive to half-wits (in my paranoid mind, at least).
 
davy83

davy83

Member
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2,827
After parking at a supermarket I had to have my front bumper removed and some body work fixed after a seriously heavy lady decided to have her picture taken sitting on my car, and wrecked the bumper. i take my citroen to the shops now and no-one wants to sit on it.
 
davy83

davy83

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2,827
No some one saw it and told me what happened while i was standing looking at the front of the car thinking "it wasn't that shape when i left it?"
 
TridentTested

TridentTested

Member
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1,819
AdamN said:
The argument isn't disimilar to airlines wanting to charge bigger people more money,
Click to expand...

Ha ha, that could be a good idea :) Let market forces decide. Councils could introduce new fat bays (sorry, 'convenience sized' bays) which would cost 50% or 100% more than 'normal' bays.

Would we be too embarrassed to park our pride-and-joys in a fat bay? Or would we be pleased to have the extra space?

Regarding your Verso: I'm driving a rental Seat Ibiza at the moment and I have to admit it is a liberating experience; I'm driving much more than I would be with the QP, using it constantly for all sorts of short errands which I would otherwise walk to. Which in my man-logic makes my QP a very green and responsible car because if I replaced it with a Seat I would be doing at least five times the mileage!
 
davy83

davy83

Member
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2,827
on the parking bays i feel your pain. this is a lose lose situation. I get furious when my cars get scratched and dinged in car parks and there are definitely some car parks where the bays are far too small. I think there are planning regulations on the number of parking spaces for any given type of building, so builders can get away with more building and less parking if they make the bays narrow. It does make it a nightmare if your car is as wide as the bay. I generally try to park at the quiet corners of supermarket car parks to avoid this problem, but in a busy car park you have no good way to protect your car other than don't go there, or don't park in the car park. Parking across 2 bays does annoy people i know i have tried it, so I don't tend to do this, i think getting a fine for it is a bit mean, but i don't fancy you chances of appeal. I would go for "there were other cars there when i parked, which were off the lines too" approach, best chance. Or tell them there was a freak snow storm when you parked and you couldn't see the lines and it all melted when you were in the shops!!!
 
2b1ask1

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,291
Hmm... I'd be inclined to check for CCTV before claiming any of these defences.

Is it a notice from the local authority or is it from a private company as these are actually only an invoice dressed up to look like a fine and can be ignored (if you fancy a long battle of bravado) as they are presently unenforceable within UK law.
 
Parisien

Parisien

Moderator
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Its a despicable place to put the ordinary citizen......forever having to fight for the simplest of rights and not getting shafted by all and sundry.....a sad decline in the values of the UK


P
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,646
2b1ask1 said:
Hmm... I'd be inclined to check for CCTV before claiming any of these defences.

Is it a notice from the local authority or is it from a private company as these are actually only an invoice dressed up to look like a fine and can be ignored (if you fancy a long battle of bravado) as they are presently unenforceable within UK law.
Click to expand...

Good point, worth a quick scoot round to check.
 
Felonious Crud

Felonious Crud

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A friend of mine in Dubai - land of big cars and tight parking spaces in the malls - was in his car when it got dinged by someone getting out of the next car. The guy refused to swap details so my friend called the police who turned up and ensured that the perpetrator paid for the repair.

Imagine calling the police here over a door ding... if they turned up at all it would be to tell you to stop wasting their time. And given they're short-staffed and over-worked they'd sadly have a point.
 
Parisien

Parisien

Moderator
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34,927
Yeah but....a ding on a 7 year old Kia......aint quite the same as one on a new QP/GT.....multiples of to fix and knock off price of cars value....depending on size of course!!


P
 
thelovecrumb

thelovecrumb

New Member
Messages
78
Thanks all for the comments and advice. Love the idea of paying a premium for a fat parking space and making sure you park in the allocated "bays"! The fine was a PCN and I contacted the council today. I have to put my defence in writing (email or letter) for consideration. The fine is frozen at the 50% discount level until they respond. I've been told this can take 3/4 weeks so will post update thereafter. As it would cost me more than £25 in petrol to go back to Newbury, I shall take a flyer on the CCTV and the formal parking rules displayed. Cheers Darren
 
B

bigbob

Member
Messages
8,972
Plenty of room for you to park nose in, two inches from his driver's door. That's why everyone needs a cheap car.
 
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