Parking fines

[strichener]

This is not the same as the old fines for not displaying your VED disc (now no longer required). What this is in effect a "breach of contract" where you have agreed to display the permit or face a penalty clause to pay if you do not. It's quite sensible for it to be a mandatory requirement of permit private parking to display the disc as this makes chancers easier to identify. However the level of compensation to the scheme provider is what is questionable. Any more than would be considered reasonable in the admin to give you a written "ticking off" could be construed as unfair terms and conditions as this is effectively covered under consumer law as you are purchasing a parking service/renting a space. I would write to the company (copy their solicitor) and apologising for the oversight (and make clear that you did display, however due to unforeseen circumstances, the permit slipped down side of dash) ask how they arrive at their failure to display charge. If they at any time call it a "fine" then it is not legally enforceable. Keep the argument going, until they give up. A couple of letters should do. I am sure that this will not go to court.

Just for clarity, it does not have to be described as a fine.  A penalty would also be un-enforceable.

[Derry boy]

Got one from dundee council for parking on non double yellow lines with no sign anywhere telling me I couldn't park there. Therefore Ill be ignoring this also even if it is the council

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

Got one from dundee council for parking on non double yellow lines with no sign anywhere telling me I couldn't park there. Therefore Ill be ignoring this also even if it is the council

 

[Widge]

Got one from dundee council for parking on non double yellow lines with no sign anywhere telling me I couldn't park there. Therefore Ill be ignoring this also even if it is the council

So you parked illegally and were caught out. Good luck with that one.

[Black and White Tragic]

Just for clarity, it does not have to be described as a fine. A penalty would also be un-enforceable.

You can have a penalty clause in a contract, but any money which it levies must be fair. The unenforceable part is for a court to decide, however, if the penalty was £100 (for example) I think it would be difficult to justify if it went that far. However if you had a contract with a painter and decorator and cancelled on the morning that work was due to start, then £100 could easily be construed as fair given that he may be unable to line up another job at such short notice. It would cover an element of loss of a day's work.

The word "fine" is unlikely to have any merit when associated with a consumer contract and would have zero validity in court as you could claim that this bore no relation to any damages claimed by the other party for loss.

The unenforceable description is usually quoted when it comes to deemed contracts where you park in a private car park with signs that have "free parking" but refer to a penalty, usually in smaller writing, for overstaying a stated period of time. These are described as "unenforceable" because they usually make them look like fines when they chase you for recovery, when only official bodies such as council, police, or courts can issue actual fines to the public. However the companies who issue them could take you to court albeit with little likelihood of success. They are just scams with a pretence of being run by legitimate companies.

[Black and White Tragic]

Got one from dundee council for parking on non double yellow lines with no sign anywhere telling me I couldn't park there. Therefore Ill be ignoring this also even if it is the council

Do you have a photo of where you parked? If not, take one. That is before the signs go up and the lines get painted!

Post the pic, or link to google street view the location and I'm sure someone will let you know why you got ticketed.

[The Master]

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14331867.Driver_who_used_McDonalds_as_personal_car_park_faced_with_bill_for_thousands/

I don't think this is real. It seems like a private parking firm has "convinced" the reporter to do a puff piece. This, for instance, is just plain wrong:

Letters were sent to Mr Wales, but he said he had checked on the internet and found that charges for parking on private land were not enforceable in Scotland because it could no be proved he was the driver.

However, this is not the case as the owner of the vehicle is always presumed to be liable in civil cases.

And the final quote reads like something from The Daily Mash:

He said: "When I got the first ticket I checked around and heard that they couldn;t do anything If I didn;t pay. It's the last tike I'll make that mistake."

[Derry boy]

So you parked illegally and were caught out. Good luck with that one.

Please explain why I parked illegally?

[Bobby Skidmarks]

If you park on double yellows you deserve a ticket for being a tit. 

[Granny Danger]

If you park on double yellows you deserve a ticket for being a tit.

This. parking on double yellows is for the lazy and inconsiderate. It annoys me most when it's near a junction so you're having to edge your way out a side street simply so you can see the oncoming traffic.

[Antlion]

Tbf he did say "non double yellow lines".

Whatever the f**k they are.

Did he mean single yellow lines? 😖 Weird post.

[Black and White Tragic]

I don't think this is real. It seems like a private parking firm has "convinced" the reporter to do a puff piece. This, for instance, is just plain wrong:

And the final quote reads like something from The Daily Mash:

It's pretty easy to call bullshit on this one. The real CPS doesn't operate here and is for England and Wales only (that is the reason this private company have made their company name seem official by using the same initials - con men). The story is all over the place too. The stuff about who was the driver. Nothing to do with the driver, but the person who is deemed to have accepted the contract (if the driver isn't the owner then how can the owner have accepted a contract he/she hasn't seen). Anyway the herald carried the story too, again without checking the spelling or indeed whether what they were printing made any sense.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14331874.Driver_who_used_McDonalds_as_personal_car_park_faced_with_bill_for_thousands/

Mr Wales is a dickhead, if he had any balls he'd have gone all in. But he pussied out and took an out of court settlement. This company took a chance by paying the £60 odd quid for the small claims court. If they'd won (they haven't legally won a case, rather managed to hoodwink a gullible eejit into paying four figures), this would have set a precedent and you would then tread more warily if they did take you to court. But if it was for £100 one off I'd roll the dice with them.

Mr Wales should have been prosecuted for littering.

[Derry boy]

I said there was no double yellow lines and no signs saying I cant park there. Therefore legally I can park there and dont need to pay the fine

[The Master]

I said there was no double yellow lines and no signs saying I cant park there. Therefore legally I can park there and dont need to pay the fine

 

Where exactly was this?

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

Got one from dundee council for parking on non double yellow lines with no sign anywhere telling me I couldn't park there. Therefore Ill be ignoring this also even if it is the council

 

 

I said there was no double yellow lines and no signs saying I cant park there. Therefore legally I can park there and dont need to pay the fine

 

Yes you did.

[invergowrie arab]

I said there was no double yellow lines and no signs saying I cant park there. Therefore legally I can park there and dont need to pay the fine

Where exactly did you park and for clarity what was or was not painted on the road?

Also, be under no illusion DCC will take you to court so you are best appealing to them directly if you think you have a case.

[weirdcal]

fair enough, does the ticket say its for leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position? You can get a police ticket and 3 points for that but im not sure if its enforceable with the local authority.

^^^ had to get taxi to the kerb type post

[Derry boy]

I was parked on tannadice street guys. Near where the burger van sits on a Saturday

[The Master]

There's a double yellow line for about 20 yards from the junction, then a dropped kerb. What's the contravention on the ticket?

[Antlion]

Parking too close to a soon to be relegated club?

😂😂😂