parking ticket problems

[mattycraft]

I was parked next to my house in an back alleyway (like the sort of alley they have on Coronation Street). I left Tesco at 1.55pm and was issued with the Fixed Penalty Notice by a Police Community officer (hobby bobby) at 2.45. While he was writing the ticket I moved the car into a normal space but he handed me the ticket after that.

I was unloading shopping and a very small baby during this time.

Are there any people on here that have had a similar experience of appealing a case like this or should I just pay the £30?

I would take the punishment like a man if I had been parked dangerously or on a yellow line, but I was in an alley with no restrictions marked on it,

thanks in advance of any help,

Matt

 

[masqueraid]

You may be able to argue that the ticket was issued incorrectly but morally it seems you are owning up to being in the wrong.

 

[television]

You can write to the people that issued it, tell them the circumstances and you have a good chance of the cancelling it

 

[recycled]

if there were no restrictions and no yellow lines, what basis has he given you the ticket for?
As far as i know there is no law against parking in an alley

 

[mattycraft]

as far as I know there are no restriction to park there, in the alley, other than as a politeness to fellow neighbours. As I get on with all the neighbours, the alley is constantly used by all of us for loading and unloading (shopping, children, furniture, etc).

The offense code on the ticket says CU30 and the only thing I can find on this code is defective tyres, of which I have none.

I appreciate all the comments and feedback.

 

[recycled]

another case of revenue generation?
Cu 30 means using a car with defective tyres.
If you have none fight the ticket. i hope the adjucators are not all in on it as well.
My fear.
Let us know how you get on.
though they can claim you changed the tyres soon after the incident. better head to you local station and lodge a complaint

 

[mattycraft]

keen to fight it. It says in the code CU30 followed in words by 'vehicle blocking service road'.

I agree that it seems like a revenue generator. My lovely Mercedes was only parked there for about half an hour and I am sure that anyone who has a baby will understand that getting then in safely is far from a quick process!!

will let you know how I get on.

 

[Rumble]

just curious, was there anything wrong with your tyres, low treads etc? If not then you can argue that the code does not match the description and your tyres are fine, its a hard argument with the additional description but you could argue that maybe there were two car one was 'vehicle blocking service road' and yours in the opinion of the 'hobby bobby' had 'defective tyres' and he/she messed up the combination of the ticke code and description but saying that you have to prove your tryes are legal (best if they are well used but legal then they cant say you just got them changed unles ythey are new and you can prove the were changed before the ticket ie with a receipt.

Also check the alley, lines on the ground or notices on the entry points to the alley, if there are restrictions then you're stuffed, if there aren't then they should cancel the ticket. Take pics to prove there are no signs, markings on the ground.

I got a ticket once for parking 15min over the limit in a street where only I and another car was parked, there must have been atleast 20 free spots, I think that sucks I mean yeah i was wrong and I paid up but there should be some discretion when its not busy!?

Good luck!

 

[robert.saunders]

A PCSO ticket is a Police FPN, there is no civil matter here, no adjudication service to speak of (you're thinking of a PCN).

If it was issued for obstruction, you will need to argue in court. If the ticket code is wrong, then it's an error by the Officer and will be written off. However, the Officer may still process you and you may end up in court anyway.

If obstruction, then you need to ensure that the area the vehicle was parked is actually Highway - if it isn't the ticket is invalid. If it is Highway, the Officer will need to prove that obstruction occured - that's difficult.

If for defective tyres (I doubt that was the intention) then again if your tyres are fine you have no problem - but I would think it's mis-coded or scruffy handwriting.

Rob

 

[mattycraft]

Thank you all for your advice, especially from Rob - very interesting.

the writing is very clear on the ticket. Do you happen to know what the offence code should have read? I can't find out anywhere.

The alley has no parking restriction signs anywhere. It is like the alleyways behind Victorian houses, people put the bins and things down there.

Regards again,

Matt

 

[gina2201]

Sounds strange, if there are no road markings or signs (which have to be clear) then it sounds out of order to issue a ticket. You can appeal and a high percentage are written off. If the code is wrong or no date or something amiss it is invalid. (I saw a programme recently!!)

 

[verytalldave]

Sounds like the warden was trying it on. You have to remember they have targets to meet and maybe he/she was having a bad day and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I dont normally like to prejudge anyone before knowing them properly, but I do wonder sometimes whether some wardens have a chip on their shoulder - I expect you have a Mercedes - something most Wardens can only dream about owning.......I am sure you know what I am saying..........

 

[robert.saunders]

No point talking about wardens/attendants, this isnt a PCN. It's a Police FPN, totally 100% different - it's an offence for a start, not a civil charge notice.

If it's for obstruction, no signs and lines are required. Just the Officers viewpoint. Must be Highway though; that's what I'd be checking first. Check with your local council.

As for the FPN codes, they vary force to force. Ring the ticket office helpline, if it's stated on the FPN.

Rob

Oh, and by the way, my team of 19 Parking Attendants don't have any targets to achieve. Complete foolish misnomer that one.

 

[Thmsshaun]

Just my 2p it sounds like you were not even on a highway. Mearly and area that is accessible by cars. I would contest it. Especially if the code is wrong in the first place.

 

[mattycraft]

Rob, you are correct it was a FPN issued by the Police (Police Community service officer). If I had committed an offence I would pay up with no problem. My question is that I feel this is a grey area. I have emailed the council to see if this is considered to be a highway.

If the Police think that this is a good way of interacting with the public then it is easy to see why the public are getting disillusioned with the service that they are providing. I explained to the PCSO why I was parked there and that I was willing to move the car immediately and they insisted that as the ticket had been started, they had to issue it.

I will contact the office tomorrow and find out about the violation code.

 

[recycled]

Rob

Oh, and by the way, my team of 19 Parking Attendants don't have any targets to achieve. Complete foolish misnomer that one.

Yours may not have but others across the country have and that is a fact.
They came on ITV national television and said it themselves.
We traffic wardens have targets to meet. period.
And i watched it myself. Not hearsay

 

[robert.saunders]

I have no idea how private enforcement operates, which is what I understand you're referring to. I'm local authority employed as are my team; this is a very common scenario. There are still plenty of authorities that do not outsource enforcement and that is what I base my comments upon.

The important issue here is that this thread refers to a Police FPN, not a civil PCN; there is little point talking about wardens/attendants and alleged target quotas when it has no bearing on why the FPN was issued.

 

[Rumble]

Police have quotas too, lol I know I worked on a 'traffic calming' project whilst working for a council and the main strategy of the calming was speed cameras and picking high traffic locations as opposed to high accident locations.

Oh and maybe not in your council Robert but i've seen it first hand, some councils do have quotas and funnily enough they tie into the budget revenue figures for that month/quarter/year, I dont see a problem in quotas as long as the offences are legit, at the end of the day FPN's and PCN's etc reduce traffic, reduce accidents, increase local economy by regulating the flow of consumers in shopping areas and such. I'm sure we've all been frustrated if not daily but frequently with commutes littered with dodgily parked delivery drivers or 'nippy' shoppers that care about nobody else but themselves and their own convenience. I'm sure out of all the fines that are issued another 5 people never got caught.

Not saying you were mattycraft doing it purely out of convenience (i'm sure you believed there was no harm in parking there) but look on the other side of it, say you had your baby in a pram and a car was blocking an alley or whatever you wanted to walk down and you couldn't get past, your baby is crying and needs changing or feeding etc but then you had to walk extra just cos that person thought it would be convenient for them to park there i'm sure you'd be miffed, we all would be depending on the circumstance, the alternative route etc.

Saying that, I hope you don't have to pay as we could all do something better with our hard earned than to just give it away. All things need to be taken on their individual merit

 

[Benzowner]

Not wishing to sound bad, but surely you were blocking an entrance way and left your car parked there. Had someone turned up who needed access..........IMO I think you may be on a dodgy wicket appealing, but good luck anyway.