Has anyone sucessfully appealed a parking ticket?

Question

I've got a £50 ticket... I will pay it, to save the court appearance!! But I think the circumstances should at least go in my favour of a reprieve...

My brothers diabetic girlf was having a hypo and I had to take her to her doctors... I parked outside as she turned all kinds of colours and shaking etc...as shes 9 months pregnant and was barely able to stand, I helped her into the surgery...

I was in there whilst she got help (max 10 mins) I came out and had been slapped with the ticket!!

I was in a parking space...For permit holders only..I didnt realise, but even if i had..I was kinda unimportant at the time!

When I telephoned the council...They just said I should have parked in the car park about ten mins walk way (if your not heavily pregnant and losing consciousness!!) and they would not be retracting it!!

Anyone got any ideas... CAB were pretty useless unfortunately... Im loathe to pay it under the circumstance...!!

Thanks!!

Answer 1

Send a letter saying all of this to the council, and add that it is their fault for not having any parking spaces close to the doctors. Say that if you hadn't parked there, would they have taken responsibility for anything that had happened to the girl as you walked along the road for ten minutes, or would they have paid for a doctor to come and see her, as she could not walk the distance. Also, say you are talking to your solicitor (and do), because i agree with you, and it is stupid that people like yourself who are helping someone seriously ill at that moment get help are treated in this way. Also get your brothers girlfriend to say something to them, if you can.

I have successfully appealed a parking ticket, but this was because on the parking ticket for that car park, the machine was printing the wrong date (something like 21st January 2008), yet I was still issued with a ticket. I wrote to them, and said that I was not going to pay for something that was their fault, sent pictures of the ticket, and said if i was still fined, they would be facing legal action, and I would be in contact again with my solicitor. A few days later it was cancelled, and i didn't have to pay.

good luck.

Answer 2

I was given a ticket in a timed zone with a disc. They said I had been parked there at a time when I could not have been. I wrote saying that it was impossible as, at the time, I was in front of 30 students. I also explained that had arrived there later than they said and a colleague was with me in the car and would testify this was the truth.
They rescinded the ticket, then took me to court for "miss-setting" my disc. The court fined me twice the amount of the original fine!
What idiot would set their disc to show they had arrived two hours earlier than they in fact did?
Let's face it, you have a strong excuse and totally valid reasons, and you were not parked illegally, just in a residents' parking bay. Also it was an emergency. Would they have taken responsibility if your friend had died in the parking ten minuted walk away? The problem is that they do not believe even truthful people because people have tried all sorts of dubious loopholes.
The people who answer the phone are just ordinary administrators. You should find who the person at the top is and write to him/her, or contact your local councillor a.s.a.p. and explain the facts asking for advice, which at least will be free. Spending money on solicitors will cost you a minimum of £100 . So you are between a rock and a hard place. Good luck!

Answer 3

Yes I have.

But the reason I got off with it was because it was issued by a police officer, and he only ticketed my car and my husbands when they were parked on the road outside our front door. The reason for issuing the ticket was becasue both cars were within 25 yards of a junction (I live on a quiet suburban road and the council painted a line across the road opposite).

Thye rescinded it when challenged because there were other cars parked within 25 yds of the junction too but he had only ticketed ours. Unfortunately the police ahve a duty to uohold the law and cannot choose who and who not to apply it to, so if he ticketed us he should have ticketed everyone on the avenue near that junction.

If however, this is a Council issued ticket you have the right to appeal it, but it will only be cancelled at their discretion. You have no legal right to have it cancelled because you WERE parked in a permit only bay. Under the circumstances they may cancel it, but act quickly as it's usually doubled if you don't pay up within a certain time period.

I know it doesn't seem fair but neither is having to pay for ambulances at road traffic accidents, but it is a fact that you have to, and if you get killed, your family has to pick up the tab whether its your fault or not.

Answer 4

I would appeal. I used to be like you and just pay them but not anymore. I have never lost an appeal either. Try to find a technicality with the ticket. IE is it filled in properly according to the law. If you can find the slightest mistake on the ticket it is illegal, and quite often there is some sort of mistake. But your circumstances should be enough. They are just trying to put you off the sent because they don't like to give money back.

Answer 5

You could try but you need to bring "written official evidence" from the hospital (dates and hours are important) and also it would help to take the sick person (if she can) as a witness.

Trust me, your world alone will be taken as a lie and the cops will be given more credibility (remember those UK cops that shot 11 times in the head an unarmed Brazilian guy in the metro because they confused him with someone else; all cops were found not guilty). But even if you go by the book the judge can still force you to pay so it's a gamble.

Answer 6

If you can be bothered and have the time just keep at them. Someone must have a sense of responsibility or simple common sense. I would also contact my local MP, it's part of their job to mitigate on your behalf. Solicitors are probably a waste of time as they tend to lack staying power once the initial glow of a case has worn off and they cost too much anyway. You could try the local police but I doubt they will be bothered. The chief constable of your county is also a very good bet and also, but not least by any means, is your local press. Councils hate bad press. Good luck. GQ

Answer 7

Someone here in Ireland won an appeal recently on the grounds that he said he was in another county at the time 4 hours drive away. Even though the make and model and reg number matched the judge let him off because there was "some doubt in his mind" as to the truth!

Personally I'd pay up and forget it - ask your brother to sub you. If he's got any decency he should pay the lot.

Answer 8

Funnily enough I did. I parked at night outside a club. It had vague splodgy yellow lumps by the gutter. I didnt think anything of it. I got a ticket and wrote back stating firmly that it was incorrectly marked (a legal point I hoped). I didnt get a reply and moved 3 months later - haven't heard anything since. Well, they didnt mark the road properly so why the hell should I pay? Best wishes to you in your case

Answer 9

Effing Bar-stewards !!!!

No idea where you are, but where I live the wardens are now run by a private company, and therefore the city council can do jack about tickets....

I would say that your circumstances would allow you to somehow appeal against this, but sorry cannot tell you where to start... speak to the place where you have to pay the fine to... that is a start i guess.... good luck.

Answer 10

Yeah, I did once when I was parked behind a sign not in front of it (no-parking signs refer to the area immediately in front of them IMO).

Sent a letter to the council & got a form letter back telling me that they had reviewed my complaint and decided that the fine was still payable. I'm sure requests to recind a fine are all handled by some low level employee who doesn't have the authority to recind a fine and sends out the same form letter to everyone who protests a fine regardless of the circumstances.

I called their bluff and refused to pay the fine and never heard another thing about it. You could do the same.