RB5201

Parked in my local council car park and as normal parked slightly between two spaces to stop the dreaded door dingers as my doors have had their fair share of dings and I dont want any more. Get back to the car half hour later to find a parking fine of £60 for not parking within the bays,. or £30 if I pay it within 14 days

Any suggestions on how to get out of this or should or should I just bend over, pull my pants down and pay it. Have considered saying that when I originally parked the car next to me had parked over the lines so I had no choice but to park next to him, he had obviously gone by the time the attendant came to see my car. Also the bays which are marked are so worn they are barely visiable, could I use this to my advantage?

Only way to contest this is to put it in writing, any thoughts appreciated

JackClark

Bend over and don't be such a nancy in future. You take it to car parks you takes your chances.

King RA

I get pi$$ed off with people plarking over 2 spaces to stop door dingers. It's an extremely rude and selfish thing to do, and I'm gald somethings being done about it.

Leslie

Is there a sign telling you to park correctly between the white lines?

Les

King RA

Yes, it's called 'common sense'.

Spoon

Judging by the short amount of replies I think this one can be wrapped up safely with a guilty as charged verdict and any form of appeal would be futile.

Next.

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

I had the same problem, my tyre was on the line and slightly over (1 inch max) I went to the local council office where you have to pay explained what had happened and why, they made out a complaint, and I was refunded within a week.

james

RB5201

I people werent so rude and selfish and took more care when they opened their doors I wouldnt have started to do this now when I park. Pi$$es me off when I come back to see another dent in my car where a careless owner or kid could not give a to$$ if they dent your car or theirs.

ODB

iTrader: (1)

This is a councils favourite trick, they get your parking money and a fine too. Unfortunatley there's not a great deal you can do about it, you can complain but the chances are that the parking ****, sorry inspector took a digital photo of the car (most likley omiting the fact that you were forced to do this because of the car next to you doing the same). Phone the council up and ask for proof that you were parked across the lines (as by law they can ticket cars that are straddling the white lines), if they can't provide it then they should drop the matter as they will lose the complaint, if they do give you a photo you have to swallow the £30.

King RA

2 wrongs don't make a right.

corradoboy

Only a court of law has the authority to impose a fine under the 1669 Bill of Rights. Write to them asking if they intend to action their claim against you by due legal process, and if so will they please supply you with all possible evidence which will be presented in court to allow you to formulate a suitable defence. They have no legal right under English law to impose any fine of any sort. The purchase of a parking ticket binds you to a contract to abide by regulations set down by them whilst on their property and during the term of the contract, and those regulations must be available at the point of agreement of the contract. If they aren't displayed then they are in breach of contract, if they are then you are in breach but they must prove this in court and if found guilty the court will impose a fine. Faced with the hassle of going to court for the sake of £30 they may let it drop, they may not

Do some searches on here for posts by the user "hedgehog" and for "bill of rights". HTH.

Richard_P

Was it in england as I dont think that applies in Scotland.

Oh ye, Corrado boy already said that in saying "english law"

Abdabz

Pay up without so much as a whisper of complaint. You cant go parking in 2bays everywhere and not expect to be fined.
If you're that paranoid about dings you probably shouldnt do the shopping in your pride and joy and should employ pubic transport or taxis do ferry you to the retail vestibuley.
I have owned scoobies for four years, never parked over two bays when regularly parking in pubic car parks and the ONLY time my car has been dinged was at a service station at a scooby meet by another scooby owner!! Coincidentally I have never been fined for improper parking...Hmmm...

Leslie

King RA,

You obviously did not understand the point of my post, and incidentally I did not condone his action.

Has the council got the right to fine him for an offence that was not notified? Right or wrong!

Les

King RA

Good on you

My reply to yours was more a dig at RB5201

boomer

If the sign says that you must park "within the marked bays", then surely you are complying to the letter of the regulations!

"Bays" is plural, and you are parked in more than one bay, just as they asked you to. The Parking **** should be ticketing all the people who selfishly parked with single bays

mb

Chelspeed

What if you bought two tickets? Then you'd have the right to two bays and could park wherever you like within them?

I too am glad this seflish practice is being stamped on. If you don't want car park dings then go and park in the farthest corner where no-one else parks.

skoobidude

Just to approach from another angle here I think that as cars are getting bigger and parking spaces remain the same size (2.4 x 4.8m), door dings are becoming more common. Especially when there's so many MPVs and SUVs about.
The council need to re-assess the size of the bays IMO.

Nick

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Parking bay sizes are fine - its the ignorant ar5ehole drivers who have no consideration for other peoples property that are the problem !

I have been parking in car parks quite a while and have NEVER ONCE smacked someone elses door, even when parked close. This is because I have this seemingly rare ability to open a door SLOWLY rather than just slamming it open and using someone elses door as a way of stopping it.

Am considering welding big spikes to the sides of my doors to see if that gets the message through to people.

Foot_Tapper

RB5 have sympathy with yours (and everyones) problem of getting those car park dings , thru lazy tw@ts, kids, mothers with buggy etc etc.
I had suffered from them with every car ive owned.
I have also been guilty of using 2 bays once or twice.

I think you were just unlucky to get caught, I would just pay up and get on with me life.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

The main problem is that the classic has such thin panels it dents really easily, and deeper than other cars. An impact that may not cause a dent on a Mondeo does on an Impreza.

Actually, the other day I walked down the road and looked at all the cars parked there as I went past - a range of about 20 cars from old heaps to 6 months old - out of the 20 I'd say 16 or 17 had dings in the doors.

Which just shows how many bl00dy ignorant people there are out there - I wonder if all these people would be as happy if I cracked one of their house windows while walking past ?

Thing that galls me more than anything is you never hear of anyone who has had their door dinged having the person who did it leaving a note apologising, or trying to find them to sort it out. They just ignore the fact they have damaged someone elses property in the hope they'll get away with it.

Foot_Tapper

Sign of times in the current modern uk society Mike.
Not many out there that would come clean with damage to someone elses property, especially if they can get away with it.
I've heard most of the excuses, like "it's only a little dent"
yea sure, but that little dent will cost about a cool £100 of your own money to put it back to what it was before.
And u reckon they'll put their hand in their pocket , N F W.

Dracoro

It doesn't matter how big your car is or how small the bays are, you can not dent the car alongside by being CAREFUL. Pretty simple really.

Obviously the size of the cars vs bays mean that it's more common that the un-careful and don't-cares of the world will dint the next car as there's less room for error but ultimately this isn't the point. I've owned small and currently a large car and have NEVER banged into the next car, even when parked in tight spots, I just take care and I and the next car are fine. Easy.

David Lock

I do find that quite often I need to park very close to the next car's passenger door to allow enough space for me and next driver's door to get out. I sort of think if next car has passenger then they can always move forward to let passenger in but not ideal if they have a young child. I have a largish car which doesn't help. dl

As for the fine I would just pay it.

richardg

i often do the same but it's amazing how many people take offence at that and still try to squeeze in. have been guilty of parking over two spaces a few times but only when the car park is relatively empty. i generally walk miles further than i have to just to avoid the dents.


what town was the car park in rb5201? i tend to be selective about the car parks i use, if any. luckily enough our office (and parking) is on the edge of chelmsford town centre, so can walk most places easily enough

speedking

You are prepared to pay £30 to avoid a £100 repair, sounds reasonable. Others pay £0 in fines and £0 in repairs. You pays your money and takes your choice.

In the council car park where I used to park the kerb was not parallel with the end of the spaces, leaving a triangular section about 1m wide at its widest, tapering to nothing at the other end. It had a solid white line around it. I always parked across the adjacent space and this redundant triangle. I got ticketed for parking outside the marked bays! and couldn't believe it. I was using a bit of otherwise useless space. Went to the office and explained and was excused.

If the markings are poor / lighting levels low then you have a reasonable excuse. Do it now so you can still pay within the 14 days if you need to.

hedgehog

My problem with all of this is why should he pay the fine when he didn't do anything illegal but the fine is illegal? Your council aren't a court of law and so have no more right to fine you than I do. If anyone could issue fines for random "crimes" that took their fancy the country would be in chaos and I'd be burning members of Greenpeace at the stake.

RB5201

Richardg, it was a car park in chelmsford!! The one near parkway, on the corner just before moulsham street. Have been away last week, emailed council to explain, but have not had a reply. Looks like I will have to pay the £30, though hedgehog seems to have some points which may be useful.

OllyK

RB5201 - I assume, as you were using 2 bays, you purchased 2 parking tickets and had them displayed accordingly. Send them both to the council and explain that you had paid for both spaces and they should drop the fine.

If you didn't have 2 tickets would you consider it acceptable to go to a restaurant, eat 2 meals and only pay for 1?

richardg

Will bear that in mind (although that's one of the car parks i can honestly say i have never used!). did you know the car wash place next to kwik fit on new london road now offer "secure parking". not entirely sure what they mean by that - manned during the day i think - or how much they charge, but that may be worth considering if you park in that area a lot