Our dearly "beloved" councils know that they are on to a good thing when it comes to using parking fines to raise revenue by the back door.
They know that given the right incentives, their army of jobsworth traffic wardens will go out issuing tickets and clamping anything that doesn't have a pulse. However, it is always amusing when the local council's schemes are found out and challenged.
Here is a nice example that happened in my home town of Croydon
Aimee Green did not have change when she parked in the Lion Green car park in Coulsdon (part of Croydon), so she paid £1 for her 80p ticket.
On returning to her car 15 minutes later she saw a traffic warden giving her a parking ticket.
She pointed out that she had more than an hour of two hours remaining.
The jobsworth retorted that she was parking illegally, because she didn't put exactly 80p in the machine.
Jobsworth, as quoted by Ms Green:
"Look at the sign, it says 80p.
You put in £1, look at the sign."
He reasoned that he didn't know when it was bought. Therefore, in an attempt to prove she was right, Ms Green put another pound into the meter and showed the warden that the ticket was valid for exactly two hours.
Quote:
"He said he did not believe me
and I had received the fine because
I had paid for more time than I was allowed."
On being challenged, Croydon Council have cancelled the fine and "spoken to" the warden.
Fair enough, the trouble is that the current system whereby fines are diverted into the revenue streams of local councils is just too tempting for them not to be able to resist "taking a dip" and encouraging their jobsworths to fine anything that moves (or rather doesn't move).
A penalty that is used in effect as a tax, thereby tempting the local authorities to maximise revenues from penalties, is a recipe for trouble.
Trouble is now exactly what they have got, and rightly so!
our local city (Derby) council's parking enforcement officer decided to ticket a bus that was parked in a bus stop while the driver went to the loo.
ReplyDeleteThey said that a bus cannot 'park' there, just stop. Unfortunatly the only place the bus could have 'parked' was at the bus station, that was until the council knocked it down 2 years ago and still haven't built a replacement....
Classic!!
ReplyDeleteI was watching the athletic world chapionships last week and I suddenly had a moment of realisation......I believe I have found out how the 2012 London Olympics are going to be funded! During the marathon, the runners take on fluid from plastic bottles, I believe as we speak, the Mayor's office is already drawing up plans for an army of jobworth litter wardens complete with peaked cap, to jump out on the runners and slap litter fines on them....Kerching....Should be a nice little earner for the Mayor.
These "fixed penalties" are (still) actually illegal under the 1689 Bill of Rights if you are not allowed a trial by jury. The councils and other other local government department try to dodge this defense by calling them "fixed penalties" instead of "fines". However, if only more and more people knew about this and stood up for their rights instead of just "paying it to not cause trouble" then the whole nation would be a better place.
ReplyDeleteOff topic I know, but I couldn"t let this little tax-raising scam go past without some comment.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else see the story of the kid whose foot was run over by a police car that mounted the pavement?
It seems that - rather than offer an official apology and give him some compensation - they have charged the guy with damaging police property.
Apparently the contact between the vehicle and the man involved was such that it left a dent in the car's wing: not to mention a broken foot.
So it seems that both the broken foot and the bent copper's car (if you see what I mean), are down to the pedestrian. It should also mean that he pays to get the car repaired AND saves the copper from being done for dangerous driving.
'Kerching', as tonk would say.