Friday, January 19, 2007
The Wind Costs me £50
There’s nothing like a bit of bad whether to get the British quaking in their boots. The roads become gridlocked, people cower in their houses and absentee rates at work rocket. My experience on “Windy Thursday” was somewhat more irritating. I got a parking ticket. Why? Because I “had failed to display it properly”. The annoying this is that the traffic warden had a point because I had put it on the dashboard the wrong way up. Or that’s what he thought. Actually, I hadn’t, but when I closed the car door the wind had blown it around and the ticket had landed the wrong up. So I can blame the wind for the £50 fine. And I hadn’t even had a curry…
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15 comments:
A neat little display of what is wrong with "Parking Ticket Justice".
In order not to pay, you have to proved that you are innocent, a reversal of the more usual approach.
In a way, I find this story slightly re-assuring [sorry, Iain] because in the midst of all the chaos and the desperately sad tales of being hurt, injured and even killed, those little traffic wardens are able to keep up a semblance of their normal behaviour.
There is something of the British 'Blitz' spirit which is alive and well here, even if painful to your wallet.
I remember one of those classic old documentary films about the traffic wardens [as they then were] on telly.
They spoke to an 'old dear' [think 'Loverly Rita' and add on 20 years] who conceded that she had met her first husband while handing him a ticket for parking where he shouldn't.
The interviewer, wanting to show some 'human interest', rather than simply asking about the grubby work of handing out tickets, asked her about her life. Eventually asking, 'And so where did you meet your second husband ?'
'Oh, I met him handing out a ticket as well !'
I suppose it shouldn't surprise us that people meet the 'love of their life' during the course of their work, but I found this surprisingly touching - but then I'm an old softy.
If you appeal, sending in the ticket they usually let you off... If they don't they're utter b******s.
Iain - challenge the ticket as so long as you had a valid ticket, whether the right way up or not is not valid and you'll hopefully win. See I've saved you £50!
My wife (whilst dealing with two unruly toddlers) put a parking ticket on the dash of our car upside down (showing the instructions on how to stick it to your windscreen!) and we got a ticket off the zealous Brighton & Hove parking guys.
We challenged it on the grounds that she had paid for a valid ticket that we could produce, and a simple mistake should not get a £60 fine. We won! A small victory over an evil bureaucracy
Most tickets have a serial number on the back that matches the front, so u should be able to ask them to compare it with the picture they probably took of your car dashboard!
Worked for me anyway!
Re £50 fine, an article in this week's Economist claims that UKIP is authoritarian! Compared to what?
http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8559954
If you have bought a parking permit ticket you are in the clear.
I send them a copy of the ticket and a letter telling them they have to pay me a £50 administration fee in 7 days.
Wind cost me a girlfriend once...
"...bad whether ...get the British quaking in their boots ... "
Sehr geEhrter Iain
Spelling !!!
Shocking !!!
... Ladies & Children, a Serf, the occasional Druid & Junior Eagles READ this excellent Blog, as well as multitudinous Individuals of taste and discrimination, together with apprehensive Government Ministers
Your obedient servant etc
Alles Gute und Tot Siens
G Eagle
I sympathise Iain.
Having managed to get home last night via a route that resulted in me being miles away from where I wanted to be, but at least out of London and able to be picked up, I came into London today to find I couldn't get through the underground ticket barriers with my zones 1-5 Oyster travelcard (annnual cost £1,600) because, having strayed into zone 6, I owed £1 to London Underground!
I too have appealed a ticket on these grounds. They usually let you off the first time if, as others have said, you can demonstrate you did have a valid ticket.
You could always go for the "Don't you know who I am approach"!!
God speed!
Whether? Whether what? Whether the weather was awful?
This is no laughing matter. (Well, I don't suppose you were laughing.) These cases often occur because traffic wardens are on commission; a thoroughly corrupt system which the government could end tomorrow, if it had a mind to. In Camden the wardens will happily slap on a penalty notice while you walk over to the machine to collect your ticket. It's a wonder to me that more of them are not punched on the nose.
Folks, This new sort of interaction with state as exemplified here, using private contractors with employees on commission and so trying to catch people out, is the model for the whole of the new authoritarian EU superstate.
We can expect this sort of stuff across all aspects of our lives (tax, registering new address with the UK/EU database, failing to return questionnaires quizzing us about home improvements, smoking in public (and eventually at home), etc. etc.
However, Dave will sort this out once he wins the election won't he, so don't bang on about this sort of stuff now.
I've got to hand it to you Iain, you certainly take criticism of your grammar and spelling courageously - mine included in your Windsor Post. Do you wince or smile bravely before pressing on. I suspect you often write in a rush and when tired.
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