Cheltenham fall foul of credit card ruling ... how much will they have to refund?

Lawless, unaccountable and a belief that they are above the law. Time now for a full Parliamentary Inquiry into parking enforcement. How many credit card surcharge PCNs went before the blind and blinkered Traffic Penalty Tribunal adjudicators without them even looking at the PCN?

Remember that the Traffic Penalty Tribunal receives 60p from every PCN issued so if a council has been issuing unlawful PCNs then the money they derive is unlawfully derived. Where does that leave the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's 60p ... ultra vires also so their accounts need to be challenged. Question is ... who can challenge their accounts? More to be revealed.

Meanwhile, to all those council officers out there with a social conscience ... keep the information coming.

Ruling forces car park cards rethink
Tuesday, August 11, 2009,
Gloucestershire Citizen

CHELTENHAM Borough Council is reviewing its policy of imposing a credit card surcharge on parking fines.
At present, the council charges a fee of 1.35 per cent if motorists try to pay fines on a credit card.
But, following a test case in Camden, London, which ruled that surcharges for those who paid by credit card were unfair, it is reviewing its policy.

Parking manager Jason Benjamin said: ''We will be reviewing our position when we receive more information from the test case ruling."

Gloucester City Council has already ditched its surcharge of 1.8 per cent after the case.

It also handles parking enforcement for Forest of Dean District Council.
But it would not confirm whether motorists who had already paid the charges would be refunded.
A spokesman said: "The traffic penalty tribunal contacted all councils following a recent appeal handled by them.
"When looking into this case they advised councils that charges for credit card payments should be removed from penalty charge notices.
"Gloucester City Council is working with the bank which handles the credit card payments on its behalf to remove charges from penalty charge notices."

Cotswold District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council and Stroud District do not have the surcharge.

The test case involving Camden challenged the 1.3 per cent and was upheld by the adjudicator.
The ruling applies to all fines imposed by local authorities, including those outside the capital which have been given the right to police parking and keep the fines.

It also applies to fines imposed by councils for "moving motoring offences", such as entering a box junction.
The adjudicator said councils could not demand money in addition to the fine for the offence itself.
As a result of the ruling, councils that imposed the surcharges face an avalanche of claims from motorists.
An AA spokesman said: "These credit card charges have been outrageous. Councils have got their fingers burned.
"It shows the extent to which councils have been acting as a law unto themselves.
"We expect councils across the country to stop these surcharges straight away or they will face thousands of appeals."

Credit Cards - Motorists could recoup driving fines from credit card payments

Credit Cards - Motorists could recoup driving fines from credit card payments - 17/08/2009

It has been revealed that drivers could gain back the money paid in fines on their credit cards.

Over the years, motorists have paid millions of pounds in parking fines, but they now could be in line for refunds, after a test case ruled that town hall surcharges imposed for paying by credit cards are unlawful.

An estimated eight million drivers, around one in four of the total number on the roads, receive a parker ticking each year, paying a predicted £1 billion in fines.

Many choose to pay off this fine with a credit card, either by paying online or via a telephone service. At least 12 councils impose a surcharge on this payment method.

However, this practice was challenged by one driver, who criticised the 1.3% surcharge in Camden. As a result, the adjudicator said councils could not demand money in addition to the fine for the offence itself.

Neil Herron of the motorists’ campaign group Parking Appeals, said he was ready to launch a class action to force town halls to reimburse motorists if they fail to do so voluntarily.

He said: "Yet again we have exposed councils acting unlawfully in their pursuit of the motorist. Councils have a duty to act within the law at all times and yet again their greed, by trying to extract every last drop of cash from the motorist, is going to come back and bite them.
"In this instance they can have no excuses. The legislation is explicitly clear. The process of refunding motorists the full amount could not be simpler."

An AA spokesman said: "These credit card charges have been outrageous. Councils have got their fingers burned and have been caught acting illegally. It shows the extent to which councils have been acting as a law unto themselves."

Credit-card surcharges for parking tickets to be reimbursed

Town halls across Britain are bracing themselves for an inundation of claims by motorists demanding reimbursement of money they were wrongfully charged for paying for a parking ticket by credit card.
[ClickPress, Thu Aug 13 2009]

In a test case in which a London motorist challenged the 1.3% surcharge in Camden, his claim was upheld by the adjudicator (the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service), which said that such surcharges are unlawful and councils could not demand money in addition to the fine for the offence itself.

This ruling applies to all fines set by local authorities, including those outside London which have been given the right to monitor parking offences and keep the fines. This ruling opens the way for millions of drivers who have used a credit card for paying a parking fine to claim reimbursement.

If councils choose not to issue refunds to all those entitled to one, they may face a class action launched by the motorists’ campaign group Parking Appeals.

Neil Herron, a spokesman for the group, said that the surcharges were simply a case of greed on the part of councils “trying to extract every last drop of cash from the motorist”.

A spokesman for the AA also attacked the credit card charges, calling them “outrageous” and a demonstration of “the extent to which councils have been acting as a law unto themselves”.

Peter Roberts, chief executive of the Drivers’ Alliance, welcomed the ruling on the test case. “Councils are taking motorists for a ride with countless stealth taxes and petty fines,” he said, and called on “every council [to] return the illegal charges without delay”.

A government spokesman from the Department of Transport added his voice too to the chorus of critics, saying that “Parking charges should be used to manage demand and not to raise revenue.”

What makes the charges all the more indefensible is that paying parking fines by debit and credit cards is actually much cheaper and more secure for local authorities than processing cheques or dealing with cash brought into a parking shop.

Following the ruling, Camden Council has scrapped its policy of levying an extra fee for processing payments made by credit card, a “goodwill move” which it is applying across all council services, not just on parking fines. It said that processing bills through credit cards was costing the authority some £250,000 a year, costs which the charge was intended to cover.

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Camden's parking tickets ruled illegal

BREAKING NEWS ...

Camden’s Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) have been ruled unlawful in a recent adjudication due to the fact that they levied a 1.3% Credit Card Surcharge.

We will supply subscribers to http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk/ with a FULL DEFENCE (100% money back guarantee on your subscription if we are not successful) for PCNs issued since 5th January 2009 to 10th June 2009.
Some of the PCNs issued AFTER that will also be invalid as Camden are continuing to use old paperwork despite the fact that they suspended the charge on 9th June 2009.
Here is an extract from the Parking And Traffic Appeals Service decision:

















And here is an extract from the legislation …









HAVE YOU PAID A CAMDEN PCN?

Whether you have paid by credit card, cheque or cash we will assist you with recovering your money whether you are a business or individual. Simply contact us at http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk/ or e-mail enquiries@parkingappeals.co.uk titled 'CAMDEN PCN'

NB. ALL PROFITS WILL BE USED TO HELP SUPPORT THE MOTORISTS LEGAL CHALLENGE FUND