Fines double against Lancashire Motorists ...

... but a massive blunder by Parkwise (between April and September 2007, 57,868 tickets were issued by Parkwise across the Lancashire County Council area) which could result in £millions of refunds.

Following closely on the heels of refunds in Sheffield and Nottingham and the exposure of Leeds unlawful enforcement practices relating to signing and paperwork non-compliance it now looks like the turn of the Lancashire authorities to have the tables turned.

The timing of Matthew Squires article in the Lancashire Evening Post could not have been better. By 5pm on Monday it is anticipated that local authorities across Lancashire will be checking their parking enforcement notices and taking advice from lawyers. We will reveal more on Monday but suffice to say that any motorist who has parted with any money for a parking ticket in Lancashire in the past six years should mark http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk/ as a 'favourite' ready for the revelations.


Fines double against Lancashire motorists
Published Date: 13 June 2008
By Matthew Squires

More than double the number of parking tickets have been slapped on Lancashire drivers since private traffic wardens were introduced, it has been revealed.

Campaigners today held the findings up as yet more evidence that council-run parking enforcement is about nothing more than making a "fast buck return".

Before local authorities took over full responsibility for parking, police took 48,706 "actions" across the county in 2002, including giving out parking tickets and written warnings and taking court proceedings.

Three years later, by which time councils had taken full responsibility, 108,771 parking tickets were dished out. The figure includes fines handed out by authorities in Blackpool and Blackburn. That would have raked in £6.5m, based on each ticket carrying a £60 fine – and the number of drivers hit with fines has continued to soar.

In the six months between April and September 2007, 57,868 tickets were issued by Parkwise across the Lancashire County Council area.

More ...

Comedian Dave Spikey helps car thieves ... you couldn't make it up!

In Sunderland car thieves used to have to wait in the cold and then take a chance as to which car contained valuables. Loitering in the shadows, shivering chance to be spotted and having to strike at random.

Now thanks to a forward thinking Sunderland City Council thieves can lie in bed in their bedsits adjacent to the city centre car park ... and wait until Dave Spikey's audible 'valuables waiting' alarm call wakes them from their slumber.

They can simply look out of the window and see who has a satellite tracking system or valuables because they are the ones who are hiding it in their boot.

Dave 'Friend of the car thief' Spikey now announces to the Sunderland criminal fraternity when the easy pickings have arrived.
Don't believe it? Watch it here.

No need to smash glass and leave an unsightly mess, simply jemmy the boot and straight to the pub.

Nice one Sunderland!

Council Parking 'confessions' spread across Yorkshire.

... now Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

After Sheffield Council agreed to refund motorists £350,000 Rotherham are in the press today with another headline ... "U-turn over parking bays."

However, an e-mail sent to the Head of the Council's legal department still remains unanswered after our visit there in April. It has been re-sent today.

At the time we reported the fact that the on-street pay and display bays were incorrectly signed ... but couldn't get a ticket. To read the story click here

Credit where credit is due ... the CEOs in Rotherham that we met were very polite and courteous.

How soon before another Yorkshire council does the decent thing?

We will be reporting on the latest development in Leeds shortly.

'Fanfare for the common man' ... victory in Sheffield

Tramgate fines to be repaid

Sheffield Star
11 June 2008
By Tony Belshaw

Thumbs-up: Alan Bangert, right, celebrates his successful fight for a refund with Neil Herron Picture: Michael Waistell

THOUSANDS of drivers caught travelling through Hillsborough tramgates are to have their fines repaid.

More than 13,000 drivers could be refunded - meaning the council must hand back hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The council backed down in the face of a legal challenge and the move could set a precedent for local authorities across the country, possibly leading to millions being paid back in unjustly levied fines.

The huge U-turn came after Alan Bangert, of Wisewood, threatened to take the council to the High Court. Last month he won an appeal against his fines when the National Parking Appeals Service ruled warnings on Middlewood Road and Langsett Road were inadequate.

It told Sheffield highways bosses to stop fining motorists who drive through the tramgates until the signs were changed. But the council refused to pay back Alan the £30 they fined him after he was snapped going through the tramgates shortly after enforcement began last year. Council chiefs also told the 13,353 drivers fined at Hillsborough tramgates since July last year they would be keeping the £350,000 in fines.

Furious Alan hired experts from www.parkingappeals.co.uk who began preparing a legal challenge. Neil Herron, managing director of www.parkingappeals.co.uk, said:
"We approached the council and told them we were going to take them to court. They were told their signs weren't correct, yet they were still keeping the money."
That wouldn't stand up in a kangaroo court, never mind a court of law. We hope the council will now do the decent thing and repay their unlawfully derived income."

Mr Herron warned council chiefs he would take a two-pronged action against the authority unless it coughed up.

He threatened to take the council to court, and challenge its accounts through the District Auditor for containing unlawfully derived cash.

Married dad-of-three Alan, 43, said his mammoth fight to get back his money was worth it, and he would be donating the sum to the Bluebell Wood Hospice Appeal.

He said: "I am glad common sense seems to have prevailed and justice is seen to have been done."

Council leader Coun Paul Scriven insisted the decision had been in the pipeline - and hadn't been influenced by the threat of a legal appeal.
He said: "I have been listening to motorists from across the city and have heard their concerns. If drivers feel their fine was unfair then they can contact Parking Services and we will refund their fine."
I want common sense to prevail here. An independent adjudicator has reviewed seven appeals and felt the signs may not be as clear as they could be.''

He added refunds would relate to the Middlewood Road and Langsett Road end of the tram/bus gate - but not to fines for the Holme Lane bus lane.Enforcement at Hillsborough busgate should begin again in the next few months, once changes have been made to the signs.

Press Association Report here

Have you had a Parking Ticket in the last 6 years?

£350,000 VICTORY FOR PARKING APPEALS.CO.UK CAMPAIGN

Top marks to Sheffield Council for 'doing the right thing.' Alan Bangert, the motorist who opened the tram gates intends to donate his refund to local charity Blue Bell Woods Children's Hospice and we hope that other motorists in Sheffield also share some of their good fortune with a local good cause.

This is now going to become an issue for every council in the country ... and EVERY motorist who has even had a parking ticket.

We will shortly reveal a restitution package which will help you recover all the monies you have ever paid in unlawful parking fines.

Want to know more? Simply e-mail us at enquiries@parkingappeals.co.uk and title it 'RESTITUTION' or sign up and become part of the campaign.

Sheffield City Council ... the first domino

On Sunday we dropped a line to Sheffield City Council warning that we were preparing legal action against them over their unlawfully signed tram gates.

Local man Alan Bangert had recently won a NPAS adjudication where it was ruled that the signs at the Hillsborough tram gate were misleading and confusing.

We met with the local press yeterday to announce that we were preparing legal action for restitution for the 13,353 motorists unlawfully fines (amounting to more than £320,000) but as we did we were contacted by Paul Scriven (Lib Dem leader of the council ... the Lib Dems had taken over from Labour at last month's elections) who confirmed that "the council were going to do the decent thing and refund all motorists."

The story is top news story on BBC Breakfast this morning after being revealed exclusively on BBC Look North by Alan Whitehouse last night.

Congratulations to the Lib Dem council for doing the decent thing. This is the first domino to topple ... now the others have two choices ... follow Sheffield's lead or end up in court.

Refunds to come in Sheffield? Just you wait ... watch this space

SHEFFIELD TRAM GATE RESTITUTION CASE

PARKINGAPPEALS.CO.UK LEAD THE WAY FOR £350,000 CASH WINDFALL FOR MOTORISTS…

BUT WILL THE REFUNDS BE FROM PENDING LEGAL ACTION OR COUNCIL COMMON SENSE?

After the 2008 local council election victory in Sheffield, with the Lib Dems taking control from Labour, party leader Nick Clegg stated:
“ The Lib Dems would run Sheffield in a more open and honest way.”
(Sheffield Star 3rd May 2008)

The timing of Alan Bangert’s Tram Gate Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) victory (Bangert, Marcelli and others v Sheffield City Council before NPAS) could not have been better placed for the Lib Dems to set an example nationally by refunding motorists who have been fined unlawfully.

Local man Alan Bangert successfully challenged his own Hillsborough Tram Gate CCTV PCNs when a National Parking Adjudication Service (NPAS) adjudicator ruled that the restriction was unlawfully signed. A request of a review of that decision (consolidated with others) by Sheffield City Council was rejected by the Chief Adjudicator who agreed with the previous decision and ruled against the council.

This leaves the new ruling group with an easily solved dilemma. The Hillsborough Tram Gate, at Middlewood Road and Langsett Road, was introduced by the previous administration and had been marked unlawfully (ie. it did not comply with the road signing law, the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002).

As a result, and it is clear from the numbers involved that the restriction was inadequately and misleadingly signed, 13,353 motorists were fined in just under twelve months (July 07 – May 08) netting the council over £350,000 in unlawfully derived income. Because of the delay in serving the CCTV fines by post some received a warning notice at the same time as PCNs demanding £60 which the previous Labour administration refused to cancel, and some didn’t receive a warning. The reasons freely given for the inconsistency were that the operation was understaffed and notices couldn't be sent out to all transgressors.

The issue of councils using unlawful road markings and signs has been featured nationally in recent weeks with the Department for Transport stating that councils should ‘seriously consider refunding motorists fined unlawfully.’(BBC 29th May 2008)

So, what are the options for Sheffield’s new Lib Dem ruling group?

Neil Herron of ParkingAppeals.co.uk campaigns on behalf of motorists unlawfully fined and is leading Alan Bangert’s call for motorists to be refunded.

He states:
“ This really is an easily solved dilemma for the council. The simplest and cheapest option would be to apologise on behalf of the council and voluntarily refund everyone who have paid PCNs in the unlawfully signed restriction … without delay.

This would set an example nationally by ‘doing the decent thing’ and showing the way forward to the Labour and Conservative councils who have consistently used CCTV enforcement of bus lanes and parking to raise revenue rather than as effective traffic management.

Quite obviously if over 13,000 people were being fined at this location ( on average 84 a day) then there was something clearly wrong with signing and not driver behaviour.”

He went on:

"The other option would be to refuse to refund and attempt to retain the unlawfully derived income in the face of a potential high profile legal challenge in the form of a class action and a challenge to the council’s accounts causing a very uncomfortable investigation by the District Auditor who would have to confirm that the council has been ‘unjustly enriched’ by taking money off motorists to which it is not entitled.”

Alan Bangert, a married father of three, disabled after an accident in a steelworks seven years ago had appealed on a point of principle after getting three PCNs without warning. He had paid the first and then got two more and admitted that paying them would have been a struggle but it was the injustice that spurred him on. He now not only wants his £30 refunded he wants to lead the fight for justice for everyone.

He states:

"I hope that common sense prevails and the council reconsider their position and do the decent thing and show themselves to be better than the outgoing, uncaring, un-listening and arrogant Labour party. I am quite prepared to lead the fight to the High Court if necessary but I hope that the Liberal Democrats will set an example nationally by holding their hands up to this mistake made by the previous administration. It will go a long way and command a great deal of respect from the voters in Sheffield.”

ParkingAppeals.co.uk have leading barrister and motorist’s champion, Oliver Mishcon, lined up to handle any legal action, including a class action on behalf of the 13,000 fined motorists.

He said:
“ Councils are not allowed to keep the money derived from fining motorists unlawfully. They have benefited from what is called ‘unjust enrichment’ and as such they have a duty to actively seek out those fined and refund them.

This case is the tip of a massive iceberg which is likely to affect many councils nationally and we are looking forward to getting the matter before the courts where we are confident of a precedent setting victory for Britain’s motorists.”

However, it is hoped that legal action may not be necessary as it has been confirmed that the fine money has been set aside by the council in case it needs to be repaid in what is in effect confirmation of the position that voluntary restitution is hopefully a foregone conclusion.

In a further admission John Mothersole, the council’s interim Chief Executive revealed that “we are reluctantly going to change the signs to comply with the adjudicator’s review.”

The adjudicator’s view is that the restriction was not correctly marked in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 and are therefore not lawful.

Have you been fined and want your money back?

Anyone who has paid a fine at the Hillsborough Tram Gate and would like more information simply e-mail enquiries@parkingappeals.co.uk and title the e-mail ‘Sheffield’ and include your name and address and ParkingAppeals.co.uk will ensure that justice is done on your behalf.


ENDS:

CONTACT:

Neil Herron
Director
Parking Appeals.co.uk
neil@parkingappeals.co.uk

Now Nottingham has parking problems

There is more to come as the flaws in Nottigham's parking regime are revealed. Clive Burton works closely with Parking Appeals experts to expose the council's unlawful activity.

Of particular concern is the council's statement when asked about restitution ... "If they paid by cash there isn't a record."
Do they fall foul of money laundering regulations?

CITY PARKING: SOLICITOR FINDS PROBLEM WITH FINES
JON ROBINSON ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT
Nottingham Evening post
07 June 2008

It Didn't faze Ophir Burton when he received a parking ticket for leaving his car in Convent Street. In fact he knew he was likely to get one. But the 19-year-old student still parked there because it was more convenient than catching the bus to his course at the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.

Despite being told he must pay £60 for failing to use the meter on February 18, he knew the council would not be able to make him cough up. That's because his grandfather Clive Burton - a solicitor with a special interest in parking and road restrictions - had noticed that the city council had not followed the national regulations in St Ann's Well Road, one of the roads entering the controlled parking zone.

Mr Burton challenged the ticket and successfully had it overturned. He also had a ticket issued on February 21 overturned for the same reason.

"I parked there out of convenience and knowing that, as my grandpa was telling me, it would be unenforceable," said Ophir, of West Bridgford.
"It was also to make a point on his behalf and rather than having to get the bus in or park outside town and walk in."It was just getting me to college on time."

Mr Burton has also advised other clients about the legal implications and has urged people to claim their money back. The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 state there must be signs on both sides of every single-carriageway road entering a controlled parking zone.

This means that if the single yellow lines don't have signs nearby telling people when parking is prohibited, the council has no legal power to enforce tickets.

Mr Burton said: "The requirements are very specific and mandatory." There must be a sign on either side of the carriageway. In St Ann's Well Road they is not. If the council doesn't keep to the rules, why should they expect the motorist to keep to the rules? And if the rules aren't kept why should motorists have to pay a penalty?"
It will be argued that this is simply a technical departure from the strict legal requirements."However the rules themselves are not only technical but mandatory and it has been laid down by Parliament that those in charge of producing and placing these signs must strictly and pedantically follow the exact requirements so clearly set out in the Directions."

Caroline Stylianou, service manager for traffic management and development control at the city council, said: "On St Ann's Well Road there should be a sign on both sides of the road."
We have suspended enforcement on single yellow lines without signs."But there are places, like Derby Road, that do have signs for the single yellow. If an individual parks on there at a restricted time they will be ticketed and towed away and can be done so legally."

Ms Stylianou added the controlled parking zone was introduced before the city council became the Highway Authority in 1998 and there was no complete record of how many parking tickets have been issued.

But she said the council would go back through its database if asked by motorists. "We will look at cases decide on them on an individual basis," she said.
If they paid by cash there isn't a record". It is only a receipt which doesn't have their address. If they paid by card there is a record."

Another parking complaint passed to the Police

As another very serious allegation is laid one of our sources within the enforcement industry privately reveal that it is only a matter of time before the Police are forced to act, either on a fraud or perverting the course of justice charge, against a council or its officials.

The story below if Mr. James' allegations are supported with the evidence, which should not be too difficult to find MUST end up in court.

Parking fine row steps up
by John Kirk

Shropshire Star

Parking enforcement firm ParkRight has been reported to police by a Shrewsbury motorist after bosses had a sign in the town moved during a row over a £60 parking ticket.

Brenig James said he gave a statement to police officers earlier this week after contacting them to see whether he could press charges against ParkRight over the issue.

Last weekend the Shropshire Star revealed how Mr James, of Whitchurch Road, had fought a year-long battle to have the parking ticket cancelled.

It was revealed that ParkRight met council bosses three months after the ticket was issued to ask them to move a sign, the positioning of which was central to the argument.
The battle came after he was issued a ticket after a “zone ends” sign in the pedestrianised Claremont Hill in May last year.

The county council instructed contractors to remount the sign further along the pavement, bringing the area where the car was parked inside the restricted zone.

Through a Freedom of Information request filed by Mr James it was revealed that the sign was moved on August 22.

Mr James appealed twice and finally won a third appeal after showing what he had uncovered to the adjudicator. He was awarded more than £400 in compensation.

Today Mr James said he had informed police because he believes the rules should be enforced fairly.

He said he was not against parking enforcement.
He warned: “I think people should be aware of what’s going on and something should be done to rectify it.”
Mr James said: “I wondered if the police might be interested in this and if I could report them for any offences. I have given a statement to police and they will consider whether any charges will be brought.”

Police said today they could not comment because of data protection laws.

ParkRight is a partnership of the county council and Shropshire’s district and borough councils.
The county council has previously said an investigation would be carried out into the matter.

No-one from ParkRight was available for comment today.

The original story 'Sign Moved in Parking Row' can be seen here

GMB Union admits Traffic Wardens get bonuses for tickets

Last week's headlines "Soldiers risk life yet earn less than a traffic warden" drew lots of comment and argument with very little sympathy for 'Traffic Wardens' or rather the Civil Enforcement Officers as they are called in most local authority areas.

Traffic Wardens employed to enforce parking restrictions under 'criminalised' regimes differ in terms and conditions from those employed by council's contracted enforcement agents operating in 'decriminalised' enforcement areas.

This enforcement allows councils to keep the revenue generated and although always denied, the contracts with the private 'for profit' enforcement companies who employ the Attendants are target driven.

However, they have always denied that the Parking Attendants, now called Civil Enforcement Officers, were paid bonuses but since the 'Soldiers v Wardens' row over pay GMB National Officer Paul Maloney has unwittingly revealed that 'Traffic Wardens' receive bonuses for the number of tickets they issue.

In an e-mail Paul Maloney, GMB national officer who represents traffic wardens said,
"GMB support decent pay and conditions for our armed forces. However if the general is to make the case for better pay he should compare apples with apples.
Many GMB members who are traffic wardens are paid the national minimum wage of about "£11,000 per year. They receive bonuses for the number of tickets they give out and their average pay includes long hours of overtime.
"There is no national agreement for traffic wardens. Many of them are out sourced and work for private equity owned companies from the information that GMB has to hand, we believe that soldiers are paid more than many of the traffic wardens that we represent."

So there you have it from the horse's mouth.
You knew the real reason for the massive increase in parking tickets. You now know why they are issued for the most trivial of reasons. You now know that the chanted mantra about civil parking enforcement being necessary to stop the streets being clogged and to keep traffic moving is baloney.
This is about raising money for private companies who pay their staff peanuts in order to ensure that they are incentivised to issue enough tickets to survive and look after themselves and their families.

After the exposure of the fines issued by councils for illegal restrictions another death knell sounds for this offensive, exploitative stealth taxing that passes off for parking enforcement it is now time that Government started sitting down to consider what is going to replace it ... otherwise any grains of respect left for the system will disappear and it will reach the point where no-one will pay any fines levied.

MORE

Private equity owned NCP fixes daily targets for parking fines and bullies and harasses staff to penalise London motorists to meet targets: GMB strike in Enfield NCP for union recognition and end to harassment

"Our bonus is paid quarterly, based on a ticket count. At 10am every morning and 4pm every afternoon they phone up to check ticket counts. There is immense pressure if the bosses don't think there are enough tickets issued. They think if we don't get the right number according to the performance indictors then there's something wrong, they just want the tickets issued regardless." GMB member on strike who works for 3i on the NCP parking contract in Enfield

Thursday, 21 June 2007 PRIVATE EQUITY THREATENS PENSION FUNDS – GMB give evidence to MPs

‘NCP services, which is owned by 3i, is proposing to slash the bonus scheme of its low paid workforce in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.
‘Parking attendants who only earn £6.29 per hour currently receive a bonus of £100.00 per month.‘
Without consultation or regard to TUPE regulations, the management at NCP have given notice that they are going to introduce a discretionary bonus.
‘Staff can earn a maximum of £250.00 per quarter but this is linked to performance, including the number of tickets issued!‘
Experience from the NCP Enfield contract shows that staff and motorists will be the losers, as parking attendants will put under severe pressure to issue more tickets to London’s motorists in order to make up their pay.’

Is the solution to send Civil Enforcement Officers to search out the Taliban with the same level of efficiency as they can demonstrate when looking for a motorist committing a contravention?
I am sure that no-one would disagree with paying them double bonus for that!

... and it's back to those illegal fines in Yorkshire

In this BBC report (here) Leeds are still the main focus of this piece but now also involved are York, Scarborough, Harrogate, Sheffield.

In the clip it is claimed that a Leeds spokesman states:

" Never issued a ticket where signs or road markings are wrong."
Well, they have already cancelled one of mine because the restriction was not marked in accordance with the law, and we will have a little fun with an adjudication next week.

In addition to this highly misleading statement however, documents in our position refer to a report commissioned in 2005 in which expert witness and signing consultant Richard Bentley (left) highlights many area of deficient and unlawful signage ... and as such the Secretary of State was misled into granting Decriminalised Parking Enforcement powers to Leeds who have then taken advantage and 'unjustly enriched' the council's coffers.

Government Office and Department for Transport officials also confirmed the restrictions were unlawful and have recently stated that nothing has changed, if anything its got worse.

So, Leeds has a great deal of unlawfully derived income in their accounts derived from unlawfully marked restrictions ... and rumour has it that they are trying to convince the Department for Transport to allow their non-prescribed road markings. I am sure that the DfT will point out that even if, by a million to one chance, they allow non-compliant bays special authorisation the officials will point out that it can never be granted retrospectively. However, if Leeds try and pull the wool over the DfT and te public's eyes it will lead to local authority anarchy with the TSRGD 2002 (THE LAW!) being torn up and thrown out of the window (which will probably incur a £50 fixed penalty for littering).

Don't think we are right about the refunds ( especially all you doubting council officials ... we know you like to watch what we are up to ... sometimes one of your colleagues tips us off)?

Well, here is Barrister Oliver Mishcon being interviewed on the BBC Look North programme on the subject of 'unjust enrichment.'

BBC ... Council Motoring Fines 'Illegal.'

As another huge brick is removed from the dam it is now only a matter of time before it eventually breaks and councils are forced to admit that they will not only have to repay everyone fined unlawfully (non-compliant notices, unlawful signs and lines) they will also be liable for interest and damages in many instances.

Just imagine all those who have suffered at the hands of bailiffs and had goods seized all arising from an unlawfully marked restriction enforced with non-compliant paperwork.

If you have had a parking ticket in the last 6 years simply register with us to receive the latest updates.

The first report is the national story, the second is our ongoing saga in Leeds.

Ask yourself the question why the Department for Transport has made such a powerful statement. Are they aware of the firestorm?
Just remember that no-one at the DfT is able to go out and check the council's claims when they apply for Decriminalised (of now Civil) Parking Enforcement powers. Councils simply had to 'reassure' the DfT that all had been done ... but the councils realising that the DfT had no power to check or censure decided that it wasn't worth spending vast sums of money putting things right ... so the majority didn't.

This is a national scandal ... the enormity of which is just starting to become apparent to the national press and media ... and we anticipate the downfall of Civil Parking Enforcement, dismissals, resignations and criminal actions as the dam breaks ... followed by hundreds of thousands, if not millions of civil actions against councils.


Council motoring fines 'illegal'

The parking adjudicator urged drivers to appeal
Some councils have earned hundreds of thousands of pounds by enforcing unlawful traffic and parking restrictions, the BBC has learned.
Fines are said to have been levied despite incorrect road markings and on parking bays which are too small.

The Department for Transport said it expected councils to "seriously consider" repayment of illegal fines.

A councils spokesman said refunds may not be the best use of public money "where no-one was genuinely misled".
'No right'
A councillor has highlighted one north London authority's past activities, which he described as "highway robbery".
Alan Stanton, Labour councillor in Haringey, said the borough ticketed two yellow box junctions in Tottenham, north London, which were found to be unlawful.

Some of the unlawful restrictions that caused fines
"We have taken £120,000 from people we had no right to take," he said.

Haringey council said that when it discovered the boxes were illegal it stopped enforcing them and gave refunds to motorists who appealed.

The BBC has also discovered the entrance to a bus and tram lane which was incorrectly marked has earned Sheffield City Council £350,000, according to Freedom of Information figures.

Meanwhile, London Borough of Camden collected over £245,000 from drivers for who drove down a pedestrianised street which a ruling found was signposted unclearly.

According to barrister Oliver Mishcon, who specialises in motoring cases, local authorities have been acting unlawfully.

They should pay us back for their mistakes
He told the BBC: "It's definitely a massive problem, definitely on a national scale, and we're talking about councils making tens of millions of pounds.
"From a legal point of view, the term is unjust enrichment. And if the council unjustly enriches itself, it's got to pay the money back."

Nick Lester from London Councils, which represents authorities in the capital, argued that handing the cash back was not necessarily in the public interest.

He said: "Where there's only a technical error, a small issue, where no-one was genuinely misled, the council can take the view, is it really a good use of public money to repay the penalty?
"Is that really what they should be doing?"

Appeals against penalty charge notices are heard by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Caroline Sheppard, Chief Parking Adjudicator for the tribunal in England and Wales, said motorists should appeal if they believe they have been wrongly fined.
But she said that many motorists would not want to take the risk of taking their case to tribunal because it would mean losing their 50% discount - and that the onus was on local authorities to put things right.
"Adjudicators would expect them to stop enforcing in that area until such a time as they put it right - councils ought to be able to correct these things very swiftly," she added.

Figures show that last year 60% of all appeals outside London were successful: 32% were not contested by councils and 28% were won by motorists. In London in the year to March 2007, 68% of appeals were successful.

A neat way to avoid a parking ticket ...

But for those of you who haven't got the legs for it there's always ParkingAppeals.co.uk

Simon Cowell to launch Councils Have No Talent?

Rumour has it that Simon Cowell is going to launch a new show ...

Council's Have No Talent

When they visited Yorkshire no-one showed any sign of competence in the parking department.

However, not wanting to be overshadowed by other local councils like Leeds, Harrogate, York and Scarborough featured on the BBC (story posted below) ... Huddersfield jumped in with a performance that ensured three XXX's ... vying for a place in the regional semi finals.

The report below had the crowds going wild ...


Oh, Mr Mayor, you can’t park there!
Jun 2 2008 by Nick Lavigueur, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

KIRKLEES parking chiefs have been left red-faced after it emerged Huddersfield Town Hall’s permit parking bay is illegal.

The Ramsden Street bay fails Government rules on various counts, with the sign and road markings both failing to conform to regulations.

A simple search on the Government Transport Department’s website would have revealed that only white markings are allowed for permit holder bays and not the yellow used for the council’s private space.

And Kirklees could be further embarrassed after it emerged that dozens of parking bays across the district are unlawful, including most of Batley town centre and parts of Dewsbury and Holmfirth.

The council refused to comment, but a highways department statement said:

“We will look into issues with parking spaces if the details of the location and problem are reported directly to us.” More ...

Well, looks like we had better do our civic duty and the letter has gone off to Kirklees Council asking them to suspend enforcement of all non-compliant bays immediately, to begin the process of offering refunds without delay and to make public their application to the Department for Transport which confirmed that all restrictions were signed in accordance with the law.

BBC Reports on refunds for Yorkshire motorists

Another piece by the BBC's Look North on 30th May 2008, this time highlighting how many Yorkshire councils have been fining people illegally ... setting up a potential windfall for motorists bigger than the bank charges fiasco.

Expert explains parking law

Motoring lawyer Oliver Mishcon explains what effects the government advice about illegal parking fines could have.

Illegal parking fines row

The government says councils should consider giving back money collected from illegal parking fines.

This story was initially covered nationally on BBC breakfast and is now slowly gathering momentum across the regions.

How much money has your council had illegally?

How many signs and lines do not comply with the law in your area?

Do you work for a council who is trying to cover this up? If so, let us know.

All communications are treated in the strictest confidence enquiries@parkingappeals.co.uk

It's only a matter of time before the very reluctant Police forces (who see no criminality in 'councils' deceiving the public) across the land are forced to investigate what has become the biggest highway robbery since Dick Turpin rode Black Bess.

Perhaps someone so incensed with the injustice of it all will say enough is enough or, have you paid a ticket you believe was issued in an unlawfully marked rea that the council knew was illegal?

Drop us a line...

How one missing sign could cost a council thousands

This one is at St Anns Well Road, Nottingham ... trouble for the council is that there should be a sign on BOTH sides of the road.

Its omission invalidates the Controlled Parking Zone which covers the City Centre.

If the council claims that this is a 'triviality' then at what point does an error by a motorist cease to be a triviality ... 5 mins late back after paying for an hour, 10 mins?

Sorry guys ... you know the law and that's what your highways engineers get £30k+ pa salaries for and your directors and solicitors £100k+.

You get the law wrong and you cannot have the money and cannot keep it in your accounts.

...and this one is in Wigan ... law says white, this is not quite white. Again ... this is not the law therefore cannot be enforced.

Now the penny is starting to drop ... 'unlawfully derived income' ... 'unjust enrichment' ... and for all you councils who have enforced restrictions that you knew were unlawful .... you best get your lawyers checking out the 2006 Fraud Act because there are going to be some seriously angry motorists out there especially those who have had cars seized or goods taken.

Confession they say is good for the soul ... so to all our whistleblowers ... keep those documents coming. Police forces across the country are going to have a busy time as are the District Auditors, complaints officers and parking services.

To all those who have been pursued by bailiffs and have had goods seized ... we have a wealth of information of non-compliant signs, lines and illegal paperwork ... and http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk/ will tell you exactly how to begin the process.

Islington Parking Blunder ...

The penny is starting to drop as our latest revelations appear on BBC Breakfast ... and it is what we have been saying for years ... that any council whose restrictions are unlawful cannot benefit from motorists who have been misled. This is 'unjust enrichment' and MUST be refunded.

The blunders are not only on signs and lines and Penalty Charge Notices. Here is the latest involving the Traffic Orders, and Islington are not the only council by a long way.

Similarly, monies taken unlawfully must be refunded and Traffic Orders incorrectly drafted cannot be enforced.

Date mistake could be a £1m parking blunder
nlnews@archant.co.uk

MORE than £1million in parking tickets could be invalid - claims a campaigner who wants Islington Council to give the money back.Neil Herron, of ParkingAppeals.co.uk, believes that a council blunder created a 22-day window in which no parking tickets were valid.During that time, he thinks thousands of fines worth up to £1.8million could have been issued. More ...

Parking Fines "Close to Theft" claims Tory Peer

Parking charge system 'medieval'

Britain's automated parking and traffic fines system has been branded "close to theft" and "medieval" by a Tory peer.

Of the millions of drivers fined per year, fewer than 1% appeal - many over incorrect road markings. About half of such appeals are upheld.

In such cases, councils have no duty to contact and refund other drivers fined wrongly in the same place - which Lord Lucas told the BBC was "exploitation".

However, the Department for Transport says the rules are fair.

Lord Lucas, who chairs the Enforcement Law Reform Group, told the BBC Radio 4's iPM programme:
"It is something that seems to me to be close to theft and it probably would be adjudged as theft if one could ever get it to court."


"It just generally makes people's lives that bit more miserable"
Lord Lucas

When pursued over fines issued incorrectly for reasons such as illegal bus lanes, incorrect box junctions or wrongly delineated parking bays, local authorities "just refund the fine and then you have no course for action", he said.

"So it is extremely difficult to get local authorities to behave properly on this.
"There doesn't seem to be an ombudsman who will take this seriously and central government really just treats this as part of the tax-raising system."

He said recent changes to the rules, which say local authorities should not use the system of fining people and parking enforcement to raise revenue, were not being enforced.
"There is no way in which central government checks that this is what local authorities are doing," he said.

"It really disillusions you, particularly in your relationship to the police, and the local authority. And when they come asking for help, such as dealing with the local drug dealers or trying to keep violence off the streets, you think, 'Are these people really on my side or not?'
"This way of raising revenue, this medieval fashion of taxation, really upsets people cumulatively and makes them less compliant citizens."

"We know that less than 1% of all penalty charge notices issued are challenged, and of those about half are upheld. That suggests that the system is 99.5% right "
Nick Lester (left), Corporate director of services for London councils

But Nick Lester, corporate director of services for London councils, said the system did work.

"We know that less than 1% of all penalty charge notices issued are challenged, and of those about half are upheld. That suggests that the system is 99.5% right."

The Department of Transport said the rules were fair and that it had recently provided new guidance to local councils regarding the use of CCTV and traffic cameras.

But barrister Oliver Mishcon says he believes local authorities who find they have issued a fine incorrectly have a "legal duty to take steps to repay revenue based on the same mistake".
"But many parking services departments have been behaving as though they are above the law," he told the BBC.

The number of penalty charge notices in England & Wales rose between 2005/6 and 2006/7, from 4,856,934 to 4,914,547.

Local authorities collected more than £173m in penalty charge notices in 2007, up £12.5m on the year before - a rise of 7.7%.

You can listen to the programme here

Responses from 'Have Your Say' here

Parking Victory over Southwark Council

When Donna became so frustrated a Southwark Council's refusal to believe that she had not overstayed parking using her Blue Badge (for her registered blind son) she contacted Parking Appeals.

What makes this case even more offensive is that Donna, a busy Mum with three children one of whom has a disability and a full-time job, supplied video evidence as proof that she was not at the location in question during the period alleged. She had gone to school where she works as a teaching assistant after dropping him off and then returned to pick him up for lunch some three hours later. The Council claimed she had been parked there all that time.

When appeals fell on deaf ears we passed the case over to Oliver Mishcon ... aka Judge Tread.

Southwark capitulated and cancelled the ticket.

This is a warning to all councils out there who think that their glory days of picking on and abusing motorists and vulnerable members of society are going to continue ... you could not be more wrong. Game's up guys ... and all those years where you have thought you were above the law are now going to come back and haunt you.

To the whistleblowers ... keep the information coming, its only a matter of time before this out of control, lawless highway robbery that passes itself off as 'civil parking enforcement' is brought to an end.

Sacked Parking Attendant blows the whistle on council

This Granada TV report surrounds the sacking of Parking Attendant Bob Pickthorpe by Crewe and Nantwich Council after he complained that it was illegal for him to issue in locations which were badly marked and after he had not been trained correctly.

Have you had a ticket in Crewe?

Motorist to sue Lambeth Council over successful CCTV case

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Following the ruling on 28th March in relation to Jonathan Greatorex and his successful appeal in the infamous Salters Hill case, PaTAS adjudicator Joanne Oxlade ordered that Lambeth Council pay Mr Greatorex costs, the amount of £176.80 and further ordered that Lambeth pay this amount to Mr Greatorex within 28 days.

Lambeth Council have failed to pay the amount on time and despite reminders by Mr Greatorex, he was left with no other alternative than to issue proceedings via the County Court today (8th May 2008) in order to enforce the debt.

In a statement, Mr Greatorex said, "More than 28 days have now passed since Lambeth were ordered to pay me costs in relation to this case and surprise, surprise, they have failed to do so!
Despite contacting them on several occasions via letter and telephone, I have been left with no alternative other than to issue proceedings in the County Court against them to get them to pay their debt.Their arrogance throughout this whole matter has been just beyond belief! Yet again, they continue to waste taxpayers money through either their own incompetence or sheer bloody-mindedness."

ENDS

Note to Editors:

Original story at: www.greatorex.org/lambethparking

Jonathan Greatorex,

telephone: 07958 236045

Leeds Parking Problems ... similar to Camden, or worse? You decide.

This is the BBC piece on Leeds City Council's parking enforcement regime. You be the judge of its legality. The most powerful quote was not used in the excerpt above so it is listed below and forms part of the file handed to the Police. The names of the Government officials have been obscured but the Police are aware of their identity.

"... attempted fraud or extortion..." not my words but the words of one Government official to another. Hard to believe? The document we managed to get our hands on (along with many others just as damning, is shown below).