Westminster parking contract fraud investigation ...

Police probe parking 'fraud' at Westminster Council
BBC News
Police have begun an investigation into allegations of fraud against two senior officers at Westminster Council.
The case concerns the awarding of a multimillion-pound
parking enforcement contract to private firm NSL Services

Westminster Council denies any wrongdoing .

A Met spokesman said: "We can confirm we have received an allegation of fraud. The allegation is being looked at and we are unable to discuss it."

A spokeswoman for Westminster Council in central London said the allegations were unfounded.
European Union law says that contracts worth more than £156,442 must be opened to tender to any interested company and advertised in the EU's official journal.
Westminster's parking contract is worth about £13m a year.

It was previously being carried out by private parking firm NCP.

"We remain confident the parking contract was properly let
by our officers and allegations of fraud are completely
unfounded "
Westminster Council

But in 2007 NCP was sold and broken up into smaller companies.
A new firm, NSL Services, was then created.

It is alleged that at that point the contract was given directly to the new company without going through proper tendering processes.

Parking campaign group No To Bike Parking Tax Campaign provided information to the police that led to the investigation being started.

Chairman Warren Djanogly said: "It was my civic duty to take the evidence collected to the proper authority.
"I have had no other course of action other than to bring this matter to the attention of the police."

Mike More, chief executive of Westminster Council, said: "This allegation is part of an ongoing campaign by a motorbike protest group.

'Co-operating with inquiries'
"We remain confident the parking contract was properly let by our officers and allegations of fraud are completely unfounded."

Mr More said the council would fully co-operate with police inquiries.

A spokesman for NSL Services said the suggestion there was anything wrong in the way the contract was handled was "nonsense".
He added European rules on tendering of public services allowed for contracts to be passed on in this way, as long as the contract had the relevant clause.

"The contract with Westminster does have such a clause," the spokesman said.

Westminster's Parking Plan 'illegal'

More sterling efforts from LMAG (London Motorists Action Group)
member Paul Pearson who has been splashed over the press and media with this latest revelation. The parking 'industry' is set to come under very close scrutiny in the next few months with three cases listed for the High Court and a 'gathering of the clans' taking place with LMAG teaming up with the Drivers Alliance and the Taxpayers Alliance to support the Motorists Legal Challenge Fund which aims to secure justice for Britain's motorists who are ready to 'Rage Against the Parking Machine.'

At will be the fivers and tenners from across the country that will ensure that justice is seen to be done in the most public of fashions and this offensive stealth tax forced to revert back to proper parking enforcement for the right reasons.

To donate to the fighting fund click here

London council 'misleading' over 'illegal parking plan'
Ed Davey BBC News, London

Westminster already makes more from parking than any London borough
A council has been accused of a "potentially illegal" attempt to use parking charge rises to raise revenue after BBC London obtained a document described as a "smoking gun".

The news comes after Westminster Council, which has a £22m overspend on its books, set out a series of proposals that include raising parking charges.
They would involve a 60p-per-hour pay-and-display increase and extending the period in which people are charged to park, from 6.30pm until midnight.

Councillor Danny Chalkley, cabinet member for city management, insisted the changes were solely an attempt to tackle congestion.
Asked whether the changes were proposed to plug the gap in Westminster's finances, Mr

Chalkley said: "It's not correct that we are doing this to revenue raise, we are doing this to keep streets running freely."
It appears on the strength of the evidence that Westminster have a case to answer
Mark Cran QC

However, BBC London has seen an internal council briefing, dated 12 January, which makes it clear the "key drivers" for this year's budget include an attempt to address the overspend.

The report continues: "Officers were asked to go away and look more closely at parking and community safety to find reductions or additional income.
"The areas of parking and community safety have been earmarked to contribute the majority of the £14m [the sum Westminster says it needs to find]."

Responding to the document, parking campaigner Barrie Segal accused Mr Chalkley of being "disingenuous".
"This report is the smoking gun", he said. "The briefing document flatly contradicts [Mr Chalkley's] public statements."

Councillor Chalkley claims the changes are not to raise money

In 1995, a High Court judge ruled against neighbouring Camden Council, saying it could not use parking to raise revenue.
Mark Cran QC, the barrister who successfully brought the 1995 case against Camden Council, told BBC London: "It sounds as though the evidence is stronger in this instance than it was in the Camden case.

"It appears on the strength of the evidence that Westminster may have a case to answer." Mark Cran QC

Council's own analysis of the case reads: "The High Court was very clear that [it] did not allow the council in setting the charges for parking to take account of extraneous financial matters.
"Westminster therefore cannot increase charges with the motive of generating income, though the generation of income is legitimate if incidental to the setting of charges for other reasons such as traffic restraint."

Mr Segal said: "I find it truly astonishing that Westminster would set down in writing that it knows revenue can only be raised from parking if it is 'incidental'.
"Then cynically, nudge-nudge wink-wink, they come out with a load of extra charges and say it is because of congestion."

Paul Pearson, another parking campaigner, said: "Parking can not be used for revenue generating - and that is exactly what they are doing here. This report proves it."

Charges 'reinvested'
Westminster Council makes more from parking than any other London council and recorded a £35m profit from the account last year.
Referring to the latest proposals, a spokesman said: "These are just options and the council's cabinet will make a final decision in due course.
"This is not about generating profit for the council, which would be illegal, it is about dealing with the increasing pressures on our roads.
"Every single penny of surplus income collected from parking is reinvested straight back into major transport projects."

The spokesman accepted however, the 12 January briefing had been written by the council.

Credit where credit is due

Exposing illegality and bad practice is essential to ensuring that parking enforcement is seen to be fair. However, it is often the case that individuals' actions at the lower end of the enforcement ladder don't get placed before the decision makers and senior management.
When it does, the actions of those key personnel are a critical. Therefore, praise to Kevin Goad at Westminster Council who acted swiftly and cancelled the PCN when the following was brought to his attention.

Dear Neil ... "I was waiting for my daughter to arrive into Paddington. As a disabled driver I asked a traffic operative where the nearest disabled bay was. He pointed the other side of the road. I duly parked and waited in the car for a while. The warden passed me with a colleague. He saw me said nothing and walked on.

A short time later I left the car to use a loo in a cafe on the other side of the road. When I returned the warden was issuing me with a ticket and pointing out it was a pay by phone bay. I remonstrated that he had led me into this bay and then discovered that he - an African man - had a poor grasp of English.

I went to the parking adjudicator and she recommended the council review the case because of mitigating circumstances.
Subsequently the council decided to ignore the adjudicator's recommendation and is intent on prosecuting me and demanding £120.00 payment.
In their letter of rejection they claim that the disabled bay was next to the pay by phone bay that I was parked in and that I should have read the sign. In fact the adjacent bay was occupied at the time so I couldn't have physically parked there. When I remonstrated with him he smiled as though it was a joke. I suspect the attendant wilfully misdirected me.
I don't believe parking wardens should be in the business of leading motorists astray to increase parking revenue. Westminster tell me I have no choice but to pay the £120.00. Is this right?

It isn't and wasn't right but the adjudicator does not have the power to exercise discretion, only refer it back to the council. It then goes back into 'the machine.'
Fortunately, we were able to intervene and ensure that justice was done.

Westminster parking fines are down by 50 per cent

There are some forward thinking councils who have realised that effective parking enforcement comes from managing the kerbside efficiently. Below is the recent report from Westminster City Council and the reduction in the number of PCNs issued to commercial vehicles is a positive move.

London Informer
The past year has been particularly ambitious for us and has seen some major changes to parking in Westminster.
We have listened to residents and responded by ending the unpopular use of clamping and removal of vehicles.
We have also created more than 2,000 additional, dedicated motorcycle parking bays across the city, and introduced parking cards as an alternative way to pay for parking and are continuing to implement cashless parking across the city.
Further, we have implemented a number of common sense measures.
One of which has resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in the number of tickets issued to commercial vehicles.
Another has given resident permit holders a five-minute allowance to load or unload on single yellow lines.
However, we are not complacent and aim to introduce a number of initiatives to help make parking cheaper, safer and easier in 2009.
These include helping older residents through the provision of discounted parking for carers, providing more spaces for visitors and keeping dropped kerbs free of parked vehicles.
Measures will also be employed to make it easier for businesses to distribute goods and provide essential services across the city and a car club scheme will be implemented as a cheaper and greener alternative to car ownership.
Finally, we know that parking enforcement is not always popular,but with over half-a-million vehicles entering Westminster every day, it is a necessary tool to protect the safety of motorists and pedestrians and to keep traffic moving around the city.
However, we want to ensure that when enforcement is necessary, we are getting it right first time, and if we do get it wrong, that we are using common sense and putting it right quickly.
As the largest parking authority in the UK, Westminster has become the 'blueprint' for improving parking services and we are committed to delivering firm, fair and excellent parking services for all our residents, businesses and visitors.
Cllr Danny Chalkley, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport
Westminster City Council

Parking Attendant offers to tear up a parking ticket for sex

... but Parking Appeals will only charge you £9.99 ... no extras!

This little story was reported in today's Sun.

Now we have had a few tickets from Westminster and never had such an offer. The usual mantra chanted by councils is that once a parking ticket is written out it cannot be cancelled by the Parking Attendant. Clearly this is not the case.

'I'll tear up your ticket for sex'
Chris Semple
The Sun
18th March 2008

A TRAFFIC warden told a shocked woman he’d rip up her parking ticket — if she performed a sex act on him.
He offered the vile “deal” after slapping the fine on Gemma Patten’s windscreen.
Distraught Gemma, 22, got in her VW Polo and locked all the doors.
She said: “I was disgusted. He’s clearly a sicko and shouldn’t be working in such a position of authority.”
More ...

Traffic Wardens con drivers ... This is London

Another scam? When is this lawlessness going to end?

Traffic wardens conning drivers by putting out-of-order signs on ticket machines - then handing out fines
Evening Standard

29.02.08

An alleged parking swindle designed to trap unsuspecting motorists is being investigated by police.

Traffic wardens are accused of trapping motorists by putting "out-of-order" stickers on working meters - allowing drivers to park free - then later removing them and issuing fines.

Police are looking into a scam in the capital after a restaurateur in West London claims he was assaulted after confronting a warden whom he alleged had carried out the con trick on him twice in two days.

Rupert Baird-Murrary was fined for parking at an out-of-order meter but claims the warden put the sticker of the meter and later took it off in order to fine him
Rupert Baird-Murray, who runs Rosa's Dining Room, alleges he was first duped on 12 February after parking in at an "out-of-order" meter.
He returned to his car an hour later to find a parking fine and the sticker removed from the machine. When Mr Baird-Murray confronted the warden about the sticker, he denied its existence.

The next day he approached the warden again after allegedly seeing him remove another sticker from the same machine.
He said: "I saw him pull the sticker off. I said to him, 'You just took that sticker off '.
"He said, 'I don't know what you are talking about' but I could see it scrunched up in his hand.
"I said it was fraud and called the police. He started pushing against me with his scooter as I tried to stop him leaving."

Mr Baird-Murray, 36, was later accused of assaulting the warden after he fell off his scooter while trying to drive past the restaurateur over the pavement.
Both men were arrested and spent nine hours in a police cell. They have been bailed until next month.

Mr Baird-Murray is being backed by Karen Buck, Labour MP for Regent's Park and Kensington North, who is writing to Westminster council demanding an apology.
A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed two men had been arrested at the scene for common assault after making allegations against each other.
He said: "There were allegations involving 'out-of-order' stickers. We are looking into it."
A spokesman for Westminster council said: "Any incident of inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour by a parking attendant will be fully investigated."
NCP, which employs the council's traffic wardens, defended its staff and said it had not yet been contacted by police.
A spokesman said: "Parking attendants have a very difficult job and from time to time people make allegations against them. They are there to enforce regulations appropriately and professionally."

Barrie Segal, founder of AppealNow.com website which aims to repeal unfair parking fines, said he had heard of similar scams but had never been able to get any evidence.
He added that local authorities are increasingly using the parking ticket "system" to raise money.
"5million parking tickets per annum could be illegal and unenforceable," he said.
"Scams blow out of the water that authorities aren't trying to make money out of parking - if they aren't, why are wardens doing this?
"Some of these scams are so blatant and very clever. I can only see it getting worse as new parking regulations come into force.
"But people need to stand up to authorities and appeal against unfair fines."
He said they had uncovered 62 scams from local authorities across the country including giving tickets to vehicles legally loading and unloading or delivering, clampers parking on yellow lines while they do personal shopping and even, while parking attendants wait, council workers fitting new "suspended bay" signs where cars are parked, and then slapping parking tickets on the cars.
They have uncovered bizarre parking fine practices such as in Cambridge where at least two people were given parking fines for putting the Pay and Display ticket on their dashboard rather than on the windscreen.
In Dagenham, a disabled man was given a fine as the warden claimed a Poppy Appeal badge was partially covering his disability badge.