Elderly lady gets a parking ticket

If the badge was not displayed, then why shouldn't the attendant issue a fine? We'd all like to smash parking attendants, but if someone's genuinely in the wrong they are only doing there jobs. People shouldn’t hide being the fact that their disabled or old, they are still subject to the same rules as anyone else.

If you write the appropriate local council department about unfairly issued parking tickets, they don't even reply to your letter. Very unprofessional! My experience of Local Council offices in this country always brings to mind the word "crooks", whereas having lived in Canada for a number of years, their local council authorities bring to mind the word "honesty". The government in this country should pay their own Council employees better salaries and fringe benefits than they could earn in the private sector, as they wisely do in North America. This attracts a better educated, more intelligent person to apply for government jobs in the first place and you will get less of the rif-raf who are prepared to work for the government for peanuts. Poor salaries attract poor quality brainless staff. As with anything, you get what you pays for!

parking attendants have nothing better to do then to jump at any opertunaty to give innocent people fines. however surely if she had a wheelchair and a career she wouldn;t need that space as she doesn't need to walk? however what they have done here is wrong and I do hope you don't have to pay the fine :)

Part of the problem is that too many disabled badges are misused by the holder parking where they shouldn't (zebra crossing zigzags, for example) and by holders' relatives when the holder isn't present. Also, why are disabled badge holders exempt from paying charges at toll bridges? Disabled badge doesn't equal poor.

I had the same thing happen to me!! Was parked on double yellow lines on a street in my town as I had many times before with a disabled badge, I have even watched the vultures(traffic wardens) walk past my car after glancing at it. What makes it soooooooooo different this time is that the plank reckoned that because the double yellow lines had these funny horrizontal lines on them that meant that even with a disabled badge it did'nt permit me to park there. eh??!!! How do you get that?? I told the little weasel he was making it up,he got fly with me and demanded to see my disabled badge,by then the damage was done.Should have run the pratt down!!

The Department of Transport issues blue badges and the information pamphlet which goes with it, but nowhere in it does it say BEWARE although we say you can park on a yellow line, our guidelines do not apply in the borough of Westminster. They are inapplicable. So my father got a fine which I am currently contesting. It's outrageous it should be so hard, and complicated for the elderly to keep mobile.

Irene's point is well taken. So is MikeP's. There are parking attendants who are on a perpetual power trip, Give them a uniform and a badge and they forget who they really are.

I have a policy. Go to the big whig and file your complaint. I would drop in on the mayor or our member of parliament as an intervenor for mediation, and they always seem prepared to concede, to give me the benefit of the doubt. Am I lucky or what?

If you are snagged by unreasonable sales people who wouldn't budge, ask to see the floor manager. I have on occasion write to the GM or the Customer Service at head office. Whatever you do, ALWAYS hold your tongue and be official, and you WILL get results. At the very least, they will hear you out. Try it.

Isn't it true that such a fine is levied on the registered owner of the vehicle regardless of who drives or drove the vehicle being singled out for citation?

If I lent my car to whoever I chose to lend it to, I am liable as the owner for whatever fines incurred.

If he was involved in a collision, the owner's auto insurance will be called to account financially. The driver may personally face criminally charges if he was found to be culpable owing to excessive speeding or driving under the influence of drugs or liquor.

It is for this reason that we should be hesitant to lend our vehicles to those who are known to be reckless and irresponsible.

"I got a parking ticket after I parked in a disabled spot whilst out for a meal and it’s not something I would normally do but on this occasion the car park was full and it was getting late and none of the six disabled spaces had been used so common sense kicked in ..."

Right, but these sharks don't know about common sense or pragmatism, they only know about being bloody little Hitlers and meeting targets set by their rapacious masters. They employ thugs, the scum of the earth, and it is time they were outlawed.

At the same time, let's not forget that it is important to protect the needs and rights of the disabled. What would probably be sensible is if say 50% of the disabled spaces were de-restricted outside business and shopping hours, but since when did common sense enter into any equation where local councils are concerned?

I got a parking ticket after I parked in a disabled spot whilst out for a meal and it’s not something I would normally do but on this occasion the car park was full and it was getting late and none of the six disabled spaces had been used so common sense kicked in and I enjoyed the meal only to return to find I had a parking ticket from OPC.

OPCServices Parking consultancy (Pirates) have the registered address of The Studio, St Nicholas Close, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3EW so any correspondents with them should be addressed to that address and not the postal address PO Box 956, St Albans AL1 9HJ and it’s worth using registered post so that OPService Parking can not claim to have not received any disputes to parking fines or better still send them a copy of your dispute to enquiries@observices.co.uk. The company registration number is 3182298 but I have been unable to find the address of the company directors (Please let me have them if you can get them). OPC sales department can also be contacted on Tel 0845 130 4230 Fax 0845 130 5430

Please note that a private parking ticket is issued under a breach of contract and it is the driver who is libel for any breach of contract and not the registered keeper of the car and the keeper is under no obligation to disclose who the driver was at the time of the alleged breach of contract so it’s a good job my other half owns the car.

Thanks, NickyB. You are a paragon of compassion and good breeding. I don't think we should capitulate to the draw to the lowest common denominator, and neither should we slink away from those who subscribe to it.

Stick around, and maybe the goodness in you will rub off on all who prefer to live on the fringe of plebeianic poor tastes. Keep your invaluable contribution up as you have; the support is there for you. Let the hot and huffy get the stroke.

Yes, leave off, eddie. I've noticed on this site that there are several rather unpleasant individuals who just log on to say something mean. They would include Eddie, Kodkod54 and SteveP. I think I'll give this place a miss from now on.