£3.5m parking fines may be written off

John Sampson is one of 61,000 people in Norwich who might have their parking tickets written off becasue they are invalid.

DAVID POWLES
04 October 2006 13:25

More than £3.5million of unpaid parking tickets given to motorists in Norwich may have to be written off.

The Evening News can reveal Norwich City Council has now suspended enforcement action on 61,000 outstanding parking tickets while it waits to find out if they are invalid.

If they are, the lost revenue will be a bitter blow to the cash-strapped city council and Norfolk County Council, which puts the money raised from the tickets towards road safety improvements.

The revelation came after a High Court case ruled in favour of motorist from Barnet, London, who argued his parking ticket was illegal as it did not clearly state both the date the offence took place and the date the ticket was issued.

Following the case, the city council was one of several in the country to change the wording on its tickets.

Prior to this, the city council's tickets contained a date and time for the offence, but not a separate date of issue.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed the authority handed out 172,518 of such tickets since 2002.

Of these, 111,997 have already been paid and it is believed motorists will not be able to claim the cash back as they have effectively admitted guilt.

However, the remaining 60,521 PCNs, worth £60 each to the council, could have to be written off and are now on hold.

The authority hoped tickets would not be classed as invalid, although it was awaiting formal guidance on the implications of the ruling.

A spokeswoman said: “Our tickets are not the same as the ones in the judgement, however we are awaiting further legal advice.

“The unpaid tickets have been put on hold but they can still be paid by members of the public.”

However, Barrie Segal, of Appeal Now, who represented the driver in the Barnet case, said: “The ticket is invalid and falls squarely within the judgement because it has just one date.

“I think motorists are entitled to claim back tickets paid because the judge said that such tickets are a nullity. Why should any motorist pay an invalid ticket? The council is pulling a fast one.”

Meanwhile, Neil Herron, founder of the People's No Campaign, which fights over parking fines, said: “The court case means that no local authority can pursue non-compliant PCNs.

“Norwich City Council must now create a year zero and an amnesty for motorists. They know they have got it wrong, which is why they have changed the wording.”

John Sampson, 43, from Clover Hill Road, in Bowthorpe, received a ticket for parking in St Benedict's, which has now been put on hold.

He said: “I believe they gave me the ticket unfairly so I appealed. I wrote back to them and by law they should have replied within 14 days.

“But it is two months on and I have heard nothing. This could have massive repercussions.”

The High Court ruling said tickets issued by Barnet Council were not correctly worded under the Road Traffic Act 1991.

Tickets must include separate dates for the offence and issue, even if they occurred on the same day.

A circular to all councils in London sent from Nick Lester, director of transport, environment and planning for the Association of London Governments, said: “Boroughs may not enforce non-compliant PCNs. This means that no Notice to Owners or charge certificates should be sent out, nor should debt registrations or bailiffs warrants be sought with respect to non-compliant PCNs.”

Norwich City Council said the cash raised by the tickets is used to cover its costs, with the rest handed over to Norfolk County Council to pay for road improvements.

Have you had a parking ticket written off by the council? Contact David Powles on 01603 772447 or via email on david.powles@archant.co.uk.Remember you can fight back against illegally issued parking tickets.
If you want to appealsuch a parking ticket but don't know how - then
visit http://www.appealnow.com
where you can appeal online in 4½ minutes.

© 2006 Barrie Segal and AppealNow.com™ - All Rights reserved

Barrie Segal is the founder of AppealNow.com™ and is a regular radio broadcaster in the UK.

# APPEALNOW.COM

Thousands of parking tickets 'may be invalid'

Dean Kirby

TENS of thousands of motorists across Greater Manchester may have been given parking tickets which are not valid, it is claimed.

Campaigners say it could have a serious financial impact on some local councils, if drivers go to court to reclaim fines they have already paid.

The claim follows a High Court judge's ruling that tickets issued by Barnet council in London were not valid.

Driver Hugh Moses won his case after the judge said Barnet failed to put two key dates on tickets - the date of issue and the date of the offence.

Other drivers across Greater Manchester will now scrutinise tickets to see if they are correctly worded under the Road Traffic Act 1991.

Some councils are understood to have only recently altered tickets, despite a warning last year from Manchester-based National Parking Adjudication Service.

Some motorists claim parking attendants in Trafford have been issuing wrongly-worded tickets in the last month.

Neil Herron, from the People's No Campaign, which fights over parking fines, said: "This has been happening for a long time.

"We're talking about tens of thousands of tickets that could have been issued wrongly across Greater Manchester.

'Illegal premise'

"If councils know the tickets are wrong and they are still issuing them, then they are handing them out on an illegal premise."

He said councils that had only recently changed their tickets should not pursue those drivers with cases pending.

Council chiefs across the country had been awaiting the outcome of the judicial review into the Moses v Barnet case.

Mr Justice Jackson ruled that Barnet's parking tickets were invalid as they did not display the two dates. Two separate parking adjudicators had agreed the tickets were invalid, but the council took the test case to the High Court and lost. The court will issue a written judgement at the end of this month.

Barrie Segal, from AppealNow.com, who spoke on behalf of Mr Moses, said the case will have an impact across the country.

"Local councils need to be very aware that motorists could now be looking to sue them in the small claims court," he said.

He said he notified Manchester city council in March that its tickets might be invalid. A council spokeswoman said: "Following the court decision, the council has amended its parking tickets to include two dates."

Trafford council's Geoff Ball said they were taking "appropriate advice to clarify and confirm the situation".

Councils in Bolton, Salford, Stockport, Wigan, Rochdale and Tameside said their tickets contain both dates.

The M.E.N. revealed last year that Bury council had re-worded its tickets.

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© Copyright 2006 Manchester Evening News.Remember you can fight back against illegally issued parking tickets.
If you want to appealsuch a parking ticket but don't know how - then
visit http://www.appealnow.com
where you can appeal online in 4½ minutes.

© 2006 Barrie Segal and AppealNow.com™ - All Rights reserved

Barrie Segal is the founder of AppealNow.com™ and is a regular radio broadcaster in the UK.

# APPEALNOW.COM