Stealing Gypsy Council B@ST@RD$

[ZX6Rich]

OK guys need a bit of help here... Been back to work for 2 days after passing my test parked in the local carpark and thought well i dont want to cause any problems, as there are no bike bays il pop it in the hatched area over here out the way where im not gonna take up a bay without paying. Popped a note on my screen yesterday saying if i cant park here please pop over and let me know (i work accross the street) and nothing happened. So this morning I park in the same spot and think nothing of it, come back this even and there is a sodding (want to be stronger with the wording) yellow bag elastic banded to my handlebar!!!!!

Anyone else experienced this and any thoughts on how to control myself enough to call them without screaming obsenities?

[tutton]

whos the parking ticket from?
if its from a private company ignore it, it cant be legally enforced, and it will just be a few months of letters threatening legal action and baliffs.
If on the other hand the ticket is issued by the council then asfaik you need to pay or they will shaft you.

[ZX6Rich]

yeah as I said above its a council ticket

[BladeMan]

Right them a letter explaing everything and there is a good chance they will let you off with it. I have done it a few times. But they do say they keep a recored of each time. So don't push your luck with it.

[guzzers]

sometimes they can sort this all out over the phone...had a parking incident with the car, phoned up and the sorted it out and they cancelled the ticket,

[Milky]

write a letter!, i wrigled my way out of three of em!

[Maver-Nick]

Don't quote me on this, but...

I always understood it to be a legal obligation for councils to supply bike bays in all their car parks ???

[billinom8s]

that sounds about right nick. There should always be some area marked with M/C in the carpark.

Failing that jus stick it in a car bay and say someone stole your ticket

[Funky]

Yep, councils have to supply adequete parking for bikes,

Though they may say that by parking on a hatched area these are always clearly no parking.

[ZX6Rich]

OK thought I would update you all and thanks for all your comments, spoke to a woman in the carpark office and explained my situation she suggested a wrote a letter and sent a cheque for £10 as it was the cheapest way out if they didnt buy it. She also told me that there was motorbike parking in that car park, despite the county council website saying there wasnt. So I said I looked and there was nothing there, she paused spoke to a someone else, who happened to be one of the car parking attendants in that carpark and came back laughing said it was at the bottom of the car park. I went for a wander and still couldnt see it so I walked the the booth and asked the guy to show me where it was.....

ITS A PATCH OF UNMARKED TARMAC AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR PARK WHERE THEY COULD NOT FIT ANY MORE BAYS!!

Just to warn anyone else who needs to park in Sherborne

[M-BLING]

Which car park in Sherborne was this btw, the one at the back of the Swan or that one near Sainsbury’s with the recycle point as the one next to that has bike parking if I am not mistaken.
I parked in a yellow cross-sectioned area in Blandford it was like 3 metres wide and I was apparently obstructing the disabled bay. It looked like someone took pleasure in attaching to the VRF400 NC30, bands symmetrical, perfectly positioned

Just up from Yeovil Hospital in residential area (Colmer Road) I was not parked on any lines or in front of someone’s garage, there was a 2-foot gap between them. The cover had been taken off it been slapped on the main seat then the cover back on in same position to hide the surprise

so know I wheel it in front of the house on crappie gravel and use broken elecy box cover as stand so don't have to worry - if you pay in 2 weeks it's 1/2 price

[bikerpaul]

I've noticed more and more car parks now charging for bikes to park. Here in Plymouth I spoke to a traffic warden about where I could park. They seem to be flexible and said we prefer it if you parked in the bike parking zones allocated around Plymouth City Centre. But they also said if none was available then I could park in a car bay free of charge!

On the other hand, a nice traffic warden approach us once at Paignton along where the shops are. We took up a car space. He told us we would need to pay n display if we parked there! We asked where we could park for free and he said there were no free bike parking allocated but you could park in the side streets for free where there's a 1 or 2 hour limit without the limit being applied to bikes (I believe)! He said you could also park for free behind another car in the same bay, for example where the car was parked on the end! We asked how can you pay n display on a bike? He said you buy the ticket and keep it on you. If you get a ticket, simply send in your original and the ticket will be cancelled!

Following on from that, a few years ago my wife paid n displayed in Plymouth. The ticket fell off the window without her knowing and when she got back she had a parking ticket as no ticket was displayed! Thinking this is a no brainer we sent our original ticket off (mistake) for the ticket to be cancelled. They refused but kept our original ticket, we appealed again and that was refused on the grounds the offense was not "displaying" a ticket despite my wife having a valid one! We ended up paying the double £60 charge cause of the time it took to appeal was outside of the 14 days! I was well P off, I mean really P off!! I always promised that if I do any work for the local council I will add the cost of the charge to any work I do even if it takes me 30 years! So I wonder if Paington would do the same cause the offense is "not displaying" not, "not having"!

[Funky]

I've not heard an offence of 'not displaying' and doubt that is an actual legal standpoint. If so how can you take a ticket with you and still display it?

Personally I'd always send them a copy of the ticket, if they say no I'd probably wait for them to start court proceedings.

[Mike Hayward]

On the other hand, a nice traffic warden approach us once at Paignton along where the shops are. We took up a car space. He told us we would need to pay n display if we parked there! We asked where we could park for free and he said there were no free bike parking allocated but you could park in the side streets for free where there's a 1 or 2 hour limit without the limit being applied to bikes (I believe)! He said you could also park for free behind another car in the same bay, for example where the car was parked on the end! We asked how can you pay n display on a bike? He said you buy the ticket and keep it on you. If you get a ticket, simply send in your original and the ticket will be cancelled!

I once parked in a bay at Paignton (on the front) as couldn't see anywhere to park, i asked to parking ticket guy if i were ok to do so and he said yes and its free, he also advised me where ever there is no allocated area its perfectly fine to just use a car bay and its free - as for going behind someone's car i wouldn't recommend this having done this once many years ago and coming back to find the car gone and bike on the floor! thankfully someone a helpfull pedestrian took his plate!

Mike

[Mike Hayward]

Oh and on another note,

A friend took his wife (for the first time) on his bike down to warner village plymouth to see a movie (nice romantic night without the kids) he couldn't see anywhere to park so he put it on the path next to the bowling place and the gym.

Came out to find a ticket! so much for a nice pleasant evening!