Getting tickets and fines suck!

Being fined or giving a ticket is one of those universally despised moments. Nobody enjoys it. Even if it’s deserved, we still always feel liked we’re being conned.

Luckily, my wife and I have not been the recipients of too many or ever been fined for speeding or any serious traffic offences. So in the grand scheme of things I’d say we’re fairly lucky.

But having to pay a £75 fine in January? Man that really sucks!

I actually got the letter prior to Christmas from Trafford Council saying that someone driving my car had been caught dropping a cigarette butt out of the car window not far from Old Trafford. The shock didn’t last long, because A) I don’t smoke and B) I very fairly drive the car these days.

It was clear it was my wife, who does occasionally smoke and uses the car everyday to get to and from work. I’m not sure what I was angrier about; the fine or her smoking in the car. Any way neither was important, the real trouble was trying to figure out where she was at the time the ‘offence’ was said to take place. It took ages. Mostly, because she would have been teaching at this time, eventually we figured out that she had been on a class trip to the Christmas markets in the morning and was on half a day because of it.

So we couldn’t get out of that one. The letter was asking me to identify the person in the car, so it didn’t need paying immediately. As such I sent off a letter informing the council who it was and we’re still waiting for a reply.

Money Grabbing Tactics?

As excessive as it seems, a £75 fine certainly sends the message, my wife won’t be littering any time soon. Which in a way is great, she certainly shouldn’t be dropping fag ends on the ground. But since it’s also money I have to pay, it’s definitely a bitter victory.

A great deal of people see this as an exercise in making money by the council and while I’m not quite that aggressive in my opinion on the subject this time, my wife did get caught a year ago in a situation that I find very dubious.

While driving down Upper Brook Street in Manchester she was caught in a bus lane. What I felt that was a bit unfair about this was that the bus lane ended to open into a left hand turn only lane. However, the problem is that at peak traffic time the queues back up into the bus lane. Not only does this cover road markings that identify the lane as bus only, but by not switching into the appropriate lane behind the traffic you risk cutting up or holding up other drivers.

To me the council definitely saw a money making opportunity here and set up a camera to capture people filing neatly into the bus lane none the wiser they were committing an offence.

The fine wasn’t nearly as much as the recent litter one, but still not much fun.

Can You Do Any Thing?

No, not really. Especially, if you actually did what is being claimed you did, even more so if photographic evidence is present. So if you are guilty,own up and pay the fine – appealing when you know you’re guilty could lead to an increases in cost for processing the appeal.

If you feel you genuinely have ground for an appeal, then you should by all means press forward with.

Only a fraction of the 8 millions parking tickets, issued annually are contested. However there’s substantial evidence that countless more people could beat their fines. Despite that fact that 65% of appeals are said to be upheld and fines withdrawn, only a few thousands fines are appealed out of the millions of tickets issued.

How to Appeal

As most of us will unfortunately know when you get a ticket, or a Penalty Charge Notice (PNC), you can either pay half the fine within 14 days or appeal the ticket. The amount of the fine depends on the offence you have committed. If you want to challenge your ticket you will need to write to the council and explain why you are choosing the appeal the fine.

However, if you choose to appeal ensure you are very confident of your argument, in some cases it may cost less to pay the lower amount. If you choose to appeal this may take you over the 14 day allowance and your fine amount will be the higher amount, however you could ask for the council to freeze the PCN at the lower amount until the appeal has been resolved, although there are no guarantees that this will be granted.

I was able to do this some years ago, when I got a ticket on a Bank Holiday Monday, when I wrongly assumed that Sunday rules were applicable. Clearly, I was wrong. However, I couldn’t afford the fine at that time, so I appealed any way and even though the appeal was unsuccessful I was able to pay the original amount. This was a fairly risky move on my part, as I could have been subjected to additional charges.

If your appeal is rejected the council will send you a Notice to Owner form which you need to fill out explaining why you think your ticket should be withdrawn and send it back to them within 14 days, however if they accept your appeal they withdraw your fine immediately. If the council reject your reason for withdrawal you will be sent a Notice of Rejection of Representation and Appeal Notice form. You are given 28 days to place your appeal with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal who will decide the outcome of your case, however note that your fine will increase by 50 percent if your appeal fails.

Legal Grounds for Appeal

If the alleged infringement did not happen put your reasons for appealing into one of these groups:-

Invalid permit/parking voucher displayed, misleading signs, non-visible markings and signs, loading, un-issued ticket, etc.
When the alleged infringement happened I was not the owner of the vehicle.
The penalty exceeded the relevant amount.
At the time of the alleged infringement my car was stolen or taken without my knowledge.
We are a hire company and have supplied the hirer’s name and address.
I have an invalid Traffic Regulation Order (Only if the authorities regulations are legally defective)