Woman fined after parking ticket 'curls up' on window in Wimbledon
9:56am Thursday 28th June 2012 in Bizarre By Lauren May, Chief Reporter
Debbie King was fined in Wimbledon
An insurance worker who paid £10 to park in Wimbledon was given a £60 fine after her ticket ‘curled up’ on her window.
Debbie King, of Prince of Wales Road, Sutton, had parked in Hartfield Road car park on June 7 and purchased a £10 ticket.
After returning within her paid for time, she was "horrified" to discover a parking ticket for £60 citing a ‘failure to correctly display ticket’.
She said: "To my horror I saw the ticket I had purchased had curled over and all the required information was obscured.
"I can only assume, due to the absolute torrential rain on that morning, the ticket got wet in the walk from the ticket machine to my car and the heat of the car then made the ticket curl over."
Mrs King assumed that after presenting her valid ticket all would be forgiven and that Merton Council would accept she had paid the appropriate amount and quash the ticket.
Instead, the council upheld the ticket saying the onus was on the driver to ensure any ticket is displayed clearly.
Mrs King said: "I can understand the logic behind the issuing of the penalty notice - the ticket issuing officer did not know the ticket was valid.
"However, how can I be responsible for the potentially substandard paper in the ticket machine used by the council?
"I placed the ticket as requested - how am I to know, minutes or hours later the paper would curl up?
"Sometimes a little discretion on the part of Merton Council would go a long way in the days when bureaucracy seems to have gone mad."
In a letter to Mrs King - who eventually paid £30 by settling the ticket early - Merton Council said while it accepted she had not intended to park in "contravention" the ticket had been "correctly issued" and there were "no grounds" to cancel the charge.
It continued: "In future you should check the visibility of your ticket or permit after closing your car doors and before walking away from the vehicle."
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Comments(6)
Brianfromsutton
says...
11:51am Thu 28 Jun 12
A few years back now I went to a show at Wimbledon Theatre and was pleased to see a vacant meter parking bay just outside the Theatre about 7.10pm so parked to go and enjoy the show.
To my dismay I found I had a parking ticket when I returned at about 10:30pm and only THEN looked to see that Merton Council CHARGE for evening parking up until 11pm, not only on the street but also in their car parks.
Looking further into this, the single 'yellow lines' are also operational until 11pm in the centre of the town so beware if you go to see a show or want to visit the cinema in Wimbledon Town Centre as they are there to 'fleece' you for parking fees! They also operate 'restricted' parking times on Sundays as well so if you are going shopping don't risk parking on a meter bay or single yellow line without checking first, as you will no doubt get a parking ticket!!
In my own case, an e-mail to the Leader of Merton Council at the time was very unhelpful... I can't say I was surprised.. so I ended up having to pay the fine which made it an even more expensive trip to the Theatre and makes me question whether to support Wimbledon in the future. Public Transport is available I know, but with shows finishing at 10:30 or so it's not practical to try to get home this way so late at night.
It made me laugh when Westminster Council eventually conceded it was not practical to introduce evening and weekend parking charges.... when Merton/Wimbledon have been doing it for years!!
stuckinamatchbox
says...
8:08pm Sat 30 Jun 12
"In future you should check the visibility of your ticket or permit after closing your car doors and before walking away from the vehicle."
Isn't the whole point really that, well in this ladies case, when she left the car for her paid for time amounting to £10, her ticket was visible? Given what us humans tend to do when utilising overpriced carparks, shopping, lunches, work, dinners, trips up town, school runs etc. I don't know many or any who would go to park, pay a tenner and then sit vigil by the window just incase the ticket curls.
This council is a disgrace. Our boroughs hospitals are a disgrace.
Money grabbing morons the entire lot of them. Shameful.
Tobermory
says...
8:53pm Sun 1 Jul 12
Brianfromsutton wrote:So you parked in a meter bay didn't bother looking at the sign next to the car and then blame the Council because you got fined......priceless
I'm not surprised to see that Merton Council have once again fined a motorist for 'illegal' parking even though a ticket was purchased, they are keen to gain revenue at every opportunity possible.
A few years back now I went to a show at Wimbledon Theatre and was pleased to see a vacant meter parking bay just outside the Theatre about 7.10pm so parked to go and enjoy the show.
To my dismay I found I had a parking ticket when I returned at about 10:30pm and only THEN looked to see that Merton Council CHARGE for evening parking up until 11pm, not only on the street but also in their car parks.
Looking further into this, the single 'yellow lines' are also operational until 11pm in the centre of the town so beware if you go to see a show or want to visit the cinema in Wimbledon Town Centre as they are there to 'fleece' you for parking fees! They also operate 'restricted' parking times on Sundays as well so if you are going shopping don't risk parking on a meter bay or single yellow line without checking first, as you will no doubt get a parking ticket!!
In my own case, an e-mail to the Leader of Merton Council at the time was very unhelpful... I can't say I was surprised.. so I ended up having to pay the fine which made it an even more expensive trip to the Theatre and makes me question whether to support Wimbledon in the future. Public Transport is available I know, but with shows finishing at 10:30 or so it's not practical to try to get home this way so late at night.
It made me laugh when Westminster Council eventually conceded it was not practical to introduce evening and weekend parking charges.... when Merton/Wimbledon have been doing it for years!!
!?
The car park next to the Theatre would have cost less than a return bus ticket if you parked at 7.30pm.
Brianfromsutton
says...
11:01pm Sun 1 Jul 12
When I parked there I assumed it was the usual parking restrictions of 6.30 or 7pm at night so NO I didn't look at the the sign because I never expected a MONEY GRABBING council to have invoked their own rules to charge people to park in the evening.
AND you are also wrong about the car park next to the theatre ... they charge per hour right up until 11pm too so that does not cost less than a bus ticket!
Get your facts right before you criticise someone if you don't know what you are talking about!! .... unless you are a Merton Council member trying to defend their charging policy at night time and weekends...... as I said, something that Westminster ruled out!!!!
GR-London
says...
11:20am Mon 2 Jul 12
If you want some examples of the very, very worst in human nature, look at how honest people who may have made a genuine mistake are treated by these disgusting people.
There may well be an argument that the P&D tickets should be able to retain their integrity if they become wet. I don't know what the process for parking a motorcycle is - where would they place their ticket?
Merton has gained a particularly bad reputation for the way it treats people in these matters - maybe it's time for a change of council at the next elections?
mr-bjp says...
10:54am Thu 28 Jun 12