another parking fine question

[VCDenton]

Hi just wondering whether you guys think I have any chance if I write to the council.....

I walked out to collect letters and saw the officer put a fine sticker to the windscreen, I quickly walked up there and caught him before he went to the next car, I told him that I have visitor parking permit inside but he said he couldnt see it clearly as it wasnt properly positioned........then I said it indeed is my mistake and I will know it from now on apologize etc.....but he still insisted that a fine is applicable given its not visible to him at the time of offense.

Do you think I should bother to write to the council at a ll?

 

[AlmostBob]

write with the whole,
'thank you for the officer pointing out the difficulty' idea
and include that it was displayed,
just improperly
because you werent aware,
a polite try can't hurt

 

[lizzie]

i agree with ab, write a polite, apologetic letter and see how you go. nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time.

one thing that people seem to not realise, once the ticket (parking, speeding etc) has been written, it cannot legally be recinded by the writing officer regardless of the excuses people come up with.

 

[Macca]

Hi,

Yep, once it is written it is set in stone !

However, if you write to the appropriate authority, in your case council, quite a few people do get "let off"

With driving tickets for simple stuff if you haven't been booked for 10 years you will usually (but not always) get off.

Just plead distraction, new car, any excuse...... apologise and promise to be good

 

[Luv2Travel]

With driving tickets for simple stuff if you haven't been booked for 10 years you will usually (but not always) get off.

Driving offences yes, but not sure about parking ones. I've been able to get friends and family out of speeding tickets often, but I received my first and only parking offence a couple of years ago (was a totally innocent mistake) and wrote a letter. They wouldn't budge, but it was Williamstown, apparently that council are known to be quite mean.

But as others have said, no harm in trying, I'd always try and get out of a penalty. You have nothing to lose, what's the worse that can happen? You end up where you are now and have to pay it.

 

[The Y-man]

Also ask if you can defer payment or pay in instalments due to financial hardship.

The Y-man

 

[marg4000]

By all means write to the council, but I suggest you also contact your local counciller and ask him/her to intervene on your behalf. Friends got a footpath parking infringement waived after involving their local council member.
Marg

 

[Aaron Sice]

you HAVE a permit, but it wasn't displayed correctly, so you were fined.

that's akin to having diplomatic immunity, but wearing a hoodie and sneakers in parramatta and being arrested and detained for suspiscion of whatever minorities are under suspiscion for.

you weren't in your hotel room, and weren't correctly attired at the time of suspiscion, therefore your immunity is null and void.

write the letter.

 

[Dazz]

one thing that people seem to not realise, once the ticket (parking, speeding etc) has been written, it cannot legally be recinded by the writing officer regardless of the excuses people come up with.

I'd love to know where you are getting that from lizzie.

I reckon some crusty ol' retired High Court judge, assisting his daughter give birth in the backseat of a car hastily pulled up and parked illegally might have a jolly good chance of evading some inflexible moron after he's written out a ticket....else the parking inspector boss, boss' boss and the boss' boss' boss might get themselves in very hot water.

 

[lizzie]

i'm probably wrong - often am - was just the impression i was given over many years and numerous tickets ... sigh

 

[vincenzo]

I've heard ticket officers tell people exactly what you said Lizzie, that once they've started, the can't cancel the ticket... doesn't mean they are telling the truth I guess.

I'd say write a letter to the council, but I probably wouldn't mention the permit not being displayed correctly... as that would be admitting fault = ticket. I'd probably go for something along the lines of:

To whom it may concern

I ........................ had just parked my car at ................. street to visit .................... I was returning to my car with a visitor's parking permit, number .................. but in the approximately 30 seconds it took to do so, I had recieved a parking ticket.

Next time I will call my visitor upon arrival, so they can come outside and give me the parking permit, so that my car will not be left unattended.

Hopefully he didn't put down your comments about it not being displayed properly! If so, then this probably wouldn't work

 

[terrence]

I'd love to know where you are getting that from lizzie.

I reckon some crusty ol' retired High Court judge, assisting his daughter give birth in the backseat of a car hastily pulled up and parked illegally might have a jolly good chance of evading some inflexible moron after he's written out a ticket....else the parking inspector boss, boss' boss and the boss' boss' boss might get themselves in very hot water.

When they print your ticket off their little computer, do you think if you come up with a good enough excuse, they can just press the 'oops, my mistake' button and

*POOF*

ticket is gone.

 

[Dazz]

Lets try and keep your sexuality out of the discussion please terrence.

Indeed - if they couldn't, it would be the first IT program ever written without a delete or backspace function in-built.

I reckon it's a bogus thing to stop the whingy complaints and 99.9% of unworthy excuses.

 

[hobo-jo]

Write the letter, but don't say anything about it being positioned incorrectly or talking to the inspector.

Just take a photocopy/provide evidence of the visitors pass and say it was displayed in your vehicle at the time of the fine so you want the fine waived.

 

[Dazz]

From the original poster....

I said it indeed is my mistake and I will know it from now on apologize etc.....but he still insisted that a fine is applicable given its not visible to him at the time of offense.

and.....

don't say anything about it being positioned incorrectly

Just....say it was displayed in your vehicle at the time of the fine so you want the fine waived.

Your attitude / advice / comment hobo-jo is the very reason that Council Officers and Inspectors, Policeman out on patrol and other law enforcers get their back up all the time and are constantly jaded when interacting with the public. You haven't had legal training by any chance ??

You're obviously comfortable writing a letter to an Authority telling blatant lies and more importantly signing it. Your signature and personal integrity must be worth less than the parking fine. Staggering.

 

[rugrat]

Write the letter, but don't say anything about it being positioned incorrectly or talking to the inspector.

Just take a photocopy/provide evidence of the visitors pass and say it was displayed in your vehicle at the time of the fine so you want the fine waived.

yep, do that!

 

[Luv2Travel]

You're obviously comfortable writing a letter to an Authority telling blatant lies and more importantly signing it. Your signature and personal integrity must be worth less than the parking fine. Staggering.

I agree, writing to ask for a warning is fine, but I would never lie, especially what has been suggested. This makes the parking inspector look as though he's not doing his job properly and is incompetent. What if he gets in trouble?

 

[rugrat]

I don't buy into this whole 'lying by omission' crap. Lying is stating something that is false, not failing to tell something.

You should be truthfully with what you say, but that doesn't mean you have to volunteer information.

The information that need presenting is:
You got booked
You actually did have a ticket
You did display it

If they want to investigate further and ask questions then you answer them, but you do not need to volunteer that information, particularly as the information you would volunteer is not actually evidenced and amounts to little more then heresay.

 

[hobo-jo]

You're obviously comfortable writing a letter to an Authority telling blatant lies and more importantly signing it. Your signature and personal integrity must be worth less than the parking fine. Staggering.

Telling blatant lies? Who are you kidding? It's simply omitting unnecessary details. You are one of the most devious characters on this site Dazz and you are having a go at MY integrity over ways to avoid a parking infringement for someone that had the necessary permit? lol

From what I read in the OP they had the permit displayed but in the wrong location.

As rugrat has described above, a simple letter explaining that:
- You had a permit
- It was displayed at the time of the infringement
- You would like the fine waived due to the above two points

Should have the fine waived and is not a lie (IMHO).

 

[Dazz]

Knock yourself out hobo.....

I've never been called devious, but will proudly wear that badge, I'll add it to the collection. I love and accept all labels duly given.