What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Turn for the worse

I unwittingly drove down a dead end in Dalston and used a factory entrance to turn round. I noticed a man in uniform filming me. About a month later I got a bill for £300, for trespassing on private property. I admit I used this dead end to turn round about three times over the last couple of months. I am not a liberty taker. If it were causing people inconvenience I would not do it. There are no warning signs anywhere telling you not to do this. Can you tell me if I have really broken the law and trespassed? I never even stopped the car. I was just turning round. I have now received a final warning letter, and a ‘fine’ of £150,for late payment. Surely these people are no more than racketeers?

Asked on 7 August 2010 by H.A., Merrow, Surrey.P.S

Answered by Honest John
No, they can't hit you for £300 for this. Send them £10 "in reasonable full and final payment for the use of their entrance to turn around", and state that if they want to sue you for an "unreasonable" amount then you will see them in the small claims track of the county court. The SCC is more likely to support you than the greedy enforcers.
Similar questions
I was caught by a portable camera on a short, 175 metre stretch of bus lane, turning left into a side road, obstructing nobody, and actually relieving the jammed traffic in the outside lane. It was a busy...
Lots of arrogant persistent lawbreakers (speeders) often complain that speed cameras are a revenue stream for the government. With our huge deficit needing paying back somehow, I'd far rather see these...
On July 25th last year you published a letter from PM of Kineton regarding his experience at a branch of McDonalds, where he was sent a penalty charge for overstaying his visit - while he was giving them...