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Ticket machination

Having lived and worked in Croydon for 6 years now the parking enforcement seems to be getting worse. I am already appealing against an invalid parking enforcement notice which stated I was parked in a place that I actually wasn't and then yesterday while I was buying my parking ticket from the machine the parking enforcement officer walked up to my car and immediately started to try and book my car to issue an enforcement notice. I noted on the Enforcement Notice I'm appealing against that it was served as soon as the officer turned up: all the times on the notice read 10am, so I had not been observed as ‘parked’ for any period. Is this legal? Don't they have to give you time to get a ticket?

Asked on 15 August 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Of course they have to give you time to buy a ticket. Booking you while you are buying the ticket is wholly "unreasonable". Pay the ticket under protest stating you will take the matter to the small claims track of the county court. Then, if they don’t relent, do exactly that. Car parking systems as in Kingston, where you get a ticket on entry and pay on exit, are obviously far too sensible for Croydon. Or Croydon is more desperate than Kingston to supplement its Council Taxes. Or that particular enforcer was simply over zealous.
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