What can you do if someone parks on your drive without permission?

"pretty much nothing" - I know thats not what you wanted to hear!

Picture this situation: You've come home from work, only to find some random person has parked on your drive. What do you do?

.....Call the police?
.....The council must be able to do something, right?

Well, it turns out that you may have little or no legal recourse against this antisocial behaviour.

That's what one unfortunate homeowner in Bristol found out when a cheeky driver parked up on their drive - for FIVE DAYS. They said the police or authorities would not, or could not help, reports the Bristol Post .

Nobody knows whether the motor was left in someone else's driveway deliberately or mistakenly. But it was legal, taxed, insured, and had its MOT.

Avon and Somerset Police refused to comment and the city council said that unless a vehicle is blocking a public highway, officers have no power.

“Bristol City Council will investigate abandoned vehicles parked on public land or highway, but not on private land," said a spokeswoman.

"In order to be classified as abandoned the vehicle also needs to be untaxed for at least one month and left in the same location for a significant amount of time. There’s more information on the reporting process on our website.”

The police explained that the moment a car crosses onto your property, technically, trespassing has taken place. But it's a civil offence and holds no bearing in criminal law.
 

So what can you do?

It's a long and annoying process. You'll need to obtain an eviction notice from the courts. A solicitor would be able to get a civil court's permission to find out the identity of the legal owner, and a judge would then have to order its removal.

Now here's the ridiculous part. All this would probably cost you quite a lot of money. The court would process the order for removal, and that'd leave you with legal fees - perhaps thousands of pounds.

Is there an alternative?

You could simply park in front of the car, subsequently blocking in the vehicle in question. But doing this is only possible if you don't live on a main road with double yellow lines, and if your drive's big enough.

A quick solution is to hire a private tow truck (starting at around £100). But if the car gets damaged, you could be liable to pay for damages.

Certain circumstances

In some circumstances the police will be able to remove a vehicle, for example if the vehicle is in a dangerous condition such as:

• leaking petrol 
• contains dangerous items such as gas bottles

Either way, it's best to seek legal advice and alert the relevant authorities. The Citizens Advice Bureau would be the best place to start. Using a third party to have the car towed is not advised by the police.

“Don't damage or clamp the vehicle or have it removed by a third party for destruction or storage without first seeking legal advice," the police spokesman added.

"If you do any of these things, you may commit a criminal offence or the owner may pursue a civil action against you."

 Source:manchestereveningnews

Pensioner receives parking ticket for leaving her car across her own driveway

Rita Oystenan 82 year old pensioner has been left outraged after being slapped with a fine for parking across hew own driveway, having never had any  issues parking in the same location for over two decades.

After receiving the  penalty notice on March 23 she complained to the council.

Rita, of Bridlington, East Yorks., said:

“In the morning, I backed my car out and parked it across my drive – and I got a penalty outside my own house.

“I have done this for around 20 years and no-one has ever said anything before.

“Can’t I park across my own drive?

“I’m elderly and I don’t like backing out when it’s busy so I do it in the morning.

“It’s terrible parking in Bridlington as it is. We have got a new traffic warden, but I don’t know if it’s her [who gave me the ticket].

“My daughter-in-law has a chalet and when she has come and parked across the drive no-one has ever grumbled.”

However, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council are refusing to waive the ticket.

A spokesperson said: “The resident was issued with a penalty charge notice for parking outside of the bay marking.

“She submitted a challenge to the serving of this parking penalty notice (PCN) but that challenge was rejected by the council.

“She has further opportunities to appeal which have been explained in a letter.”

Rita added: “It says in their letter that I can challenge this by writing again, but I can’t be bothered with that.”

Source Sun
 

Parking Sensors Installed on to Volvo XC70 Estate

This installation was of the Dolphin DPS455 Kit on to a 2005 Volvo XC70 Estate. The Dolphin DPS455 has a display that is mounted at the rear of the car on the roof lining.

This car required 2 silver and 2 matt black sensors which were easily able to be placed in one kit via a phone call request for the same price as a kit of 4 sensors of all one colour so no need to have to sacrifice the look of the rear of the car, keeping the installation as discrete as possible.

 

Dyslexic driver fined after mixing up a zero with the letter O in car-parking app

A dyslexic man has been locked in a battle over a parking fine for £100 after mixing up a zero with an O.

Mr Nick Preedy said he had been parking in the spot in Nottingham for several months and using an app to pay when he was suddenly hit with a fine, despite having forked out the £8.20 for 12 hours of parking.

Nick said he had tried to appeal the fine he was slapped with last year by Excel Parking – but was surprised to be hit with a summons to the Small Claims Court over the matter.

He told The Sun Online: “I’d been using this app for well over a year with the same registration registered when I got a ticket.

“I said, I’m not paying, I’ve got proof, and carried on pestering them, and emailed them the proof of the parking ticket.”

The car had been registered under the parking app with an O, rather than a zero.
Nick added: “I didn’t hear anything back then the other day I received a letter saying I’ve got to go to court over it.”

The saga has been going on since January last year.

He said: “It’s been bad enough getting letters at the beginning, with them saying ‘we want the money’.

“It’s like being threatened and bullied.”

Speaking to the Sun Online, he said: “For me, it wasn’t as if I didn’t pay, I hadn’t of been thinking that I couldn’t afford it and that I would try to sneak in real quick, which people do.

“My partner said I should just pay it but I’ve already paid for the parking, I’m not paying for the ticket.

“I’ve tried talking to them, all they want is the money.”

A spokesman for Excel parking said Mr Preedy had to opportunity to appeal to the fine twice before the matter was handed to debt recovery.

They said: “Furthermore, he could have also contacted the Debt Recovery Agent who we engaged to handle matters prior to it being referred to our current ‘Agent. It was at this point, Mr Preedy made contact although no reference was made to his dyslexia.

“Inevitably, we have incurred additional costs in getting to where we are now and the matter could have been addressed much sooner had Mr Preedy contacted us early last year.

“However, as a gesture of goodwill, we will contact Mr Preedy with details of a settlement figure we are prepared to accept without the matter proceeding to court.”

But Mr Preedy said he was now willing to go to court over the matter, despite the offer on the table to have a one hour mediation to discuss a settlement cost.

He said: “It’s the principle of the thing.

“I’m not sitting there for an hour listening to them argue about money. If the court says I have to pay it, I will.”

A spokesman for Excel parking added: “We would always advise motorists to contact the parking operator as soon as possible if they consider they have genuine grounds to challenge a PCN, or have special mitigating circumstances they wish to be considered.

“Often motorists are misguided on bad advice given on some websites and take no action at all in the hope that the matter goes away.”

Source: The Sun

Crackdown on illegal parking as council take control

For years drivers in North Somerset have parked illegally without the fear of finding a parking ticket. However the council has now taken over enforcement of double yellow lines and disabled bays from the police.

 

The council is hoping a clampdown on the streets of the streets of Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead will free up spaces for people who genuinely need them.

One wheelchair user said, "sometimes when you go into places like supermarkets, and people have parked in there, if you do go and tackle them, they can be quite abusive."

The wardens here have spent the last two weeks handing out over a thousand (blue) warning notices to people that have been parked illegally.

If the equivalent number of £70 fines were to have been given out, it could have netted up to £70,000 for the council.

 

Allan Taylor, Parking Services Manager for North Somerset Council, said "Invariably, we will be giving out more fines but I think very quickly the public will change their behaviour."

"Very shortly we will have places available for loading bays, for lorry drivers, for people to unload, disabled bays for disabled people and no parking where it could be dangerous or hold up traffic."

In the first few hours of the new enforcement rules, the team has issued 50 £70 fines. The council says it's a small price to pay for keeping these roads clear.

 

Court orders woman to pay £24,500 to private parking company

Story Source BBC Tayside and central Scotland

A woman has been ordered to pay a private parking company £24,500 in unpaid charges.

Carly Mackie ignored hundreds of parking tickets claiming that they were unenforceable. The tickets were for leaving her car at Dundee's Waterfront without a permit.

Ms Mackie said that she had a right to park in the area as she was living at a flat with her stepfather, who was a tenant and had a garage at the property.

Sheriff George Way said the charges were from a "valid contract" and she was liable for them.

Vehicle Control Services (VCS) took the 28-year-old to court last year after she failed to pay £18,500 in private parking notices.
 
Sheriff Way said Ms Mackie had parked outside the garage and would not accept the offer of a parking permit for a space nearby for £40 per month.

What does the law say?

Parking tickets issued by private companies in private car parks are not fines, they can be classed as parking charge notices. These are different from Penalty Charge Notices which are issued by council traffic wardens and the police. These are regulated fines, backed by legislation.

Private landowners and car parking firms do not have the power to issue Penalty Charge Notices
However, by parking in a restricted private area, a motorist can be considered to be agreeing to a contract with the landowner or car park operator, provided there is adequate signage warning of the charge.Failing to pay can be seen as a breach of contract and the car parking firm can take the motorist to court to recover their losses.


The sheriff said Ms Mackie had "entirely misdirected herself" on both the law and "the contractual chain" in the case.

He said: "The defender is bound by that contract and incurred the parking charge on each occasion.
"The defender refused to pay the parking charges not because she was unaware of the parking scheme or the terms of the notices or the financial consequences of parking at any time, but because she did not believe that the charges were valid in law.

"The parking charges flow from a valid contract between the pursuers and the defender and she is liable for them."

UK drivers could soon be fined £70 for parking on pavements

DRIVERS who mount kerbs and park on pavements could soon be hit with a £70 fine.

London has had a ban on parking on pavements since 1974, the practise is still completely legal in the rest of country.

But the Local Government Association hopes to change this by asking the Government to give councils powers to enforce a ban that could see drivers prevented from parking on any part of the pavement, including kerbs.

Streets are becoming dangerously congested and pedestrians are being forced to step out into the street to get round parked vehicles. This is particularly dangerous for blind or partially sighted people and mums and dads with prams.

 

How does the pavement parking ban in London work?

Parking on pavements has been banned in London since the 1974 Greater London Council (General Powers) Act.

The act forbids motorists to park on urban roads in the capital with their car’s wheels resting on footways, grass verges or land between carriageways. There are exceptions to this rule in some areas.

These are clearly marked with special blue parking signs, showing a car with one wheel on the kerb.
Other times, parking bays drawn out with white lines extending onto footways to show that parking there is permitted.

In areas where it is not allowed, the law provides protection for certain circumstances, such as drivers who are unloading goods, putting out a fire or saving someone’s life. Those who break the rules can be subject to a fine.

The Law Says:

 Pavements are for people to walk on. Vehicles parked on the footway can cause an obstruction and inhibit the independence of many vulnerable people, especially older or disabled people with visual or mobility impairments. And when pedestrians, for example families with pushchairs, are forced into the road and into oncoming traffic, pavement parking is simply dangerous. Pavements are not designed to carry the weight of vehicles, and the added maintenance cost of repairing cracked and damaged paving adds an unnecessary financial burden to already cash-strapped councils.