Topic ID 2361
The latest tactic by these wardens appears to be issuing tickets randomly for "not displaying a valid ticket" when there is a valid ticket on the windscreen. Perhaps as long as the wardens issue enough tickets to meet their targets for the day it obviously doesn't matter. GillP has just been done despite being wholly within the bay and having 50 minutes left to run on the ticket! Now it is our responsibility to appeal and get the ticket cancelled [:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!]
Reply ID 33019
I trust it was the ONLY ticket on display. Good luck with your appeal and keep us posted.
Reply ID 33020
How about playing them at their own game. The Parking Attendants carry digital cameras to record evidence of offences. So, when you park, with the ticket properly displayed, take a digital photo with the time and date displayed, which you can presumably use to refute their allegations. What's good for the goose..............
Reply ID 33021
If you've got an hour to spare, follow one of them around with a digital camera and snap them wrongly ticketing a car.
Reply ID 33025
Exactly same thing happened to me - ticket issued when there was a valid ticket on dash board - so off I went to find a warden I could complain to - to cut a long story short - said it wasn't him and in fact he was very helpful - informed me that I should send ticket off with the valid ticket to the payment address and explain the situation. Did that and received a lovely letter a couple of days latter apologising. I am sure if this is happening to a lot of peeps - the over zealous warden will soon get found out!!!!
Reply ID 33026
quote:I followed one around one day with a video camera, recording him doing his shopping! He got the right @rse and got close to assaulting me
Originally posted by JohnSmith
If you've got an hour to spare, follow one of them around with a digital camera and snap them wrongly ticketing a car.
Reply ID 33028
quote:Are you being serious buzz?
Originally posted by buzzquote:I followed one around one day with a video camera, recording him doing his shopping! He got the right @rse and got close to assaulting me
Originally posted by JohnSmith
If you've got an hour to spare, follow one of them around with a digital camera and snap them wrongly ticketing a car.
Reply ID 33030
quote:"He got the right @rse"? Hee hee. Were you carrying a Dom Joly like comedy oversize parking ticket?
Originally posted by buzzquote:I followed one around one day with a video camera, recording him doing his shopping! He got the right @rse and got close to assaulting me
Originally posted by JohnSmith
If you've got an hour to spare, follow one of them around with a digital camera and snap them wrongly ticketing a car.
Reply ID 33031
Who says they don't have a quota? [:(!]
Reply ID 33035
quote:They have a quota alright, I've overheard them chatting to each other about how to achieve it each day!
Originally posted by Leo Densian
Who says they don't have a quota? [:(!]
Reply ID 33102
They were even out in Fore Street this morning, which seems like a total waste of time/
Reply ID 33105
quote:So bank Holiday are not exempt then? [?]
Originally posted by spitfire
They were even out in Fore Street this morning, which seems like a total waste of time/
Reply ID 33325
Bank holidays are not exempt from parking restrictions and enforcement, however most of the car parks are free on Bank Holidays. No doubt the wardens are keen to work on bank holidays to earn overtime or something.
Reply ID 33326
I have sent off my appeal today, and asked them to refund my postage costs too. What a waste of time, money and effort all round!
Reply ID 33328
HA HA!!! I was 6 minutes over my time in StAndrews Street car park yesterday and they didn't get me!!! Na na ne na na.
Reply ID 33329
Yesterday I saw the wind blow a traffic wardens hat into a puddle. Ho-diddly-ho. There is a God.
Reply ID 33335
quote:It was probably too far from the cubby hole in Bircherley Green for the wardens to venture out in the cold weather. You were lucky
Originally posted by nora batty
HA HA!!! I was 6 minutes over my time in StAndrews Street car park yesterday and they didn't get me!!! Na na ne na na.
Reply ID 33420
quote:I would venture to suggest Nora that you were committing an offence by overstaying your time at a public car park. You should therefore calculate the excess you owe and forward payment without delay to the relevant car parking authorities and in future be a more responsible driver. Or could I be teasing you?? Happy New Year, Alan Bennett (http://www.hertford.net/yoursay/topic.php?id=2342&whichpage=1&SearchTerms=awards)
Originally posted by nora batty
HA HA!!! I was 6 minutes over my time in StAndrews Street car park yesterday and they didn't get me!!! Na na ne na na.
Reply ID 33424
quote:This actually makes alot of sense. The reason that the parking attendants have targets is so that enough income is generated to pay for their services, rather than being funded by [council] taxpayers. If everyone identified their own misdemeanors and calculated and submitted the penalties themselves there would be no need for parking attendants. Problem solved.
Originally posted by Landy
I would venture to suggest Nora that you were committing an offence by overstaying your time at a public car park. You should therefore calculate the excess you owe and forward payment without delay to the relevant car parking authorities and in future be a more responsible driver.
Reply ID 33434
How do I calculate it though? The extra hour or part thereof would have cost me 50p if I had paid in advance. On the other hand under the rules I am not allowed to "meter feed" so that would have been a penalty. On the other hand last week I got back to the car 6 minutes early, so are we quits? Pay on exit is a kind of submission of your own penalty, isn't it? And as an extra incentive to pay up, if you don't pay what you owe you don't get out. But hang on though! Wouldn't that do the Council out of lots of extra revenue?! P.S. Happy New Year Landy! Glad to see you weren't put off by my lemon-faced comments!
Reply ID 33448
If a parking attendant wrongly tickets your car, surely it's only equitable to bill the council £60 (£30 if paid within 14 days) to cover your time and expenses in getting the incorrect ticket cancelled?!
Reply ID 33453
If a parking attendant fell over in a forest, would anyone hear it?
Reply ID 33459
My question is - "do we need so many wardens?" The only reason for having wardens is as a deterrent against people breaking the rules. When people know there is a chance of getting a ticket they will think twice about breaking the rules. Ultimately if everybody obeyed the rules then the wardens wouldn't be able to issue tickets and therefore wouldn't be able to reach any target. The cost of policing car parks should be included in the ticket price, but what we currently have is overkill. Taking Steve's Argument to a logical conclusion - unless people break the rules in Car Parks our council tax will have to rise. ie we will get penalised for obeying the rules.[:(!]
Reply ID 33469
What's the noun of assemblage for Traffic Wardens? [url="http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-601812959108602327&q=Traffic+Warden"]You decide[/url]
Reply ID 33472
A nuisience?
Reply ID 33477
quote:I love the link! How about a Steaming Brown Heap of Traffic Wardens.
Originally posted by Herbert Lemons
What's the noun of assemblage for Traffic Wardens? [url="http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-601812959108602327&q=Traffic+Warden"]You decide[/url]
Reply ID 33478
quote:Fantastic... explains why they dont go aroun alone! Gill -xx-
Originally posted by Herbert Lemons
What's the noun of assemblage for Traffic Wardens? [url="http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-601812959108602327&q=Traffic+Warden"]You decide[/url]
Reply ID 33479
A couple more grievous abuses of power captured locally: [url="http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3037584357563676097&q=traffic+warden+appealnow"]Railway Street Incident[/url] [url="http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3037584357563676097&q=traffic+warden+appealnow"]Railway Rd Incident [/url] With some natural justice found at the [url="http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3037584357563676097&q=traffic+warden+appealnow"]Railway Tamworth Rd Incident[/url]
Reply ID 33504
Very funny Herbert. Thanks for those links. For those who find this subject a much too serious and consuming worry though, may I present this simple formula:- Tickets = Parking Attendants. It is, therefore, invalid to claim that you get a ticket because the existance of attendants. It's the other way round. So, for those with a pathological hatred of this particular occupation, it is easy to dispense retribution by causing their unemployment. Simply park legally. If I've done and paid the correct fee, why should the car next to me not bother, or overstay without penalty? I don't wish to subsidise the selfishness of others.
Reply ID 33505
quote:I think part of the issue here is the large number of incorrectly issued tickets - people who've parked legally and still found themselves with a penalty, and then having to prove their innocence through the appeals procedure. I think we'd all be interested to find out what proportion of tickets are appealled and what proportion of those have the appeals upheld.
Originally posted by shunt
Very funny Herbert. Thanks for those links. For those who find this subject a much too serious and consuming worry though, may I present this simple formula:- Tickets = Parking Attendants. It is, therefore, invalid to claim that you get a ticket because the existance of attendants. It's the other way round. So, for those with a pathological hatred of this particular occupation, it is easy to dispense retribution by causing their unemployment. Simply park legally. If I've done and paid the correct fee, why should the car next to me not bother, or overstay without penalty? I don't wish to subsidise the selfishness of others.
Reply ID 33508
I'd also be interested in the number of upheld appeals. Last year I was intially very angry to find I'd received what I considered to be an unwarranted ticket. On appeal, I found that the attendant was correct in issuing a ticket for meter-feeding. The rule itself seemed pretty ridiculous to me, but the attendant was not at fault. I wonder how many other incidents, blamed on innefficiency of operatives, are actually a misunderstanding of the parameters under which they are obliged to operate. I certainly thought I was iadequately informed of the circumstances which led to me receiving a penalty, but thankfully, I did not give the warden a hard time before checking.
Reply ID 33511
Rather than printing information about a non-existant refund scheme on the back of pay-and-display tickets, how about some information about what you could get a ticket for (meter feeding, not parking within spaces, overstaying etc). Oh, but hang on, that might lead to less offences and consequantly less profit for the council!
Reply ID 33513
The information is actually there, on the notices by the machines, but is open to some interpretation. I thought that by paying over the odds to buy two one hour tickets in a bay which allowed a maximum of four hours, I'd be within the law. This is apparently not the case and the purchase of two concurrent tickets is always an offence.
Reply ID 33516
The meter feeding rule is a daft one - you actually pay more for your two hours if you buy 2 tickets. They should encourage it. But hang on! That would leave one less way to get a penalty!
Reply ID 33522
The meter feeding rule is designed to stop people trying to use a short stay car park for parking all day. Isn't there a maximum stay? If meter feeding was allowed then some unscrupulous person could park in the morning and pay for 4 hours parking - sneak out at lunch time and pay for another 4 hours parking thus making the space unavailable for the people who just want to nip into Hertford for a couple of hours. But in the current times it is the letter of the law that is important. They will be issuing tickets to Hackney Carriages next for not carrying straw bales (although that is probably a police matter)
Reply ID 33523
quote:I know WHY they have that rule, but it doesn't make any sense when/where it only costs £3.00 to park all day.
Originally posted by jez_p
The meter feeding rule is designed to stop people trying to use a short stay car park for parking all day. Isn't there a maximum stay? If meter feeding was allowed then some unscrupulous person could park in the morning and pay for 4 hours parking - sneak out at lunch time and pay for another 4 hours parking thus making the space unavailable for the people who just want to nip into Hertford for a couple of hours. But in the current times it is the letter of the law that is important. They will be issuing tickets to Hackney Carriages next for not carrying straw bales (although that is probably a police matter)
Reply ID 33524
In order for it to make sense - the people in charge of parking need to have sufficient brains to look at the whole picture. Long Stay Parking Short Stay Parking Residents' Parking Yellow Lines. Policing/Enforcement Pricing Not just pay a private company to enforce the existing rules (which were probably made when it only cost 10p to park for 2 hours) and then set ticket prices and targets to balance the budget.
Reply ID 33525
quote:You are absolutely right - they need to rethink the whole thing.
Originally posted by jez_p
In order for it to make sense - the people in charge of parking need to have sufficient brains to look at the whole picture. Long Stay Parking Short Stay Parking Residents' Parking Yellow Lines. Policing/Enforcement Pricing Not just pay a private company to enforce the existing rules (which were probably made when it only cost 10p to park for 2 hours) and then set ticket prices and targets to balance the budget.
Reply ID 33574
Some of the parking attendants show common sense and understanding. If these people experience rudeness I expect they will leave and we will be left with those who are hardened enough to cope with the abuse and more prone to over officious application of parking regulations and issuing penalties.
Reply ID 33583
Rule 93: if it is near the end of your shift - you can issue a ticket to the nearest vehicle to make up your targets.
Reply ID 33592
Digest this lot......... http://www.parking-appeals.gov.uk/RegAndLeg/PCNconCodes.asp
Reply ID 33594
Good to see that car parking in Hertford is increasing in price again! Ref: Hertfordshire Smirkury last week.
Reply ID 33599
And some more light reading so there's no excuse for not knowing the regulations..... http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/Transport_And_%20Streets/Motor_Vehicles_Roads_And_Parking/Parking_Orders/2005/ParkingOrderNo1.pdf
Reply ID 33601
May be a bit much to expect every parker to read and digest all of the Regs. Or maybe I am just not utilising my spare time to it's fullest! [;)]
Reply ID 33603
I've just noticed something. According to East Herts Council web site......... http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/Transport_And_%20Streets/Motor_Vehicles_Roads_And_Parking/Parking_Orders/ The only current Car Park Order is the one I have attached the link for in my previous post. However, having had a aquick look at it it seems to apply only to Bishop's Stortford. Does this mean there is no current order in force in Hertford?
Reply ID 33622
If so, then the price scale is wrong? Even for Stortford!
Reply ID 33644
News from the bogus PCN I got a letter back this morning
quote:Yeah Right
... We are completely satisfied that the PCN was correctly issued based on the evidence available to the Parking Attendant
quote:So that is an extra £1 I have had to pay.
We do not offer a refund of postal costs incurred...
quote:Quite right too
given the information this Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) has now been cancelled
quote:They also sent me 2 photos one of the driver's door and one of the PCN OK you can't see a ticket in either of them but the quality is very poor.
However, you should make sure that you properly pay and display your pay and display tickets in future. Any PCN's issued under similar circumstances may not be cancelles
Reply ID 33645
In fact on closer inspection you can see the ticket - it is just hard to spot in the photo due to the poor quality of the photo.
Reply ID 33801
I've said this before but it's a persistant quandary for me. I've just seen a couple of traffic wardens walking up the street and I can't help but notice it. Are traffic wardens actually smaller than the people who buy their uniforms anticipated? They look like kids wearing their dad's coat.
Reply ID 33812
quote:[:D]I know exactly what you mean, especially with the hats as well.
Originally posted by Herbert Lemons
I've said this before but it's a persistant quandary for me. I've just seen a couple of traffic wardens walking up the street and I can't help but notice it. Are traffic wardens actually smaller than the people who buy their uniforms anticipated? They look like kids wearing their dad's coat.
Reply ID 33869
quote:The uniforms are purposely intended to give the impression of greater size by their design and as a matter of policy. This is because attendants are so frequently threatened with assault. Smaller persons do sometimes look as if they are being consumed by some kind of uniform monster though.[:D]
Originally posted by Herbert Lemons
I've said this before but it's a persistant quandary for me. I've just seen a couple of traffic wardens walking up the street and I can't help but notice it. Are traffic wardens actually smaller than the people who buy their uniforms anticipated? They look like kids wearing their dad's coat.
Reply ID 33871
Well today when we parked i made sure the ticket was firmly attahed to the windscreen and took photos of it!
Reply ID 33872
quote:It is a sorry state of affairs when pro-active backwatching becomes part of one's daily life... ...that's not an insult. I support you.
Originally posted by GillP
Well today when we parked i made sure the ticket was firmly attahed to the windscreen and took photos of it!
Reply ID 33874
quote:Sounds an excellent idea to me
Originally posted by GillP
Well today when we parked i made sure the ticket was firmly attahed to the windscreen and took photos of it!