jameswade’s blog

Parking tickets, possibly the most annoying thing in the world, especially when you’re in the middle of town trying to collect some items and there’s no where to park that would be easy to load your vehicle.

Most of the time you can get away with loading your vehicle without any hassle (even when there’s a sign saying “no loading in this area”), but of course there is that odd chance that you may get distracted when collecting your items and a traffic wardon comes along and slaps a ticket on your vehicle!

So what can be done in circumstances such as these? Well, more than you think to be honest, you just have to take the time to investigate a little. Don’t forget that the majority of parking tickets are issued by your local council not the police.
Firstly, take a look around, there’s plenty of websites out there with tuns of information about parking tickets…

Times Online has a brilliant article about parking tickets and even includes some loop-holes in the system on the later pages.

There is also a few dedicated websites out there including parkingtickets.co.uk and ticketbusters.co.uk - just be aware that sometimes these sites may want you to signup and pay them money for services and information you can get for free if you do a little research.

Another interesting website to take a look at is appealnow.com, which is a website helping motorists appeal against incorrect or illegal parking tickets and such.

Also have a look at the official government owned National Parking Adjudication Service website, which has information such as what to do if you have received a parking ticket, and how to avoid receiving a parking ticket.

There is even a book called The Motorist’s Guide to Parking Tickets, priced at £9.99 which includes ways to help motorists avoid parking tickets.

The BBC has a short article about parking and speeding tickets, but its not the most helpful article i’ve read.

Once you have enough information, and believe you have a case against your parking ticket, no matter how trivial, you need to request a contest form from your council. Fill in this form, and send it to them.

Many people have asked: What happens if their responce takes longer than expected and I have to pay additional money as I didn’t pay within the original time frame? Well what you need to do is include a cheque for the first amount with the date set for the day before your deadline, this means that you can always cancel the cheque or request a refund should your case get accepted.

Don’t forget to check your local newspaper and local news website(s) for the latest information on parking and parking tickets in your area.