Thousands of parking tickets may be invalid
The Scotsman
ALAN RODEN TRANSPORT REPORTER
aroden@edinburghnews.com
PENALTY POINT: Parking tickets handed out in Edinburgh do not show the date of issue. Picture: Susan Nisbet
THOUSANDS of motorists are being urged to challenge their parking tickets in Edinburgh after it emerged the fines may have been imposed illegally.
A leading campaigner who has successfully overturned parking fines in four London boroughs believes tickets being issued in Edinburgh are invalid.
He plans to mount a test case in Edinburgh which could force the council to cancel tickets worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Barrie Segal has managed to overturn the fines in England by quoting an obscure technical point of law.
If a parking fine adjudicator in Scotland follows the example of their southern counterparts, anyone in the city with an unpaid parking fine could appeal on the same grounds, and would be likely to win their case.
With close to 5000 fines issued every week, the legal challenge could prove costly to the council.
City transport chiefs today expressed full confidence in the set-up in Edinburgh.
However, it is understood Scottish adjudicators are taking the threat seriously and are due to meet shortly to discuss the impact of the English rulings.
The challenges are based on the fact that the Road Traffic Act of 1991 says parking tickets must carry the date the offence was committed and the date the fine was issued.
The tickets in the four London boroughs - as well as Bury and Sunderland - have been overturned because they do not carry the "date of issue".
There is no specific reference to the date of issue on Edinburgh parking tickets.
Mr Segal said: "The Edinburgh tickets are illegal and contain a mistake which means they do not comply with the Road Traffic Act of 1991.
"The driver has to know when the ticket was issued, not just when the incident took place."
Mr Segal said anyone who challenges their fine on those grounds, with first the council, and then - once the council has rejected the initial appeal - the Scottish Parking Appeals Service, is almost certain to win.
The argument has not been tested in Scotland, but Mr Segal has offered to advise anyone who contacts him through his website www.appealnow.com.
The London boroughs are now changing the wording on their tickets. Barnet Council is seeking a judicial review of the decision forcing it to cancel tickets.
Edinburgh City Council believes its current practice is safe because all tickets are issued on the day the offence took place.
Some tickets in London are sent out at a later date after CCTV footage has been monitored.
However, the fines which have been successfully overturned in London were issued on the spot and not sent out at a later date.
Anyone who has paid a fine cannot get their money back though, because they have accepted breaking the regulations.
Councillor Allan Jackson, the Tory transport spokesman on the council, said:
"I will be looking into this as a matter of urgency, and I will ask for a legal update from our officials."
The Scottish Parking Appeals Service today said it could not comment until a case is brought before it.
A spokeswoman for the council said some motorists in the city have previously appealed to the local authority over the lack of an issue date, but this has never been challenged at adjudication.
Councillor Andrew Burns, the city's transport leader, said: "Unlike some London boroughs, our tickets are issued at the time of the contravention, rather than following a review of CCTV footage or being served through the post."
ALAN RODEN TRANSPORT REPORTER
aroden@edinburghnews.com
PENALTY POINT: Parking tickets handed out in Edinburgh do not show the date of issue. Picture: Susan Nisbet
THOUSANDS of motorists are being urged to challenge their parking tickets in Edinburgh after it emerged the fines may have been imposed illegally.
A leading campaigner who has successfully overturned parking fines in four London boroughs believes tickets being issued in Edinburgh are invalid.
He plans to mount a test case in Edinburgh which could force the council to cancel tickets worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Barrie Segal has managed to overturn the fines in England by quoting an obscure technical point of law.
If a parking fine adjudicator in Scotland follows the example of their southern counterparts, anyone in the city with an unpaid parking fine could appeal on the same grounds, and would be likely to win their case.
With close to 5000 fines issued every week, the legal challenge could prove costly to the council.
City transport chiefs today expressed full confidence in the set-up in Edinburgh.
However, it is understood Scottish adjudicators are taking the threat seriously and are due to meet shortly to discuss the impact of the English rulings.
The challenges are based on the fact that the Road Traffic Act of 1991 says parking tickets must carry the date the offence was committed and the date the fine was issued.
The tickets in the four London boroughs - as well as Bury and Sunderland - have been overturned because they do not carry the "date of issue".
There is no specific reference to the date of issue on Edinburgh parking tickets.
Mr Segal said: "The Edinburgh tickets are illegal and contain a mistake which means they do not comply with the Road Traffic Act of 1991.
"The driver has to know when the ticket was issued, not just when the incident took place."
Mr Segal said anyone who challenges their fine on those grounds, with first the council, and then - once the council has rejected the initial appeal - the Scottish Parking Appeals Service, is almost certain to win.
The argument has not been tested in Scotland, but Mr Segal has offered to advise anyone who contacts him through his website www.appealnow.com.
The London boroughs are now changing the wording on their tickets. Barnet Council is seeking a judicial review of the decision forcing it to cancel tickets.
Edinburgh City Council believes its current practice is safe because all tickets are issued on the day the offence took place.
Some tickets in London are sent out at a later date after CCTV footage has been monitored.
However, the fines which have been successfully overturned in London were issued on the spot and not sent out at a later date.
Anyone who has paid a fine cannot get their money back though, because they have accepted breaking the regulations.
Councillor Allan Jackson, the Tory transport spokesman on the council, said:
"I will be looking into this as a matter of urgency, and I will ask for a legal update from our officials."
The Scottish Parking Appeals Service today said it could not comment until a case is brought before it.
A spokeswoman for the council said some motorists in the city have previously appealed to the local authority over the lack of an issue date, but this has never been challenged at adjudication.
Councillor Andrew Burns, the city's transport leader, said: "Unlike some London boroughs, our tickets are issued at the time of the contravention, rather than following a review of CCTV footage or being served through the post."
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