Reporter evades triple parking ticket fine by exploiting legal loophole
Holdthefrontpage
By HoldtheFrontPage staff
A reporter from the Barking and Dagenham Recorder has won a legal battle with a local council to get £240 of parking fines quashed, after she exploited a legal loophole.
Chloe Mayer, (26), had three parking tickets cancelled following a seven-month fight with Redbridge Council parking chiefs.
The reporter was hit with two fines earlier this year after returning late to her car which was parked at a car park near to the paper's Ilford offices.
She claims she received a third penalty even though a valid ticket was displayed on her car.
But with the help of her colleague, Ilford Recorder reporter Marc Walker - who successfully got a parking fine cancelled on a technicality while training in Harlow last year - Chloe decided to appeal against all three.
She argued that under British law, no one can be financially penalised outside of court and despite the Road Traffic Act 1991 – under which local authorities hand out parking fines – the earlier principle holds true.
She also argued the notice did not conform to the Road Traffic Act, because it did not properly display the date of the offence.
The council cancelled two fines in August, but refused to back down over the third, despite Chloe appealing against all three on the same grounds.
With the help of the "metric martyrs defence fund" – which fights against council parking enforcement among other antibureaucracy campaigns – Chloe continued her appeal against the third penalty.
She had been due to attend a hearing before the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, but this has now been called off and the third ticket cancelled.
Redbridge Council said this was because the penalty notice in question did not conform to the Road Traffic Act.
Chloe said: "I'm happy to pay to use council car parks, but to be fined more than £200 just for being a few minutes late is outrageous."
By HoldtheFrontPage staff
A reporter from the Barking and Dagenham Recorder has won a legal battle with a local council to get £240 of parking fines quashed, after she exploited a legal loophole.
Chloe Mayer, (26), had three parking tickets cancelled following a seven-month fight with Redbridge Council parking chiefs.
The reporter was hit with two fines earlier this year after returning late to her car which was parked at a car park near to the paper's Ilford offices.
She claims she received a third penalty even though a valid ticket was displayed on her car.
But with the help of her colleague, Ilford Recorder reporter Marc Walker - who successfully got a parking fine cancelled on a technicality while training in Harlow last year - Chloe decided to appeal against all three.
She argued that under British law, no one can be financially penalised outside of court and despite the Road Traffic Act 1991 – under which local authorities hand out parking fines – the earlier principle holds true.
She also argued the notice did not conform to the Road Traffic Act, because it did not properly display the date of the offence.
The council cancelled two fines in August, but refused to back down over the third, despite Chloe appealing against all three on the same grounds.
With the help of the "metric martyrs defence fund" – which fights against council parking enforcement among other antibureaucracy campaigns – Chloe continued her appeal against the third penalty.
She had been due to attend a hearing before the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, but this has now been called off and the third ticket cancelled.
Redbridge Council said this was because the penalty notice in question did not conform to the Road Traffic Act.
Chloe said: "I'm happy to pay to use council car parks, but to be fined more than £200 just for being a few minutes late is outrageous."
posted by Neil Herron at 12:07 PM
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