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Wednesday 5 April 2017

Best Places To Get Off Parking Fine Revealed


It is unlikely you will ever feel lucky when you get a parking ticket. But a new study has revealed how living or working in a particular part of the country may mean you have a greater chance of getting off.

It shows Runneymede Borough Council accepted just 9% of challenges between January and October 2016, with Staffordshire County Council only marginally more persuadable at 10%.

Meanwhile, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council were much more amenable, waiving more than 95% of fines. Parking wardens 'told to target the elderly' The results indicated regional variations, too.

In Berkshire, drivers in Slough (23%) were nearly three times less likely to get off a penalty than in Bracknell Forest (64%), situated half-an-hour away.

In Medway, Kent, motorists were half as likely to have their parking ticket cancelled (32%) than in neighbouring Swale, where 71% of appeals were accepted. On average, 38% of challenges to on-street fines made to local councils in England during the 10-month period were successful. The data was obtained by the Press Association, which received 98 replies to Freedom of Information requests.
 
Do you HAVE to pay Parking Charge Notices? The law and your rights explained Guy Anker, managing editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "We hear so many stories from motorists who are victims of overzealous parking wardens. "Often the real problem is really poor, terrible signing. People are often completely bamboozled. Can I park here or can I not?" Mr Anker added that after having a challenge rejected, about half of drivers who make a further appeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal are successful.

A spokeswoman for Runnymede Council said: "The statistics provided relate to street matters only which often refer to yellow lines and dropped kerbs. "This therefore means there aren't very often cases which are open to much ambiguity. We use our own staff to carry out enforcement, who are experienced and well trained in the role and therefore only issue notices where necessary."

How to save money on parking Basingstoke and Deane councillor Simon Bound said: "We take a pragmatic approach to enforcement which means that we see a very low number of formal appeals and we will consider each case carefully, taking into account individual circumstances. "Parking enforcement is a means of educating, not punishing motorists."

The five councils which accepted the fewest challenges were:
  1. Runnymede - 93 challenges out of 1,011 (9.2%) 
  2. Staffordshire - 478 challenges out of 4,606 (10.4%)
  3. Sefton - 650 challenges out of 4,832 (13.5%)
  4. Peterborough - 410 challenges out of 2,784 (14.7%)
  5. Greenwich - 1,018 challenges out of 5,909 (17.2%) 
The five councils which accepted the most challenges were:
  1. Basingstoke and Deane - 540 challenges out of 566 (95.4%)
  2. Waveney - 164 challenges out of 226 (72.6%)
  3. South Tyneside - 1,474 challenges out of 2,074 (71.1%)
  4. Swale - 3,342 challenges out of 4,721 (70.8%)
  5. Mole Valley - 144 out of 224 challenges (64.3%)