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Welcome to LMAG - London Motorists Action Group
LMAG aims to STOP the tax farming abuse by London Councils and Transport for London.
We aim to EMPOWER London motorists in their fight against parking enforcement.
WE NEED
FUNDING
Please give £10 or £20 if you are an individual motorist and more if
you are a Business.
Individual Donations (Credit Card / PayPal account)
Click here to donate
Donations
can also be made by cheque payable to "London Motorists Action Group" and sent direct to: National Westminster Bank, Victoria Business
Centre, 1st Floor, 57 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0HN. OR Via Electronic Transfer:-
Account Name: LMAG Ltd,
Account Number: 67074073,
Sort Code: 51 50 14
Business Donations (Please note donations from companies are tax deductible. Ask for a receipt)
Click here to donate |
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Advertising
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Motorists Legal Challenge Fund
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If someone told you it could cost up to £60,000 to challenge a £60
parking ticket, you’d most likely think they were joking. But if you
really believe that your ticket is unlawful and the Council refuses to
cancel it, then you lose at appeal, where can you go next?
The answer is, next stop the High Court. Unless you qualify for legal
aid (and so few people do these days) you are looking at a five figure sum!
Access to the legal system for the proverbial "man on the Clapham Omnibus"
has become prohibitive.
This lack of "equality of arms" has meant that there are effectively no
checks and balances on the parking industry, so they have been able to
operate outside the law, with impunity, for many years now.
The
massive public response to recent media stories about parking and
traffic enforcement shows that motorists are fed up with being relentlessly
exploited.
As there is no watchdog or Ombudsman looking after the motorists’
interests, it is down to some individual or group of individuals to take on
the challenge.
Step forward Neil Herron, a man who is no stranger to controversy.
Over
the years Neil has collected parking tickets in his home town of Sunderland
and challenged their legality.
Despite overwhelming evidence of non-compliant
parking bays from an expert witness, when the tickets went to appeal, the
Adjudicator found in favour of Sunderland Council.
To cut a long story short, Neil has put his house on the line to hire a
top flight legal team so that he can take the only route open to him, a
Judicial Review in the High Court. Justice - but at what price? And who for?
EVERY SINGLE MOTORIST.
It is open to speculation that the parking “Industry” thought it was safe
and that nobody would have the guts (or resources) to mount serious legal
challenge. They certainly have the money (mostly taken from us) to mount a
defence.
But why stop with one case?
It is in every motorist’s interest to support
Neil’s efforts by contributing to a fighting fund that will create a truly
level playing field in the future.
They have the money and we have the money – it’s all fair and square.
Motorists Legal Challenge Fund
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, September 25 @ 08:21:46 BST (48 reads)
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Lambeth - 50 Wardens quit as visa checks begin
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Nearly 50 traffic wardens have left their jobs in one London borough after immigration checks were carried out.
NCP Services Ltd took over the contract for wardens in Lambeth in August and examined the backgrounds of 150 staff.
Forty-eight of these then "resigned or just didn't turn up for work", the company's spokesman, Tim Cowan, said.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, September 23 @ 10:30:47 BST (66 reads)
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Traffic signs in Britain - biggest review in 40 years launched by DfT
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Transport Minister Rosie Winterton today called on motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, highway authorities and road organisations who are keen to have a say in how our streets will look in the future, to take part in the biggest review of British road signs for 40 years.
The review will ensure that traffic signs keep pace with the latest technology, help to cut congestion and emissions and keep traffic moving safely and efficiently without cluttering our streets.
The review's aims include:
* To consider new powers to reduce street clutter - and ensure out of date signs are removed;
* Look at using new traffic sign technologies that can provide new ways of managing traffic flow;
* Provide better road information - such as up-to-date travel news - to give motorists informed choices about their journeys;
* Demonstrate how effective signing can provide safer roads and reduce accidents;
* Improve road users' understanding of traffic signs and signals.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, September 23 @ 10:27:42 BST (40 reads)
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Haringey - 'Illegal' parking signs may spark refund bonanza
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DRIVERS
could demand parking ticket refunds because Haringey Council put "illegal" signs
in restricted parking zones, it is claimed.
The council may have to pay
out thousands of pounds amid reports council contractors have been sent to
change Controlled Parking Zone signs in Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters because
they are missing the restriction times.
One resident, who did not want
to be named, said: "They've had the wrong signs for two years. They've been
illegally issuing tickets. The signs just have 'residents parking only'. I think
by law they're supposed to have the time of the CPZ, which is
8am to 6.30pm but it's not on the signs.
"They've been
handing out tickets for two years.
"They might have to pay back fined
motorists and it shows the incompetence of the council because it's going to
cost tens of thousands to replace the signs."
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, September 23 @ 10:25:15 BST (44 reads)
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'Select committee to inquire into taxes and charges on road users'
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Call for written
submissions
The House
of Commons Transport Committee has today announced that it will be conducting an
inquiry into taxes and charges on road users.
The inquiry will address the
following questions:
• What
taxes and charges are currently paid to government by road users, how much
revenue do they raise and how does this compare with national and local
government expenditure on the roads network and ancillary
services?
• What is
the impact of the current charging regime on individuals, businesses and the
economy?
• Do the
taxes and charges paid by motorists capture the external costs of congestion,
local air and noise pollution, accidents, and CO2 emissions? Would it be
desirable for them to do so and, if so, how could this be
achieved?
• Should
the primary purpose of taxes and charges on motorists be to raise revenue to
cover the costs of the road network, to reduce traffic and congestion, to
minimise the negative social and environmental impact of transport, or some
combination of these?
• Does the
current system have different impacts on different categories of road user? If
so, is this fair?
• What
alternative methods of charging for road use are available, such as road pricing
in town and city centres and on the national road network, lorry road-user
charging schemes, switching charges between fixed charges (such as Vehicle
Excise Duty) and variable charges (such as fuel duty)?
• Should
foreign-registered vehicles pay for access to the UK's roads and
if so, how? How closely enforced are the rules governing re-registration of
foreign-registered vehicles which are brought permanently the UK and the
consequent liability for VED?
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, September 23 @ 10:22:59 BST (37 reads)
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Freight Transport Assoc reports members paying £600 Million in London park
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With the
cost of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for commercial operators having topped
£600 million a year, the Freight Transport Association has challenged traffic
authorities to sort out ‘Critical Delivery Zones'.
Traffic authorities,
particularly Westminster, Camden and Transport for London (TfL),
have too long relied on a lack of clear data as an excuse for not sorting out
the desperate shortage of loading and unloading provision in central London.
FTA has resolved this by commissioning an in-depth study of delivery ‘hotspots'
across the capital and producing a clear list of ‘Critical Delivery Zones' where
traffic authorities need to focus their attention and resources. The study has
been part-funded by the TfL Freight Unit.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, September 23 @ 10:19:38 BST (36 reads)
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Ealing Council and its unlawfully marked bays
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Last week the Ealing Times ran a story about Ealing Council admitting technical errors with the markings of its parking bays as the reason for the Council pulling out of an adjudication hearing.
This week the Council has responded with an arrogant refusal to change its unlawfully marked bays.
This kind of scenario is exactly where the problem lies & isn't isolated to Ealing. No due diligence on the part of the local authority & now it has publicly stated its intention to continue to enforce unlawful restrictions in the full knowledge of its actions being likely to bring the Council into serious disrepute amongst the public, but more seriously how long will it be before this becomes a police matter?
full stories below.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, September 11 @ 18:09:13 BST (81 reads)
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Westminster tickets only as last resort & bailiffs abolished...
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Following several press releases announcing implementiation of common sense parking policies, Westminster has to be singled out for effort in both listening to the public and business concerns and following up with changes to its systems.
First came the news in July that clamping and towing has been abolished - the Park Lane pound has been turned over to extra car parking facilities. Any vehicles causing obstruction will be removed to the nearest available safe space (& get a ticket).
Second came the announcement HGVs (anything over 3.5t) will now have 40 mins to load & unload between 11AM & 6.30PM (unrestricted before 11AM) - this had been piloted & became permanent policy on 3rd September. Westminster claims it has reduced tickets issued to HGVs by 60% in a year.
Third came the announcement of Westminster saying goodbye to the bailiffs. To be replaced with a debt recovery contract managed by Phillips Collection Services (who are bailiffs...).
All press releases in full below
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, September 11 @ 17:54:35 BST (120 reads)
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London parking ticket & appeal statistics 2007 - 08
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In total 6,176,752 penalties were issued in London in 2007/08 for illegal
parking, driving in bus lanes, contraventions under the London Lorry Control
Scheme and moving traffic offences, such as ignoring a no entry sign. Taking all
these contraventions into account there was a 2.3 per cent increase in the total
number of PCNs issued compared to the previous year.
The statistics also demonstrate the implementation of differential charging, by showing the breakdown between higher and lower rate PCNs issued. In the first 6 months 76% of PCNs issued have been for higher rate offences. The Councils claim this illustrates a committment to focus on more serious contraventions, the tandem increase in income is of course an accidental side effect.
Appeals from adjudication statistics show that only 1% of all PCNs issued in London progress to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service. Of which:-
On average 72% of all London parking PCNs appeals are won by motorists with councils still not contesting 42% of cases.
Westminster leads the way with a 93% loss rate 16,254 / 17,507 - not contesting 68%
Southwark 2nd place 88% loss rate
Hackney 3rd 83% loss rate
Lambeth 4th 76% loss rate
Islington 5th 68% loss rate
On average 60% of Moving Traffic Contravention appeals are won by motorists with councils not contesting 26% of cases.
Westminster 1st losing 95% 132 / 139
Southwark 2nd 85%
Lambeth 3rd 79%
The numbers of penalties issued to motorists wrongly using bus lanes fell for
the third successive year. A total of 115,290 fewer penalties in 2007/08
compared to the previous year - meaning a reduction of 541,282 penalties over
three years.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, August 14 @ 13:09:30 BST (170 reads)
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TfL refunds £20,000 of parking fines
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Transport for London has
refunded more than £20,000 to motorists after it emerged that it had wrongly
issued hundreds of fines on a red route in Hampstead Garden
Suburb.
TfL, which
is responsible for managing red routes, backtracked after the Hampstead Garden
Suburb Residents' Association (HGSRA) dug up evidence that it had put its red
lines in the wrong place.
The lines,
in Hill Rise, were invalid because they encroached on a part of the road managed
by Barnet Council. TfL stopped issuing tickets in January after this was exposed
by Gary Shaw, of the HGRSA, but only agreed to refund the fines this
week.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, July 31 @ 20:37:49 BST (107 reads)
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Haringey tickets Haringey MP Lynne Featherstone while legally parked
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from Lynne Featherstones blog
Parking tickets run amok
You couldn't make this up.
Walk out of my office this afternoon having parked outside on High Street Hornsey
for about half an hour - perfectly legitimately. The actual sign is the
sort that says you can park between 10am and 4pm for up to one hour and
no return within two hours. A ticket on my windscreen. I look at Ed
(who is my Head of Office and with me at that moment) and say - why,
how? We check the signs - they haven't changed.
At that point a
woman came up to me and said, 'Thank goodness - you're the MP aren't
you? The wardens have ticketed all the cars both sides of the road,
even though lots of us shopkeepers came out and told him to read the
sign and that it is perfectly OK to park here. The wardens read the
signs - and ticketed anyway.'
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, July 31 @ 19:46:46 BST (111 reads)
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Call for London tickets to be issued by central body
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Power to issue parking tickets in London should be taken away from
individual boroughs and given to a single authority, claims Mike
Bracey, chairman of the Brewery Logistics Group.
Bracey says parking
tickets are currently being issued by attendants in record numbers and
are costing its members more than £2m a year. He adds: "For the sake of
clarity, it would be better if parking tickets were issued by a single
authority rather than the 34 separate boroughs.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, July 31 @ 19:39:36 BST (85 reads)
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Motoring groups demand CCTV common sense and flexibility
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Motoring groups are demanding more common sense and flexibility, when it comes to parking tickets issued by CCTV cameras.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, July 31 @ 19:33:17 BST (96 reads)
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TfL reviewing 'Confusing' road signs
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Red routes, signs and bays are being reviewed in more than 400
locations across London after motorists complained of being wrongly
fined.
Transport for London (TfL) said ticketing on many locations were
suspended after some places garnered 4,000 tickets in less than two
years.
TfL has paid thousands of pounds in refunds to those who complained, agreeing that signs were "confusing".
Campaigners called on TfL to refund all drivers who were fined at those spots.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, July 31 @ 19:31:01 BST (148 reads)
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DfT proposes to amend TMA 2004 to remove need to sign double parking restriction
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In London double parking, and parking at a dropped footway has been an "offense" since the days of the GLC.
(what about footway parking?)
With the implementation (31 03 2008) of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA 2004) these "offenses" were brought into play nationally. The problem is that the TMA 2004 also required restrictions to be lawfully signed....and the Department for Transport (DfT) does not have any approved signs for these restrictions.
Now the DfT has issued a consultation (29 07 2008) proposing to amend section 85 and 86 of the TMA 2004 to remove the requirement
for signs and road markings.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Wednesday, July 30 @ 11:40:29 BST (121 reads)
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London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2008
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The bill received Royal Assent last monday.
The pilot scheme is being rolled out in Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Kensington and Chelsea from september.
Following a six-month pilot in the three boroughs the scheme will be rolled
out to other areas.
The Bill gives the London Borough Councils and
Transport for London (TfL) further miscellaneous powers in respect of their
responsibilities as highway, traffic and street authorities.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, July 22 @ 18:23:25 BST (153 reads)
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New boss at TfL promises "We'll be fairer to drivers"
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The body that enforces the rules for London's roads today pledged to be fairer to motorists in future.
The
move comes after criticism of Transport for London's heavy-handed
policing of red routes, the congestion charge and parking fines.
Graeme Craig, its new chief of congestion charging and traffic enforcement, said: "We have got to change our attitude."
He said TfL was switching its emphasis from enforcement through fines to compliance by ensuring drivers understood the rules.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, July 22 @ 14:13:53 BST (147 reads)
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PATAS newsletter - Summer 2008
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London's Councils are currently losing 74% of parking ticket adjudications on average, with Westminster continuing to lead the way with 94%
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, July 22 @ 14:07:40 BST (122 reads)
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Mayor quashes £25 C-charge hike
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London Mayor Boris Johnson has quashed the proposed rise in congestion charge for vehicles deemed the most polluting.
Former mayor Ken Livingstone planned to raise the daily levy from £8 to
£25 from October, prompting car maker Porsche to bring a legal
challenge.
Mr Johnson pledged in his election manifesto to scrap the £25 charge and said the move would save legal costs.
The mayor has also scrapped a proposal to allow some low emission cars free entry to the congestion charge zone.
Mr Livingstone said ditching the charge was a "further blow" to tackling climate change.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, July 22 @ 13:56:11 BST (111 reads)
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Local London news catch up
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London Local Press Articles
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, July 22 @ 13:50:52 BST (131 reads)
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CHALLENGING A COUNCIL’S ANNUAL ACCOUNTS
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After
completion of a council’s annual statement of accounts it is made
available for public scrutiny for one month before the District Auditor
checks and approves them (or requires changes).
Most or many council’s
financial year ends 31st March with accounts published
during July. Councils are required to publish in the local press these
details in the month before.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Tuesday, July 22 @ 13:09:20 BST (127 reads)
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Website problems with posting news - investigations ongoing
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LMAG is having trouble with its website & as such there is a backlog of News to be published
Normal service should resume shortly
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Islington - Nurse spends 6 months hunting missing car to be told Council scrappe
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A NURSE whose car was removed by Islington Council over disputed
parking fines spent six months trying to track it down... only to be
told it had been destroyed.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Friday, June 20 @ 11:39:27 BST (186 reads)
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Performing Traffic Wardens Beardyman & Klumsy Tung
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A little lighthearted diversion from E4
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Posted by pulpsimon on Friday, June 20 @ 11:27:20 BST (192 reads)
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BBC - Council motoring fines 'illegal'
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Some
councils have earned hundreds of thousands of pounds by enforcing unlawful
traffic and parking restrictions, the BBC has learned.
Fines are said to have been levied despite incorrect road markings and on
parking bays which are too small.
The Department of Transport said it expected councils to "seriously
consider" repayment of illegal fines.
But a spokesman for London
councils questioned whether returning the cash was the best use of public money.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, May 29 @ 11:16:48 BST (317 reads)
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Islington date mistake could be a £1m parking blunder
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MORE than £1million in parking tickets could be invalid - claims a
campaigner who wants Islington Council to give the money back.
Neil
Herron, of ParkingAppeals.co.uk, believes that a council blunder
created a 22-day window in which no parking tickets were valid.
During that time, he thinks thousands of fines worth up to £1.8million could have been issued.
Islington Council, however, has refuted his claims - and insisted that motorists must still pay up.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, May 29 @ 11:10:04 BST (244 reads)
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Parking charge system "close to theft" and 'medieval'
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Britain's automated parking and traffic fines system has been branded "close to
theft" and "medieval" by a Tory peer.
Of the millions of drivers fined
per year, fewer than 1% appeal - many over incorrect road markings. About half
of such appeals are upheld.
In such cases, councils have no duty to
contact and refund other drivers fined wrongly in the same place - which Lord
Lucas told the BBC was "exploitation".
However, the Department for
Transport says the rules are fair.
Lord Lucas, who chairs the
Enforcement Law Reform Group, told the BBC Radio 4's iPM programme: "It is
something that seems to me to be close to theft and it probably would be
adjudged as theft if one could ever get it to court."
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Posted by pulpsimon on Wednesday, May 21 @ 12:28:48 BST (200 reads)
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Drakes bailiff Pt4 complaint court report from Bailiff Advice Online
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Bailiff Advice Online reports
In a recent Form 4
Complaint to the court a Drakes Group bailiff had his certificate revoked. Compensation was also awarded to be paid to the
person who made the complaint.
In his summing up, the Judge was highly
critical of the company.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Monday, May 19 @ 14:14:49 BST (419 reads)
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London Councils Blue Badge "companion badges" proposals
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This is a report in to Blue Badge "companion badges",
which can be used locally in conjunction with, or as a replacement
for, blue badges in order to reduce related criminal activity, and
the implementation of a companion badge scheme across London
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Posted by pulpsimon on Friday, May 16 @ 13:28:22 BST (212 reads)
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Road humps blow for Islington Council
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A COUNCIL U-turn over illegal speed bumps could see hundreds of
drivers who have been given the hump claim compensation for damage to
their cars.
The Gazette can exclusively reveal that many of
the estimated 1,600 speed bumps across the borough could be illegal -
after Islington Council paid out £95 to motorist Michael Copsey because
his car was damaged by speed restrictions in Roman Way, Holloway.
Residents who think they have an illegal speed bump on their street
can write to Ms Thornberry at the House of Commons or email
emilythornberrymp@parliament.uk.
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Posted by pulpsimon on Thursday, May 08 @ 15:50:56 BST (268 reads)
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| Tuesday, May 06 | | · | Mayor Boris Transport Manifesto - Getting Londoners Moving |
| · | 1 in 3 drivers fined annually - raising £800 million |
| Wednesday, April 30 | | · | RBKC joins itself to Porsche JR as interested party |
| · | Haringey threatens to track down anyone with 3 or more unpaid PCNs |
| · | TfL London Wide (boys) Removals gets into the swing |
| Thursday, April 24 | | · | Carers battle for right to park their cars unhindered |
| · | Town Hall fraudsters snared in council's own 'Blue Badge' blitz |
| Wednesday, April 23 | | · | Haringey Double Trouble 1 PCN by CEO & 1 by CCTV |
| · | Camden Parking Fines invalid Evening Standard reports |
| · | Lambeth CCTV flawed & open to abuse |
| · | Islington CCTV Traffic camera makes £1million |
| · | ‘I don’t know whose car it is – It shouldn’t be parked there’ – Camden Mayor get |
| Tuesday, April 15 | | · | CCTV Civil Enforcement Culture Spreading |
| · | LEZ - Emissions fines exceed £500,000 |
| · | Congestion Charge Environmental Impact = More CO2 |
| · | Croydon Residents Against Punitive Parking Policies CRAPP |
| · | TMA 2004 Bromley Blunder |
| Friday, April 11 | | · | TMA 2004 operational (mis)guidance on bailiffs |
| Tuesday, April 08 | | · | Drakes Group bailiffs becomes Marston Group |
| Friday, April 04 | | · | Petition - To Scrap Hospital Parking Charges In England |
| Thursday, April 03 | | · | Congestion Charge - The Future ? |
| · | London News Round Up |
| Monday, March 31 | | · | TMA 2004 goes live - Fines & Rosie |
| Sunday, March 30 | | · | TMA 2004 Operational Guidance |
| · | Parking Appeals TMA 2004 competition - prizes for first PCNs issued |
| Tuesday, March 25 | | · | Landmark Private Parking Ticket Judgement - Excel |
| Thursday, March 20 | | · | Westminster's most wanted - white van man |
| · | London Mayoral Candidates Transport Policies |
| Wednesday, March 19 | | · | SIA is Govt preferred option for regulation of enforcement agents |
| Tuesday, March 11 | | · | TfL launches 21 removal trucks for red route network |
Older Articles
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