Fury over parking ticket fine
Monday 26th November 2007, 6:30PM GMT.
A Shropshire woman is furious after she was given a parking fine because she paid for a ticket from the “wrong machine”.
Miranda Lucas, of Minsterley, parked her car in Priory Road near to the Quarry Fitness Centre so that she could take her son for a swimming session.
She bought a parking ticket from the machine in the centre car park, and made sure that it could be clearly seen in her car window.
But when the pair had finished swimming, Mrs Lucas discovered she had been given a fine.
The mum appealed against the fine but has now received a reply from ParkRight saying it will stand because she got the ticket from the wrong machine.
Mrs Lucas said she usually goes to Welshpool Leisure Centre, where there is no charge for parking, but came to Shrewsbury on October 6 because she had to visit a terminally-ill friend at the Severn Hospice.
She said: “They are not lifting the fine because I bought the ticket from the wrong machine, how can that be?
“I try and promote fitness with my son because that’s what the Government wants us to do, but Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council are steering us away from that. It is not good for businesses either.”
But Andy Goldsmith, of the borough council, which manages ParkRight, said no tickets bought in a car park would be valid on the street.
He said: “She has bought a ticket from a car park and then applied it to on-street and there is a clear difference.”
By Rhea Parsons
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They may not be valid but they are clearly enforced by the “more than my jobsworths” at Park right.
Ms Lucas has clearly complied with the spirit of the law so Park Right should get off their pedantic high horse and rescind the fine.
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ParkRight and the Borough Council are rapidly establishing Shrewsbury as a place to steer clear of. It seems not to matter whether you are a shopper making an innocent mistake or a tradesman stopping to carry out a job of work, ParkRight’s only brief is to clobber you! I took the hint long ago. Although Shrewsbury is my home town I would rather make a 20-mile detour than ever go near the place. Traders take note, these idiots are killing your trade.
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“But Andy Goldsmith, of the borough council, which manages ParkRight…” oh really!! Well they’re certainly managing to hack off a lot of people in this town thats for sure. Sanctioned tax collecting lackeys no more no less.
…and right on cue and as predictable as ever step forward the ParkRight fan club!! I wish some of you would open your eyes
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Andy Goldsmith is right. There IS a clear difference. To him. But to someone from outside the area?
No. Sorry Mr Goldsmith. Your attitude will not do! If YOU have not made sure that there could be no confusion between different parking machines (and if the borough owns both parking machines, WHY is their a difference?) then you have failed in your duty.
I suggest that Mr Jobsworth Goldsmith and the Jobsworths from ParkRight reimburse the money instead of feeling so proud that you are right.
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Yet another argument for having a basic IQ test as part of the driving test.
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Another example of joined up government?
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That is unfair, she paid for her parking, when iv saw the ticket machines they all look the same without any notice telling you that tickets from car parks are not valid on the street, PARKRIGHT, YOUR JUST MONEY GRABBING G*TS!!
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Do any of the signs for the parking state that the tickets are only valid for the area in which the machine is situated?
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there is an old saying –buyer be aware– and that is stil very true.
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were there signs in place indicating this or did she buy a ticket from a machince when parking by a meter… how can the county be responsible for your stupidity
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this is just totaly stupid the money goes to the council any way so having paid for it does it really matter as long as she as paid .
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I almost fell into that trap before when attending a course in Priory Road. only a passerby stop me from making the same mistake.
the parkingfight sorry parkright is covertly helping the goverment car usage policy by making it harder to park in towns. last time i when to Priory Road i used the park and ride. much cheaper and no chance of a ticket for bad signage
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I hope that Miranda demands a full refund for paying for a service that she has now been told that she did not receive.
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Personally if I had a dear friend at the hospice I wouldn’t have time for owt else.Your son has years ahead of him to go for a dip.Life is full of successes as well as disappointments and it’s a question of balancing the two and retaining dignity.
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ive a coparate catchphrase for parkright.
parkright clearing the streets!
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Shame on both Andy Goldsmith, and the senior officers at the Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. The Lady simply made a mistake, and if the extortionate fine was waived, she wouldn’t do it again.
As for ParkRight, you don’t expect anything better from these legalised cowboys……
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This is an identical case to myself,i do feel for Miranda as there is two diifferent types of permit required for the same area.I did not even appeal as the fine was bigger if you paid later.
I questioned the trafic warden at the time and as you can imagine she was really helpful.Get it sorted shewsbury its unfair to punish people who actually payed for a parking ticket.You know this has been going on for years.
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Stand by the rules, after all it really does not matter how much you alienate the public. They are there for you to earn money from. You dont need to provide a fair or reasonable service anymore. You have the power but apparently not the strength to be reasonable or compasionate.
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Shoopers, vote with your feet (or car in this case), shop or utilise elsewhere. The council clearly wants a car free town, fine, i’ll patron another town or village that does welcome my custom (in a car).
Park and ride is fine in certain circumstances but not particularly useful if you have small children and lots of shopping.
Miranda if you are reading this, don’t go back to Shrewsbury, take your custom elsewhere, use Welshpool?
Also I can’t believe Jeff Hurd’s selfless comments, I am sure people have their own idea on how to balance their lives during difficult times!
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Another pointless meandering from Mr Hurd I see.
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Torquay had a similar problem with Park Right and the action they took was to ban every park right worker from every shop,supermarket,pub and club in the borough. in or out of uniform.
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Buy the right ticket for the right type of parking it’s that simple!
Shrewsbury is finally free from the freeloader idiots that thought they had the right to dump their cars anywhere! (Ever seen the Square outside the music hall on a Friday night or Sunday)
It’s about time people who break the rules just accept their fines and move on.
I love the Parkright officials, but they aint caught me yet!
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Really Blue Jay?
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I think she should just stop moaning and pay the fine.
Its no ones fault but hers. If she is too stupid to realise the difference with car park and street parking then she should suck it up.
doh.
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People in Shrewsbury have very short memories indeed.
It’s not ago at all that the local press was full of moans about the misuse of so called ‘orange badge holders’.
Andy Goldsmith has (like it or not) done some sterling work in sorting out the long standing parking problems in the town centre.
Traditionally change in many forms has been unwelcome but in the words of Eliah Tregasky: “HERE IT IS AND SO FACE IT FOR WHAT IT IS BECAUSE IT IS NOT GOING AWAY.”
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It may be of interest to contributors to Star Comments that I have just this moment spoken with a great friend in Torquay who owns no less than 3 pubs.
He does NOT recall any such ban as stated by Blue Jay in the 27 years that he has been a licensee there.
The question of the day then is how much is Blue Jay’s nose going to grow tonight ??
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Did you not think to take your ticket into the Swimming Baths and get your refund of £1.90 back off your parking. DONT FORGET EVERY LITTLE HELPS.
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I think it’s only £1.80 you can get back as a refund!
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Chris – your friend isn’t very well informed. I also have a place in Torquay and I resent the implication that i am lying.
Do we do applologies in cyprus
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“The are not lifting the fine because I bought the ticket from the wrong machine, how can that be?”
Because YOU BOUGHT THE DAMN TICKET FROM THE WRONG MACHINE that’s how it can be.
Oh please God spare us these people.
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There may not be ban in force at the moment but people power can work. Many years ago,about 1971 there was an over zealous traffic warden in the Northfield area of Birmingham and every week he tickeded several hundered cars of the car workers when the different shifts went in to collect their pay. In the end they threatened to go on strike and he was barred from every shop ,pub club etc, as were his family, even their neighbours sent them to coventry and eventually he was moved to another area. I think the bans should be introduced as soon as possible so these jobsworths can find out what its like to be treated unreasonably,after all anyone who tickets a meals on wheels person who is a volunteer helping the vulnerable and infirm must be a heartlees overzealous twerp and do not deserve any respect.
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Ignorance is no defence in law,if the lady can’t read the instructions on the payment station should she really getting behind the wheel of a car?
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Would she pick up groceries in a store and then go next door to pay for them? There are too many brainless idiots on our roads. If she is too dumb to know the difference in on street and off street parking, and cannot read the signs explaining it, perhaps she should take the bus in future – if she can find the right stop that is.
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its the same as parking on claremont street and walking round to barker street to get your ticket. I think common sense should have prevailed here.
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I was going to suggest that she drove just up the road from Minsterley to Meole and jumped on the Park & Ride.But then again that’s a bit complicated a journey for someone like this.
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parkright are damaging shrewsbury and other areas ,you can see it walk around the town in the week its dead traders must be losing hand over fist,you go to a short stay carpark (no change given ) coincidence or in this great world of ours no muppett has invented a parking meter to give change but lets face the paking tarriffs are set so they can gain a few more pence out of a mug who will pay it , i use to drop off items at the charity shops items for them to sell not any more as a parkright numpty tried to ticket me for being to long i went in and straight out even a lorry dropping stock of at milletts was told to hurry up or he was getting a ticket , the loading bay are cash cows . my advice is to do as i do shop of the nett grocerys delivered to your door , clothes etc anything you want delivered to your door if your town wants to ripp you off give your money to some one else outside the town .
As for chris in dodgy cyprus as an ex pat, please keep your opinions to yourself at least all my reli’s who are expats in canada/ usa/ and france do not feel the need to have a pop at out mp as in another post , its our town ie we live here you do not take your pension and get involved in local cyprus style politics and come back and sponge of our nhs when you get a little older .
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Andrew I have to say that I detect more than a tinge of green in you here – but that’s another story.
Let me if I may respond publically to your comments above:
Cyprus is far from dodgy. In fact it is a VERY open country that is proud of the fact that you can still leave your car unlocked and house doors open. And tell me anywhere else that I can leave as I did my mobile phone in a pub and get a call an hour later from the person that found it?
We have two beautiful leisure/play areas in our village that were planted by local people as part of a community project. Neither have been subjected to the sort of damage that we KINOW DAMN WELL would occur in Shrewsbury.
I will continue to criticise or praise as the case may be your MP and consider due to the significant financial interests that I have in Shrewsbury that I every right to do so.
I do receive my pension from Shrewsbury and would add that I invested heavily during my working life to eventually get it.
I am very much involved in Cyprus politics and a serving member of the Cyprus Green Party Central Committee, and whats more voluntarily.
I DO NOT and never will have the need to as you put it ‘sponge’ off your NHS due to the fact that I subscribe to private health care and do not for one moment fear being admitted to one of our excellent hospitals (totally free of MRSA).
Andrew I am offended and saddened by your silly remarks and as a result surely cannot be blamed for withdrawing (which I now will) EVERY financial interest I have in your town, most of which benefit the people of Shrewsbury a great deal.
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Oh and Andrew, as has just this moment been pointed out to me by my accountant on the telephone I still pay my income tax in the UK.
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Blue Jay – Forgive me for only just noticing your comment.
I regret that I have to due to having no reason to doubt my good friend in Torquay repectfully decline apologising to you.
I therefore remain of the opinion that your comments are grossly exagerated and should be read ‘cum grano salis’.
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Andrew – your comments are biggotted, and should not have been posted.
Chris – you are very welcome to post comments here, ours is thankfully a country of free speech, even if some of that speech is a little far fetched.
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Off topic or what!!!
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ok you went to see terminally ill friend but dont use that as an excuse not to pay a parking fine which, was no ones fault other than your own! pay up, and shut up!
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I usually go ticket lifting, it’s simple, pick around 20, 30 or more ticket, send them all back to the issueing council. postage must be paid by that council, and I am not going to stop either, I’ve done loads of it, tickets have to be revoked, causing a loss of revenue to the greedy councils, thus costing them adminstration costs, so warning to spinless traffic wardens. ‘watch out! there’s a ricket lifter about. and there is much more of this on the increase, the uk system has become very selfish towards it’s decent citizens….
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