Read about the 74 (yes 74!) parking ticket scams that Appealnow.com has uncovered. Thousands of parking tickets have been issued using this scams and councils just ignore the problem.

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE PARKING TICKET SCAMS - SCAM 74 JUST ADDED!

AppealNow.com™ is sometimes accused - by the parking authorities - of existing purely to help guilty motorists wriggle out of paying legal fines by using loopholes in the law.

We refute this argument. It is not our aim to help anyone to avoid paying a legally issued fine for a clear cut contravention. However, it is the aim of AppealNow.com™ to help motorists cut through the red tape to appeal against parking tickets and other penalties that have been issued by incorrect, illegal or underhand means.

In the course of our research, we have found a growing number of examples of parking attendants 'stretching' or breaking the legal regulations and faking evidence so that their parking ticket quotas can be met.

The list of 'tricks' and outright scams that we have uncovered currently stands at 74 - and is still growing. We've just added a new one!!

If AppealNow.com™ can help motorists appeal and overturn parking tickets issued by any of these or other methods, our job will be worthwhile.  When I gave evidence to the Parliamentary Transport Committee I had only (!?) uncovered 42 parking scams - since then I have uncovered another 34!!!

Remember when you get a penalty charge notice or worse penalty charege notices (!) you may be the victim of one of many parking ticket scams.

After Dinner Speaking: Book Barrie to speak at your corporate or charity function by clicking on after dinner speaking.

74 Ways that parking tickets have been illegally issued.

1. The ghost or phantom parking ticket - civil enforcement officers (parking attendants) are illegally issuing parking tickets - penalty charge notices - after a vehicle has driven away and claim it was put on the vehicle. UPDATE: since the introduction of cameras for parking attendants to photograph the PCN on the vehicle they have found it more difficult to get away this this scam until someone came up with the "bright" [sic] idea to say "There is no photograph because I gave it to the driver who/drove off/tore it up/threw it at me." These cons are now very frequent so watch out!  For a case taken to the Parking Adjudicator click on Ghost Ticket - Parking Adjudicator Decision

The first the motorist knows about the parking ticket ( PCN ) is when they receive a Notice to Owner.

2. British Telecom vans targeted by parking attendants in the using the DOUBLE WHAMMY scam (see below on how the scam works). BT now set up a special team to deal with these scams! Well done BT!

3. Giving parking tickets to vehicles legally loading and unloading or delivering.

4. Clampers parking on yellow lines while they do personal shopping.

5. Supervisors and managers and traffic wardens canceingl parking tickets for their friends and councillors.

6. Civil Enforcement Officers - Traffic wardens- do not report parking meters that are not recording the time correctly. They then issue parking tickets to vehicles parking there.

7. New parking signs with new times are hidden behind the old signs.

8. Signs with no lettering on are not replaced or repaired.

9. Parking signs are hidden behind obstructions including hedges.

10. Councils do not follow the appeals procedure and automatically send out letters turning down an appeal.

11. Attendants know which parking meters are to be suspended. They allow vehicles to park there, then suspend the bay and issue a parking ticket.

12. Councils lift up vehicles to paint yellow lines under them and then issue parking tickets to those cars!

13. Parking tickets issued to abandoned vehicles to reach target.

14. Parking tickets issued to imaginary foreign vehicles. As the vehicles are not registered with the DVLA they are treated as valid tickets.

15. Disabled badges allegedly not displayed correctly. Disabled vehicles are illegally clamped. Parking attendants are increasingly claiming that disabled blue badges are not displayed correctly and issuing parking tickets. Councils spend hundreds of pounds fighting requests to cancel these tickets. This is now a national disgrace.

16. Health and emergency visitors get parking tickets! Parking attendants are increasingly claiming that health and emergency visitor cards are not displayed correctly and issuing parking tickets. Just think that health visitor might just save your life!!

17. Giving parking tickets to drivers assisting disabled, infirm or ill passengers into or out of a vehicle.

18. Parking wardens confirming to a driver that it's "okay to park here", the driver returns to find parking ticket issued. (See also scam 73)

19. The councils who claim they never received your appeal even when you have their receipt!!! We know who they are!

20. Issuing ticket on vehicles before time on the meter has expired.

21. Misleading information on council websites e.g. Westminster website on loading and unloading says "loading or unloading should be a continuous operation. This is not correct - getting goods checked and signed for is part of the loading and unloading process!

22. Councils not repainting barely visible yellow lines and therefore issuing parking tickets to motorists who cannot see the lines.

23. Issuing parking tickets when correct pay & display tickets are clearly shown.

24. Councils not replacing faulty pay and display meters or parking meters – motorists put their money in – lose it and park with a note saying they put the money in. They will get a parking ticket.

25. Issuing tickets on residents parking bays days before the bays are to be suspended.

26. Issuing parking tickets to AA annd RAC patrols attending breakdowns.

27. Issuing parking tickets in areas where the council knows the parking signs are invalid.

28. Issuing tickets before 8.30 am (councils dispute this but we have witnesses)

29. Parking attendants adding information to notebooks after the event to "prove" a ticket was given correctly.

30. Claiming meters or bays are suspended and issuing parking tickets, with no evidence that the bays were suspended (see the famous case in bury where the photographic evidence was doctored).

31. Confusing signs so that it is unclear where pay & display bays situated next to residents bays start and end. (e.g. next to Belgravia police station).

32. Parking attendants refusing to make notes about an alleged parking contravention in their notebooks when requested to by a motorist or member of the public.

33. When a motorist has received several parking tickets and pays some but disputes other allocating the payments as payments on account over all tickets nullifying his ability to appeal.

34. Issuing parking tickets for parking on a yellow line before the line was painted.

35. A one off – parking attendants issued a second parking ticket to a motorist who gave them the "v" sign as he drove away after he was given an initial correct ticket. The council canceled both the first and second parking ticket!

36. Suspending and hooding parking meters or pay and displays bays over the weekend, particularly on Sundays. Motorists think it is in order to park in the bays as there is no work or other activity going on – they park and get parking tickets.

37. Where a street forms the boundary of two local authorities (particularly where they have different parking rules) parking attendants issue parking tickets in the wrong area.

38. Back office staff giving incorrect information including sometimes telling motorists to pay the fine and then appeal – once you pay the fine most council will claim that you cannot legally appeal.

39. 'Seeing' yellow lines in parking bays when none exist and issuing parking tickets.

40. Removing out of order signs allowing motorists to park free.

41. Providing false evidence to the parking adjudicator.

42. Putting suspension notices for residents’ parking bays on the other side of the road!

43. Some parking attendants invent 'conversations' with motorists to add 'substance' to illegally issued parking tickets.

44. Stalled vehicles given parking tickets!

45. Signs are fixed too high for motorists to read or even know that they exist!

46. Giving parking tickets to mourners at a funeral.

47. Giving parking tickets where signs obscured by hanging baskets.

48. Issuing parking tickets in another boroughs area. Yes it sounds impossible but it has happened.

49. Claiming a vehicle has returned to the same parking bay when it has not. In one case this was caught on CCTV. The parking adjudicator gave costs against the council of more than £1,000.

50. Ticketing cars where a sign says you can legally park, and then removing the sign when challenged!

51. Dead man in car park given parking ticket.

52. Parking attendants photograph cars but miss photographing disabled badges!

53. Parking bays suspended during the night after motorists have parked - motorist then finds a parking ticket for parking in a suspended bay!

54. Parking scratchcards ignored - parking attendants claim that the cards are not scratched out correctly.

55. Council paints yellow line in residents parking bay - and issues parking ticket!

56. Parking attendants put empty parking ticket envelope on vehicle, photograph it and pretend a parking ticket is in it.

57. Councils and Transport for London register "Orders for Recovery" with the Traffic Enforcement Centre ("TEC") but do not send them out until much later. TEC work from this date and send back timely statutory declarations as being out of time.

58. Councils avoid submitting Traffic Management Order to the Parking Adjudicator when they know the orders are invalid!

59. RSPCA officers get parking tickets whilst rescuing sick animals.

60. A council has been found moving the resident's bay from under a car. The council deleted the resident's bay lines and drew them elsewhere!!

61. Whilst parking attendants wait, council workers fit new suspended bay signs where cars are parked, parking attendants slap parking tickets on the cars and the cars get towed away!

62. Council submit photo "evidence" of parking signs showing parking restricting in a street but the but the photos are of signs in a different street!! THIS SCAM WAS RECENTLY CAUGHT IN VIDEO BY THE NEWS OF THE WORLD AFTER I PROVIDED THEM WITH EVIDENCE OF THE SCAM - GO TO OUR NEWS PAGE TO READ MORE.

63. Local authorities issue parking tickets on single yellow lines in areas which are not legitimate Controlled Parking Zones.

64.  Parking attendants obtain their jobs through the use of forged documents.  This is a criminal offence and I believe that any parking tickets they have issued are unenforceable and should be cancelled and  any money that has been paid by a motorist should be refunded.  THIS HAS RECENTLY HAPPENED IN HARINGEY READ OUR NEWS PAGE FOR THE RESPONSE FROM HARINGEY'S CEO!

65. When appeals are heard by the Parking Adjudicator councils submit to the appellant and the Parking Adjudicator their evidence "bundle".  There have been cases where the copy of the Penalty Charge Notice submitted to the Parking Adjudicator is different from the actual Penalty Charge Notice served on the motorist.

66.  Civil Enforcement Officers issue Penalty Charge Notices to vehicles unloading or loading even though there are are no time restrictions on the activity.

67.  Civil Enforcement Officers issue Penalty Charge Notices to trade vehicles even though they are displaying a valid Trade Permit.

68.  Civil Enforcement Officers ignore the required observation period for trade vehicles, taxis, private hire vehicles and couriers and issue Penalty Charge Notices.

69.  CCTV operators ignore the required observation period for trade vehicles, taxis, private hire vehicles and couriers and issue Penalty Charge Notices.

70. Civil Enforcement Officers tell motorists it "OK to park" in a particular bay and shortly after the motorist has left issue a PCN.

71.Here is a nice little earner for Southampton Council.

A motorist parked his vehicle in Palmerston Street, and paid £2.00 for an hour's parking and returned well within the time allowed displaying what he thought was a valid parking ticket on the dashboard.

On his return he was surprised to see that he had received a penalty charge notice which stated that he had NOT DISPLAYED a valid 'pay and display' ticket.

This seemed crazy but he discovered purely by chance that the machine prints out 2 separate parts to the ticket and that it is the 2nd part of the ticket that is important.

This is how this nice little earner works.
You put your money in the machine for the time allowed...the ticket is printed and you unwittingly walk away from the machine with your ticket in hand.  A few seconds later unknown to you (and I would imagine hundreds more of unsuspecting visitors to the town) another ticket is printed (this is the part that has to be displayed).

On ringing the council's payment office he was informed by the clerk that this has happened many times to others and that he should email his concerns to the email address on the penalty charge notice explaining the event as it happened.  The motorist is currently awaiting their reply.

UPDATE!  When the motorist rang the payment office the clerk said there was no record of the penalty charge notice on their database.  The plot sickens.

72.  When a motorist found a bay (in this case it was in a council car park) they found that the meters did not work.  They pointed this out to a CEO and said "The meter  aren't working - you won't give me a [parking] ticket if I park here will you?" The CEO said no he wouldn't - but gues what when the motorist's back was turned the CEO ticketed the car!

73. I have come across some astonishing statements but this is truly unbelievable.  When a newsletter subsscriber got a parking ticket for parking in a bay but not displaying a parking voucher he pointed out that there were no bays marked ( neither were there yellow lines) and asked how a parking ticket relating to a bay contravention could be issued when there was no bay.    Amazingly Islington Council said ".. it is not the role of a CEO to inspect bay markings and make an assessment as to whether bay markings are inadequate when enforcing PCNs".

Unbelievable yes it is but remember it was Islington Council which sued itself and asked for costs.

74.  Civil Enforcement Officers (the new name for parking attendants) are issuing parking tickets to commercial vehicles claiming that they saw no evidence of unloading or loading.  Yet the photos they took clearly show drivers and helpers carrying furniture!!

Some scams are so ingenious that I have decided not to publish them lest they become more widespread.

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New parking ticket scams will be listed as soon as we hear about them, so check back for the latest.

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