London councils sue themselves for parking offences

Published 27th May 2010

Critics say the practise "illustrates everything that is wrong with unaccountable parking enforcement in the UK"


London councils routinely take themselves to court over disputed parking tickets their wardens issue to their own vehicles.

In one case, Islington Council not only issued a parking ticket to itself, but then pursued itself at the Parking Adjudicator and then asked for costs against itself.

Barrie Segal, author of The Parking Ticket Awards: Crazy Councils, Meter Madness & Traffic Warden Hell, who uncovered the practice, says that councils also issue parking tickets against other councils, and pursue these cases all the way to the Parking Adjudicator.

In 2007, Islington Council issued a parking ticket to one of its own vehicles. The department receiving the ticket disputed the validity of the Penalty Charge Notice and appealed against the fine. The council declined the appeal so the department took the case to the Parking Adjudicator. At this stage, the council submitted no evidence so the ticket was cancelled. The department that appealed the ticket then applied to have their costs reimbursed. The bewildered Adjudicator did not award costs, saying: “The legal status of the two parties in this appeal amounted to one and the same.”

Mr Segal says: “You couldn't make this up. This illustrates everything that is wrong with unaccountable parking enforcement in the UK. The craziest thing is that to ask for costs, Islington council must believe that it acted wholly unreasonably or vexatiously against itself.

“If they ever make a sequel to the film Dumb and Dumber I would suggest that the producers look no further than Islington Parking Department for the starring roles.”

Islington Council says that council fleet drivers are personally responsible for parking fines incurred when parking illegally, and the driver should have appealed as an individual not as a council employee.

Islington is not the only council that has pursued itself at the Parking Adjudicator. The Royal Borough of Kingston also issued a parking ticket against a vehicle it had hired – the council not only pursued itself at the Parking Adjudicator, but won its case and had to pay itself the parking ticket.

Southwark, Lambeth, Hackney and Ealing councils have also tried suing themselves for parking fines.

A spokeswoman for Islington Council says: "The appeals process allows drivers to contest tickets on various grounds, including when there is apparent ambiguity in parking attendants' notes.

"The council's parking service withdrew its case on these grounds but the driver concerned sought costs."

Source: ' Times '

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