I Am Tourist—Hear Me Out!
November, Cotswolds
Delightful as it is, we are headed for Cirencester only because it is on the way and probably has a mobile phone shop which can repair mine. Negotiating the traffic-calming roundabouts that ring this market town set in the epicenter of the Gloucestershire Cotswolds takes the kind of two-person concentration which while it does let us notice the Waitrose on the Sheep Street Roundabout, does not let us pre-plan our parking intentions. A series of narrow one-way streets signed to Town Center take us circuitously around a warren of lanes which eventually dump us in yes, the Town Center.
Cars driven by people who know where they are going chivvy us to right and left as we try to determine our next steps. We are clearly in the Market Place which offers a long skinny packed-to-the gills car park as an island in the middle of the square. With impatient cars behind us, and one suddenly exiting from a parking space before us, I swing our car in to the narrow space and stop. Hurrah. We sit quietly for a moment with that exhalation of relief you get when you are driving a rental car in riotous traffic and you have once again managed not to mangle it. The square is teeming. Did I mention that Cirencester is a shopper’s paradise, it is Saturday and Christmas is just a month away?
Now to get a Pay and Display ticket, stick it on the driver’s dashboard and sprint. The ticket machine seems to be attracting a crowd. A large man with an Irish twang tells me that he can’t get it to accept his coins. Two other attemptees blur my view of anything but the coin slot itself and being an American who knows a thing or two about ramming a coin down the throat of a parking meter, I slide my own pound coin in and watch it get solidly wedged. The Irish dude tries to pry it out but it’s a goner. The rest of the crowd starts a car park chant, “Grace Day! Grace Day!” which is apparently the British version of “Broken Meter—Free Parking” and skip off to shop.
Tom and I consult. Not comfortable with being touristy scofflaws if there is a solution, I go in search of another meter, which I find after a good hike to the far end of the market square. As I have already put a pound coin (currently at the exchange rate of $1.59) in the broken meter, I put one more in this meter, extract the ticket, bring it back to the car where I write a note to the effect that I have now paid two pounds for two hours parking with one pound successfully applied to one hour and one awaiting extraction from the broken meter and stick the note on the dashboard along with the parking receipt so that the parking enforcement officer can clearly see the thoughtful and beyond -the- call -of -duty effort we have made to pay and comply.
We get a map and some pens at the Tourist Information Center (TIC) tucked into the new Corinium Museum and make our way around the streets with stops for mobile phone repair, a saddle pad for my horse Archie and some books. I lived near here for a while many, many years ago and cannot quite get a grip on how things have changed. This place used to bustle on Market Wednesdays right where we have parked our car, but shut up tight as a drum once the market half day came to an end. The tea shops, stationer, hardware and fruit and veg I remember are all there in ghostly shape but their prosaic selves have morphed into boutiques or crafts or mobile phone shops.
On our way back to the Market Place we come across the Metro Tesco grocery store (and its car park) which we suddenly remember shopping at in a similar drive-by episode a number of years ago on our way to Dorset. We find the phone box we spent several hours in trying to line up a B and B in Lyme Regis on a bank holiday (successfully, after an arsenal of sixpences thrown with abandon at British Telecom) and reminisce. Looking at the time, we decide to skip the appeal of the Waitrose and shop at the Tesco, emerging with laden bags and a wish that we had seen this car park first.
Tom carries the groceries and I drape shopping bags over my shoulders while we walk, talk and I fish around for the car keys in my purse. Our car is sandwiched tightly in between two others in their narrow slots staged in a row, hugging the long square.
The yellow plastic packet glued to the windshield yields, when unstuck, a Penalty Notice. We have parked 22 minutes longer than the hour on our metered ticket. My note to the Parking Enforcement Officer explaining the situation lies visible on the dashboard read or unread. Tom sighs and piles our bags in the car. I wait until we are both seated to read the fine amount. £25. Twenty-five pounds!
A day or two later I ask some friends from Cheltenham what the odds are of beating a ticket in Cirencester. They laugh. I google Wikipedia on UK parking appeals which basically says forget it. It is Thanksgiving at home.
When we are back in London a couple of days later, I read the ticket closely. We can appeal by registering on the Council website. £25 is equivalent to about $40. $40 is a night at the pub. I want to appeal. I find the site, and after some hunting locate the Traffic Violations Appeal link. I press it. It is broken. I find the name of the person on the Council website who looks most likely to be in charge of traffic violations and write an e-mail:
24.11.11 Dear Cirencester Traffic Violations Office:
I would like to appeal this ticket please. As tourists we arrived in the Market Place not aware that there was longer term parking nearby. On going to put money in the meter another gentleman (also a visitor I believe) was struggling with making the machine work. I put my pound coin in and it was irretrievably wedged making it impossibly to get a parking slip. I struggled with it. He struggled with it. Others arrived and said, 'Grace Day" which I assumed meant if the meter wasn't working there was no way to pay for parking. I did finally notice that there was another meter on the other side of the square (no one else seemed to be using it), made my way over, put another pound coin in and placed that slip in my car window with a note visible in the windscreen that I had "lost" a pound in the broken meter.
Returning to the car with what I assumed was well over half an hour to spare given the two pound coins I had spent on parking, I was surprised to find we had received a (very substantial) fine. I am not a scofflaw, I did try very hard to pay the appropriate amount, spent a considerable amount of time trying to make that happen and would appreciate very much if you could allow that the situation and confusion (and poor signage) attributed to my (as a visitor to the UK) not knowing/understanding what to do in the situation of a broken meter and lost money.
It's been years since I spent time in Cirencester and much has changed. I do recall, at age 18, receiving a traffic fine (from an officer on a bicycle) for riding my bicycle the wrong way on a small roundabout. It was 25 pence. I paid it on site and learned the error of my ways.
Thank you for your consideration. I did try to respond via your website Parking Fines url but the link is broken. Were you able to extricate my wedged pound?
Regards, MR
Surprisingly, I receive an e-mail response the next morning. The Cirencester Council signature demands that I… should not use, disclose, distribute copy or print the e-mail or any information attached to or contained in it. The Council does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of information in the message. The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Council, which of course raises the question about what information is accurate, and whose views they really are but I will distribute, copy and print as I believe in full disclosure and I am currently residing across a very large ocean’s reach from the wrath of Cirencester Council.
25.11.11 Re: Parking Violation Market Place, Cirencester
Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the above Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), which I received on the 24th November 2011. Under the Traffic Management Act 2004 (as amended), your letter has been treated as informal representations against this Penalty Charge Notice and careful consideration has been given to your representations, including all the circumstances relating to the issue of this Charge.
Your vehicle was parked in a short stay car park as indicated by the signage in the area. Although you state you had entered £1 into one machine which became wedged and then proceed to purchase another ticket from the other machine this does not mean you can leave your vehicle for 2hrs as you are only entitled to leave your vehicle for up to 1 hour in this car park. There are a number of car parks within Cirencester whereby you can park for up to 10 hours. It is the driver’s responsibility to make sure their vehicle adheres to the parking regulations that apply and that they are fully aware of the regulations before leaving their vehicle. Your reasons for not complying with the regulations in force are insufficient to merit the cancellation of this Charge. We are satisfied that this Charge was served correctly and your representations are rejected for the reasons outlined above.
You may now pay the discounted amount of £25.00 within 14 days from the date of this letter, after which the PCN reverts to the full charge of £50.00. If payment is not received, a Notice to Owner will be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle. This will advise of the process and grounds on which formal representations can be made. The Council is obliged to consider representations to the Notice to Owner, even if your informal representations have been rejected. You should be aware that the discounted amount will not be applicable once a Notice to Owner has been served.
If the formal representations to the Notice to Owner are rejected, the registered owner of the vehicle has the right to appeal to an independent Parking Adjudicator. This cannot be done until after formal representations have been made to the Council following the issue of the Notice to Owner and subsequently rejected.
Yours sincerely, Mrs. M Parking Services
I think about this for a minute. Apparently I have unwittingly had my day in court and despite it being me who has to pay the ticket; only the Owner of the Car (the rental agency) will be allowed to make ‘formal representations’. Plus in making a further appeal not only will I accrue the charges the rental agency is sure to extend, I would, if my appeal loses, have to pay the double fine. Ouch. I find myself humming a few bars from Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant and imagine Officer Obie at the other end of the e-mail. I call up the Google Earth map of Market Place and look at the car park, the meters and the distance between them. Perhaps I will take a pro-active leaf from Officer Obie’s book and provide the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one.
25.11.11 Dear Mrs. M,
Thank you for your swift reply. I might mention that given I only tried to purchase one hour I had no idea the lot was limited to that. Had I tried to put in two coins in a machine that functioned perhaps I would have been more knowledgeable about limits. There was quite a crowd at the kiosk so that made it difficult to read any terms. I thought that I was parking in a two-hour lot.
I would appreciate your reconsidering my appeal. I did not in any way try to abuse the privileges of parking in the market lot. I did my very best to be responsible, thoughtful and to operate within the parameters of the law. That the kiosk was broken and I lost a pound and then spent a considerable amount of time trying to understand what was expected was of course my fault.
I would ask you to please reconsider. A fine of 25 pounds is considerable. In my town the same transgression would cost you, as a visitor, a third of that and had you been as confused as I was as a visitor, we would have forgiven you that one -time overstay and welcomed you back.
I wonder too about my lost pound?
Regards, MR
A few days pass while we allow London’s public transport and our own two feet to get us where we want to be. I have not heard from Mrs. M. We are leaving the UK in a few days and our two -week window to pay the ‘discounted’ fine at £25 is narrowing.
28.11.11 Dear Mrs. M,
As I am sure you had a busy Friday and having not heard back from you re my recent query, I am writing again. I would prefer to write by letter but suspect that you would not receive it for several days so hope that e-mail is considered as legitimate a form of appeal as a written letter as the Cirencester website encourages me to e-mail.
I reiterate that given the circumstances of the broken kiosk, the absence of notice regarding what to do as well as poor signage regarding parking hour limitation given that kiosk one retained my pound coin without ticket, I should not be held liable for a very understandable offense. I would reiterate that the crowd around the kiosk obscured any notice about parking limits. I made the effort to pay for one hour (kiosk two) and left a note in my windscreen regarding my lost pound, which I hoped would cover the additional hour but did not have the opportunity to put two pounds in a kiosk which, by not accepting it, would have informed me that it was a one-hour lot.
I would respectfully ask this fine to be dismissed due to poor signage, information and good intention. As I am leaving the UK for home tomorrow could you please let me know what further steps I need to take to have my appeal re-considered and to expand the 14 day £25 rate to cover that appeal and the time international mail might require.
I wonder too if the fine shouldn't actually be £24 given my lost pound which was irretrievably wedged in the broken meter?
Thank you for your assistance, MR
Surprisingly, I hear back within 24 hours. Mrs. M has perhaps grown impatient with me so I am now communicating with Mr. B who replies:
29.11.11 Location: MARKET PLACE (Cirencester)
Thank you for your recent email regarding the above Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
The Council has already considered your informal representations and they have been rejected. Under current legislation, the Council is not obliged to consider any further representations until the registered owner of the vehicle has been served with a Notice to Owner.
The Tariff on the Pay and Display Machine clearly states that Maximum stay 1 hour No return within 1 Hour. The ticket you purchased expired at 14:27 and under the terms of the tariff you are required to leave the Car Park and unable to return until after 15:27.
As explained in our previous letter, the Notice to Owner will advise of the process and grounds on which formal representations can be made. You may wish to resubmit your correspondence with your formal representation to the Notice to Owner if you wish. The Council is obliged to consider representations to the Notice to Owner even if your informal representations have been rejected.
If the formal representations to the Notice to Owner are rejected, the registered owner of the vehicle has the right to appeal to an independent Parking Adjudicator. This cannot be done until after formal representations have been made to the Council following the issue of the Notice to Owner and subsequently rejected.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. B Parking Services
Mr. B sounds cross. I look closely at a Pay and Display meter in London on a tramp around Hyde Park. The fine print is, like ours at home, very fine. If it weren’t for the large sign above it which clearly states how much and how long, I would not be able to read the meter without a fairly strong magnifying glass or an 8 year old with 20/20 vision. Mr. B is not buying my point. If I put in two pounds for two hours in one meter, the idiot-proof meter would have spit out one of them and given me a ticket for just one hour. I would likely have thought about this for a bit before understanding glimmered. One pound=one- hour lot. I feel Mr. B’s annoyance radiating across the watery miles now dividing us from Cirencester Parking Services as we leave the UK but not the parking dilemma.
The yellow plastic envelope with its expensive contents travels home with my passport. In three days the £25 ticket will morph into £50. Insisting that the writing is on the wall (or in this case on the ticket) my spouse has created an internationally stamped envelope stuffed with £25 in cash, which he is anxious to mail to Parking Services without further ado. I grudgingly agree with him but ask him to just wait a little bit longer. I send Mr. B one last gasp, a sort of closing argument.
29.11.11 Dear Mr. B,
I realize that you are complying with process but as I am not the Owner of the Car and it was a hire car, I am not in a position to be able to formally object to the £25 fee I was billed at Market Parking Cirencester. I attest that the indicators about both the broken meter and the hour limit at Market Parking in Cirencester are not displayed in any visible effort to ensure that the many visitors to your lovely town are clearly advised as to time limit in the Market Place car park nor does your response address the issue of the broken meter and my wedged pound coin.
While I do realize that "Under current legislation, the Council is not obliged to consider any further representations until the registered owner of the vehicle has been served with a Notice to Owner" I wonder if, under those circumstances you might re-consider the £25 fine. As you must know, my hire company will charge me considerable fees in addition if I seek to formally appeal what I feel to be a ticket issued under poor circumstances. I am sure the Council does not want to take advantage of a situation which does not allow me to formally appeal.
A: The signage for Market Parking does not clearly inform motorists that it is a one-hour lot as they are approaching the parking, nor does it clearly direct them to longer parking. The confusion of entry to the Market, especially in traffic does not lend itself to both driving carefully and trying to pick out parking options.
B: The meter we used was broken with very poor signage about directions or otherwise (lost 1 pound)
C: Many others were confused as well, their crush around the meter contributing to anyone's ability to more closely read what must have been very fine print on the meter in terms of time limit.
D. In all good intention I thought I had paid for two hours, I wrote a note to accompany my one-hour ticket and placed it in my windscreen attesting to the pound I had wedged in the broken meter. If I had not lost a pound in the broken meter, I would likely have discovered on trying to spend two pounds for two hours at the far- side working meter, that it was a one-hour lot. I do not recall ANY other indicator of that which caught my attention. I disagree that the tariff is clearly stated on the meter.
E. I returned well within the time I thought I had paid for, saw the ticket, read it, but still did not see any easily visible sign indicating that Market is a 1- hour lot.
F. I did not have a guided source of information about appealing the fine, having to resort to an inquiry e-mail, which was apparently considered to be my informal appeal, without my having any knowledge about that appeal process. The Council website link was, like the meter, broken.
G. I do not reside in the UK and have had to since return home making it very difficult and likely expensive to properly protest this fine. Thank you for your ongoing patience and thoughtful response.
H. Shoudn't the fine actually be £24 as I have not been credited for the wedged pound?
Most Sincerely, MR
The next day ticks on. It is 6 p.m. our time and 23:00 GMT when everyone at Cirencester Parking Services is likely sound asleep or watching Kristina Cooper present the government news on BBC Parliament. I check my e-mail.
30.11.11 Location: MARKET PLACE (Cirencester)
Thank you for your email regarding the above Penalty Charge Notice, which I received on 30th November 2011. I have reviewed this case and I am satisfied that it was issued correctly as the area in which you had parked has a maximum stay of 1 hour. This is indicated clearly on the pay and display machines.
As a gesture of goodwill as it appears that you are visitor to this county I have cancelled the above PCN.
Yours sincerely,
Miss W Parking Services
My first thought is of course curiosity about what my confidantes Mrs. M and Mr. B make of this as now an authoritative Miss W has joined our conversation. Did Mr. B object? Did Mrs. M smile? Are we all d'accord now? My second thought is whoopee. I careen into the living room, humming, "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant" to tell my patient spouse that we have been granted a pardon.
He has that look on his face which can only mean one thing.
He has already mailed the fine.
30.11.11 Dear Miss W,
Thank you for your e-mail response and kind effort towards goodwill. Sadly, the fee was mailed (in cash) just prior to your generous response.
Should you receive the payment and find that indeed you do want to honor closing the PCN then I would be very happy to send a stamped return envelope to have the fine I mailed returned to me or to a friend in the UK.
Thank you for your patience. I am in the future, sincerely committed to more carefully reading the parking hour limitations on British Pay and Display meters no matter how fine the print.
Regards, MR
No word from Miss W. Yet. She may be otherwise occupied as apparently the Council has riled even the locals recently by raising car park charges.
If you're reading this and you happen to be traveling in Cirencester, would you mind stopping by the Market Place and seeing if my pound is still stuck?
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