‘I won’t back down’: Furious driver slapped with a $263 fine after a shocking parking cop blunder vows to fight the penalty ‘all the way’ – as authorities insist she’s in the wrong
- An arrow on a ‘no stopping’ sign was painted over to make it look illegal to park
- The arrow originally pointed to the right, but the vandal made it also point left
- After Nikita Kersten returned to her car, she noticed the graffiti and a $263 fine
- She wrote to NSW Revenue twice with photos, but they insist she must pay up
A defiant woman said she’s not afraid to go to court after being fined $263 because a graffitied ‘no stopping’ sign lead rangers to believe she parked illegally.
Nikita Kersten, 30, parked outside a family member’s house on the NSW Central Coast on June 16, but when she returned to her car an hour later the sign’s arrow was painted over.
The ‘no stopping’ sign in Gosford originally had an arrow pointing to the right, but a sneaky vandal painted over the arrow to also face the left – making it appear ‘illegal’ to park either way of the sign.
NSW Revenue upheld the fine, but Ms Kersten told Daily Mail Australia she has received a mountain of support and ‘won’t back down’.
The ‘no stopping’ sign originally had an arrow pointing to the right, but a sneaky vandal painted over the arrow to also face the left – making it appear ‘illegal’ to park either way of the sign
Ms Kersten’s brother scratched off the paint and bring the sign back to its original state – which shows either white paint or liquid paper was used to create the false left-pointing arrow
After emailing NSW Revenue twice with photos for proof of the painted arrow, they refused to waiver it despite acknowledging the obvious vandalism.
‘We acknowledge your comments indicating the sign was vandalised and this contributed to this offence, however, we are unable to cancel the penalty,’ the response read.
‘The issuing authority also reviewed the matter and confirms the penalty was correctly issued and still applies.’
Ms Kersten is now considering contacting Emma McBride, the local member for Dobel, and said she wouldn’t stop there – saying she’s not afraid to take the matter to court.
Ms Kersten (right) told Daily Mail Australia she has received a mountain of support and ‘won’t back down’ after NSW Revenue refused to waiver the fine
Ms Kersten (left) thought parking inspectors would be able to recognise the graffiti, and said she has parked in the same parking spot a number of times before
‘I hope it doesn’t come to that and can get resolved prior, but yes I will go to court if I need to,’ she said.
The client development manager said the government is setting a bad precedence over their unwillingness to do what is ethical.
‘I feel someone needs to stand up and not let them get away with instances like this.’
‘There was an arrow pointing to the left that had clearly been painted on so I was surprised to get the fine.’
Ms Kersten thought parking inspectors would be able to recognise the graffiti, which appears to have been made with either white paint or white-out.
She believed that the vandalised arrow was of such poor quality that NSW Revenue wouldn’t follow through with the fine.
Ms Kersten’s brother scratched off the paint and bring the sign back to its original state to prove it was drawn on.
Nikita Kersten emailed the NSW Revenue agency twice, but they wrote back saying the fine would still stand, despite acknowledging the obvious vandalism