Furious driver issues £385 DIY ticket to ‘selfish and stupid’ motorist

Stuart Barber (pictured) issued the DIY fine after finding his van had been blocked again

A raging motorist issued a £385 DIY parking fine to a ‘selfish’ driver who blocked in his van and stopped him from getting to work.

Stuart Barber angrily posted the demand on the offending Dodge Caliber’s windscreen – adding the charge would be reduced to £192.50 if paid within seven days.

The 50-year-old, who lives on Rhodes Avenue, Bishop’s Stortford, said parking in his area is an ‘absolute nightmare’ thanks to a lack of parking permits for residents and yellow lines recently installed by the council.

And on Wednesday April 18 he snapped after emerging from his home to find a car parked inches away from his van.

Taking matters into his own hands, Stuart drew up the DIY invoice.

‘You get to the point where you have to start making a stand. We just have a really serious parking problem on Rhodes Avenue,’ he said.

All other residents living within one mile of the town centre have been given parking permits, he also claimed.

‘Every morning is an absolute rat race with idiot commuters and office workers in Stortford and people going to Stansted on their holidays. 

Barber, who founded Doody's Educational Workshops, issued the fine via an invoice normally used by the enterprise

Barber, who founded Doody’s Educational Workshops, issued the fine via an invoice normally used by the enterprise

‘I’ve had people parking across the bottom of my drive blocking me in for days while they’ve gone on holiday. It’s madness.’

He said he had purposefully parked close to the car behind him – which belongs to his son, who was away at the time – in order to give another person space to park in front of him, before the yellow lines begin.

But despite this the ‘inconsiderate’ driver chose to park nose-to-nose with him – leaving a gap of up to four feet behind them.

After calling police – a move he said often resorts to – to report that he had been blocked in, Stuart was left dismayed by their response.

Inches away: Barber says that cars will park so close to him that he cannot go to work - and loses a day's pay

Inches away: Barber says that cars will park so close to him that he cannot go to work – and loses a day’s pay

On Wednesday April 18 Barber snapped and issued the fine to a Dodge Caliber that had been parked mere inches away from his van 

On Wednesday April 18 Barber snapped and issued the fine to a Dodge Caliber that had been parked mere inches away from his van 

He said: ‘Normally the police are cool, they ask the registration number and then call them up and say ‘you are blocking someone, you need to move’.

‘This time they called me up and said ‘sorry we can’t find a number for the person’ which is fine but then I get a phone call from a PCSO and she was fuming.

‘She said I can’t invoice people for parking and that it was my fault for backing up against my son, and she removed the invoice.’

According to Stuart, residents regularly suffer verbal abuse by drivers keen to bag themselves a spot.

Taxi drivers, he continued, leave their personal vehicles and taxis there at all times, swapping them at the start and end of each day.

Adding insult to injury, workers from construction sites in the town centre park their vans in dangerous locations, causing a hazard to oncoming traffic, he contends.

He said taxi drivers who park overnight and travelers heading to Stansted airport are often to blame for the congested roads

‘We accept the fact that we are in an area without controlled parking but when people park like d**** there’s no excuse.

‘You just think ‘I wouldn’t dream of doing that’.

‘People are so selfish and extremely rude – the amount of residents who have had mouthfuls off them is ridiculous. ‘I’ve been told to f*** off a number of times, and my partner has been sworn at too.

‘The lack of support or empathy from the council and the police just makes it worse.’

A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: ‘Police were called at 12.16pm on Wednesday, April 18 to reports of a parking dispute in Rhodes Avenue, Bishop’s Stortford.

‘It was reported that a silver Dodge Caliber had parked in such a position that a resident was unable to move their vehicle.’

Who can issue parking tickets and what are my rights as a UK driver?

Members of the public are not legally allowed to issue fines to other motorists even if they are parked illegally.

Local authorities can issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) if you park incorrectly or for too long on public land.

Private companies are also allowed to issue parking tickets. Many call these Parking Charge Notices but they are not the same. 

They are not backed up by law. Instead, they are invoices for a breach of contract. 

For example, if you park in a private car park you agree to a contract that says you will pay a fee and leave after a certain time.

Police can only intervene in parking disputes between members of the public if a vehicle has caused an obstruction that is considered to be a hazard to other road users or pedestrians.

What are your rights?

If you think that the ticket is unfair, you must not ignore it, as this could lead to you being summonsed to court – whether the PCN was fair or not. 

Instead you can challenge it within 28 days of its issue by writing to the council. This is known as an ‘informal challenge’. Some councils let you do this via their website.

If the council rejects this challenge you can make a ‘formal challenge’ after the council sends you a Notice to Owner.

The council must decide within 56 days of the formal challenge being made whether or not to concede and cancel the fine. If they still do not agree with your challenge, they will send you a Notice of Rejection.

If you still wish to challenge, your final option is to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (in London you should contact the Parking and Traffic Appeals service). Again, you must do this in 28 days of the Notice of Rejection being issued. 

Source: Law on the Web



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