Parking inspectors - Perth in general

FG XR · 02-04-2010, 05:01 PM

ok here goes

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back on the 18/03/10 my wife and myself rushed our newborn baby girl to PMH (Childrens hospital) here in perth as she was having difficulties breathing due to her having mucus in her throat (She was born with a cleft lip and palate btw).

Anyway she had to stay in overnight for observation and my wife also decided to stay, i drove back home to return in the morning. The next day i got to the hospital at 9am and paid for a parking ticket across the road (there is no parking at all for this hospital only street parking or hospital parking across the road which is VERY limited as most business' in the area park their). I went up to the ward where they were keeping her when my wife told me they were going to discharge my daughter hopefully around 11:00am (my ticket expired 11:30am). Just after 11:00am the nurse told us the doctor that would be discharging my daughter was going to be running late as he had an emergency.

Anyway just to be safe i ran down stairs, across the road and purchased another ticket that would now expire at 12:30pm.

Around 12:00pm the doctor came and gave my daughter a final checkup and signed off on her discharge form and also gave her a prescription to get some medication from the hospital pharmacy downstairs. Now we went to the pharmacy and picked up her medication however this took about 20 minutes to do as the hospital was very busy (the prescription was for the hospital only otherwise i would have got it on the way home).

Got back to the car just around 12:40pm (10 minutes overtime) and my wife just finished putting our baby daughter into the car and i was putting her pram in the boot when i noticed a parking inspector looking at the front of my wifes car. I told him we were in the process of leaving and my baby daughter was just discharged from PMH after being in emergency. His reply was arrogant to say the least. "You are almost 15 minutes overtime and your car is still stationary at present so i will be issuing you a ticket". I again explained our reasons for being a little late (the carpark is a fair distance to walk as you have to walk through an underpass over a very busy city street to get to the hospital). Again he replied with "not my problem, you were over your time" gave me the $50.00 fine and walked off down the street.

:jab: Not happy! :jab:

Anyway got home and wrote a letter to city of perth to get the fine waived and attached my daughters discharge form as on the back of the fine it says the ticket can be waived for medical emergencies. Got a response today in the mail stating the fine will not be waived as being held up at the hospital was not a valid reason and the emergency happened the day before (even though she was still in the hospital emergency dpt under observation the next day!), even though i stated in my letter she was admitted to PMH emergency and attached her discharge form to prove i infact was at a hospital not just saying i was... grrr....

i was told i can either take it to court, pay the fine or get the matter reviewed by an ombudsman who will review my case and determine a final outcome. I simply do not have $50 to throw away as i have a mortgage to pay, wife is not working and with my daughters condition my money mainly goes to paying medical bills and hospital bills currently. Im not going to take it to court - waste of time and money so i am getting the matter reviewed by an ombudsman as my final hope

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Anyway these parking inspectors with no sympthoy for anyone are just bloody vultures!

:

Also heard people whos cars were blocked in underground carparks in the city due to flooding after last weeks massive storm got hit with fines aswell even though they couldnt move their cars! Scum!

Sorry about the long thread just mighty peed off!

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**Full Noise** · 02-04-2010, 06:36 PM

A $50 parking fine?

Anyone in Sydney or Melbourne could only dream of a fine that low for parking. You’ve had no luck writing a letter, other than to prove that the council are a bunch of douche bags, so write to the ombudsman and see what he says. Personally, with an amount this small, I’d just pay it and put it down to experience.

I know it sucks, but it will cost you a lot more to fight it in court if the ombudsman doesn’t see it in your favour. Councils, like state governments are always looking for cash so don’t expect any favours from them.

V3RSAC3 · 02-04-2010, 06:43 PM

Because the letter would have been sent to the Parking "comittee" which is the parking inspector himself ... Bad bit of luck mate! =( I hate parking inspectors with a passion! Been done on the same street in non ticketed zones (just time zones) when I was doing window cleaning and used to move my car up the street from job to job. and had an arument with the inspector saying my car was in the same place for 40minutes. When it was 3minutes ...

Their just the kids that used to get bullied at school and now have the power to make others as misrable as they are!! ...

FG XR · 02-04-2010, 06:59 PM

believe me i wanted too!! but i just let him have it, think i used every swear word under the sun..

not going to take it too court will cost me more, ive written to ombudsman so if he agrees with them ill pay it and move on but its just the principle at the moment and the fact i cant really afford to waste $50 on this crap, rather spend $50 on my daughters hospital bills or nappies or something worth while ya know? Would hate it to have being a person in a wheel chair!

BFXT54L · 02-04-2010, 07:15 PM

The very sad thing about this is that there are compassionate parking officers out there, and the very sad part is that not all of them are like the one that fined you. A very good one would have let you off, the best thing is not to show agression otherwise you will in most situations get a fine.
I wouldnt be assaulting one either because they are bringing in the same rights as a police officer to protect them eventually.
And remember they are just out there doing a job and see arrogance on a daily basis, Obviously you both just had a bad day.

FG XR · 02-04-2010, 07:29 PM

yeah i didnt swear or yell at him until he gave the the ticket and said "not my problem".

the arrogance or some people.

BFXT54L · 02-04-2010, 07:39 PM

I wouldve listened to your situation then and not fined you, because you were there to move your car in time, and in my mind it was an emergency. Best thing is , is maybe complain to council and report him. But it is your word against his unfortunately.

FG XR · 02-04-2010, 08:21 PM

i did make a complaint in my letter saying how uncaring and arrogant he was in his responses and all they said in their reply letter was "we have forwarded your information regarding the officer to his team leader".. in other words they has just typed that to make me feel like something will be getting done but it wont. My friend got sworn at and abused by a parking inspector in the city a couple of years ago (she didnt even have a go at him just said she had come back to pay for another ticket but was 5 minutes to late and he just let it rip - must have being having a bad day? Anyway she reported him and had a member of the public letter (old couple) and got the same response i did. "Forwarded onto the team leader" and she was never contacted. I guess they all stick together but what gives them the right to insult people like this. I cant imagine someone in a wheel chair in my situation being told 'too bad".

GS608 · 02-04-2010, 08:41 PM

Karma is a ********** Coyote, he'll get whats coming to him, one day he may be arrogant and uncaring to the wrong person. Wouldn't wish it upon him but thats the way it goes. Love to see the response from a parking inspector if he decided to let rip at an off duty copper who then threw the book at him.

zdcol71 · 02-04-2010, 08:58 PM

Take it to court, (take a sickie if your worried about the money, ) this is the very thing we have courts for. They deliver on the justice or otherwise of our legislation, if all is as you say in your opening post, I would be surprised if a magistrate didn't throw this out with a very stern rebuke to the morons in council who saw fit to proceed with a prosecution. (I will assume, given that I am in QLD, the courts will give you an option of paying or having the matter dealt with by the courts).Present all your "evidence", and the council giving you the ticket will have to have someone in attendence to argue their point as well.I would imagine the same sort of scenario as a police prosecutor having to have irrefutable facts to prove a case against anyone in a court of law(read justice!!)

Gaz · 03-04-2010, 01:23 AM

they are on the dot.. got a very stern warning from a parking inspector because I had pulled up in a tourist bus stop next to work waiting for the garage door to open.

On the flip side, I had a very long drawn out discussion with another local council where I asked for a 96 cent refund on my parking ticket because their machine was wrong.... they even rounded it to $1 for me. I think they were just sick of me so paid up.

Did feel strange walking into their offices to ask for me $1

nstg8a · 03-04-2010, 01:53 AM

parking inspector probably hears the same old excuses every day, i know its not a job id wanna do.
in his defence, you were 15 minutes over your time, not just 2 or 3 minutes, and it wasnt an emergency, they are quite right in saying that was the day before.

i always thought the rules for waiving tickets like this were for when someone has had to rush into hospital and sticking money in a meter is somewhat less important than a medical emergency.

FG XR · 03-04-2010, 02:01 AM

exactly i was 15 minutes, not an hour, i did buy a ticket - i didnt just rock up and i showed him the discharge letter so he knew i wasnt lieing..

yes was the day before but she was discharge FROM emergency she didnt just go in for a check up.

jimmyxr6t04 · 03-04-2010, 04:57 AM

I'll probably get flamed, and i probably shouldn't offer this advice, but what's the worst that will happen if you don't pay it? Do they increase the fine?? I mean, if scum of the earth can get away with drink driving, disqualified driving, and whatever else they do, surely not paying a $50 fine isn't gonna land you in hot water... Just put it off until you're a little more financially stable, especially if it's really gonna throw you out that much. Or if you have no luck with the ombusdsman, claim financial hardship and offer to pay it off at a $1 per week! I don't even know if you can do that, but stuff 'em!

I've only ever had 2 fines (both speeding), and i always pay them straight away, the thought of them hanging around and me having to look at them is more depressing!

Regardless of him being late, the parking inspector could see he had just got his daughter discharged etc... What an arrogant ***. Any 'reasonable' person would have waived it... Take it to court i reckon! The judge should see that any reasonable person would let you off!

Good luck!

DBourne · 03-04-2010, 08:17 AM

I swear most of those inspectors were bullied as kids and now have big man syndrome.

Whilst the fine sucks, congratulations on the new born mate

PS. Jimmy, unfortunately the law is anything but reasonable.

Where else in the world is speeding looked down on more than rape...

jimmyxr6t04 · 03-04-2010, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SgtBourne

I swear most of those inspectors were bullied as kids and now have big man syndrome.

Whilst the fine sucks, congratulations on the new born mate

PS. Jimmy, unfortunately the law is anything but reasonable.

Where else in the world is speeding looked down on more than rape...

I agree buddy, some laws are very unreasonable!! My reference was loosely based on the 'reasonable' person. Although it is usually related to negligence, and duty of care, one would hope that a judge could execute discretion and suggest that perhaps a 'reasonable' person would not have booked the OP in this instance.

Here's a quote regarding tort law and due care..."Due Care: a theory of tort law to explain the standard of care or the legal duty one owes to others; what a reasonable person would do under like circumstances
Duty: obligation owed by a person to another person" ...

Whilst it has nothing to do with parking infrigements, and whilst i don't know a whole lot about law, it does give hope that perhaps a judge could use discretion in this case.

I guess i'm just trying to give hope to the OP... All the best with it!

FG XR · 03-04-2010, 03:22 PM

if you dont pay parking fine they DO increase just like speeding fines (they give you 2 weeks i believe) and if you still choose not to pay it they can suspend your drivers licence and as everyone knows if that happens and you get caught you will be in even more deep crap, sometimes not even knowing they have suspended it as they do not notify you of it.

Like i keep saying ill pay if IF i have to but id rather use that $50 on something for my daughter e.g formula, nappies you know?

jimmyxr6t04 · 04-04-2010, 09:21 AM

i thought an accumulation of fines would result in loss of licence, but it's not a risk worth taking i guess!

All the best with it!

FG XR · 07-05-2010, 09:36 PM

wrote a letter to the city ombudsman and today (1 month later!) they sent me a letter in the mail saying that the fine will be waived and a caution issued instead. Finally someone can see some common sense!

Maggot · 07-05-2010, 09:46 PM

My father in law received a notice for parking in rockingham.. somewhere he had not been in many years.

He disputed the fine several times over 3 or 4 months but was told to either pay it or risk a larger fine in court.

He then requested the exact locality and for the council to tell him what type of car he had.. they quickly dropped the matter.

There was also the case where council parking inspectors were busted sitting in their vehicle and reading off number plates of cars driving by to issue fines to.

*
I hate councils and their parking fines too.. but in this case.. you are better off just paying it. If your case goes to court you would be found at fault and asked to pay.

Sizey · 07-05-2010, 10:00 PM

Parking inspectors have quotas just like police in most states do. They really don't care what your reason is, they just want to fill the quota.

Furthermore, im not surprised you got a negative result from the council. There is something about writing a letter of protest to a department that works with or runs under the same banner as the issuing department and expecting a good result that doesn't sit well with me!

However good luck with any further endeavors upon this matter.

FG XR · 07-05-2010, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggot

My father in law received a notice for parking in rockingham.. somewhere he had not been in many years.

He disputed the fine several times over 3 or 4 months but was told to either pay it or risk a larger fine in court.

He then requested the exact locality and for the council to tell him what type of car he had.. they quickly dropped the matter.

There was also the case where council parking inspectors were busted sitting in their vehicle and reading off number plates of cars driving by to issue fines to.

*
I hate councils and their parking fines too.. but in this case.. you are better off just paying it. If your case goes to court you would be found at fault and asked to pay.

read above. they waived the fine.