Firewire
04-04-2017, 10:14 AM
A woman has been ordered by a court to pay a record fine to a private parking company after ignoring hundreds of penalty notices.
The £24,500 fine is understood to be the largest parking fine in the country.
Carly Mackie, who lives in Dundee, was ordered to pay Vehicle Control Services the money after repeatedly parking in an area reserved for residents at a property rented by her mother and stepfather.
The 28-year-old had been issued with penalty notices almost every day over two years, but claimed they were unenforceable as she lived there at the time.
Mackie insisted that she was entitled to park her Mini in front of the family's garage, and would not accept the offer of a parking permit for a space nearby for £40 a month.
After racking up a £18,500 bill and ignoring more than 200 penalty notices, she was taken to court by the private parking firm last year.
Sheriff George Way said in a written statement that Mackie had "entirely misdirected herself on both the law and the contractual chain in this case".
"She knew perfectly well what the signs displayed, and that she was parking in breach of the conditions.
She stated that (effectively a protest position) that parking charges were illegal and unenforceable in Scotland and that she could park where she liked as her father's guest.
The defender is not the tenant. The defender's car was an additional burden on the parking facilities and she was the same as any other interloper.
She was offered a permit by the factors (at a reasonable charge I think) but she refused on principle."
– SHERIFF GEORGE WAY
http://www.itv.com/news/2017-04-03/driver-told-to-pay-record-breaking-24-000-parking-fine/
I know laws in England and Wales are different to those in Scotland but do you think it's right that she has been ordered to pay this fee to a private company?
What is your thoughts on private parking company fining people for parking without permits? Should parking be free?
The £24,500 fine is understood to be the largest parking fine in the country.
Carly Mackie, who lives in Dundee, was ordered to pay Vehicle Control Services the money after repeatedly parking in an area reserved for residents at a property rented by her mother and stepfather.
The 28-year-old had been issued with penalty notices almost every day over two years, but claimed they were unenforceable as she lived there at the time.
Mackie insisted that she was entitled to park her Mini in front of the family's garage, and would not accept the offer of a parking permit for a space nearby for £40 a month.
After racking up a £18,500 bill and ignoring more than 200 penalty notices, she was taken to court by the private parking firm last year.
Sheriff George Way said in a written statement that Mackie had "entirely misdirected herself on both the law and the contractual chain in this case".
"She knew perfectly well what the signs displayed, and that she was parking in breach of the conditions.
She stated that (effectively a protest position) that parking charges were illegal and unenforceable in Scotland and that she could park where she liked as her father's guest.
The defender is not the tenant. The defender's car was an additional burden on the parking facilities and she was the same as any other interloper.
She was offered a permit by the factors (at a reasonable charge I think) but she refused on principle."
– SHERIFF GEORGE WAY
http://www.itv.com/news/2017-04-03/driver-told-to-pay-record-breaking-24-000-parking-fine/
I know laws in England and Wales are different to those in Scotland but do you think it's right that she has been ordered to pay this fee to a private company?
What is your thoughts on private parking company fining people for parking without permits? Should parking be free?