paying parking tickets when your an english reg

ThatFella

first post so here goes... right so im living up in newry and hence i have an english registered car, now i drive into dundalk once or twice a month to do some banking in town. the past two times ive picked up a parking ticket on each venture... ive nothing against pay and display and for the most part ill put the few euro in the machine but as with the last two occations ive found that i havent had any euro change (if they took sterlings id pay) anyways giving that to pay id have to go to the bank, lodge my money and then withdraw a few quid.. go get change and then pay for the parking even though im 15 minutes late and have no intention of staying any longer - so its a bit of a no win situation, i remember some towns used to have a pre paid parking disc which would save me and others in the same situation but dundalk council obviously make more money on the tickets. so here finaly is my question - is there actualy anything the council can do to enforce the non payment of a ticket when the vehicle is registered outside the country??? Also is 40 euro the standard fine or are they trying to screw me!!

Anan1

As far as I know, you cannot be pursued for outstanding fines on NI plates. The standard fine is indeed €40. Would you not just change some money into euro coins and keep them in the car? One fine day, you'll come back to a clamp or a towed car. On the other hand, the clampers should get a good laugh out of your excuse.

ThatFella

for the most part i do usualy try keep a few euro in the ashtray but untill we share the same currency across the border its not something i generaly have in my pockets! i do though usualy have an abundance of 1 & 5 cents and 10 cents but the machines dont take them! any idea if they keep a record of number plates - it there's a database kinda set up? should i expect the clamp on the next unfortunate visit!

MrPudding

Several of the local councils use a European recovery company to persue foreign drivers in their respective countries for unpaid fines.

MrP

Anan1

ThatFella wrote:

for the most part i do usualy try keep a few euro in the ashtray but untill we share the same currency across the border its not something i generaly have in my pockets!

Why not? You've just said you drive to Dundalk once or twice a month.

ThatFella wrote:

any idea if they keep a record of number plates - it there's a database kinda set up? should i expect the clamp on the next unfortunate visit!

You are rather less likely to be clamped if you just pay for parking.

el tel

You are just a lazy fella. If you aren't able to pay you really shouldn't be parking in these areas. Apart from everything else, you are using up a space that someone who is prepared to pay for could be using. Non-Irish registered vehicles have a bad enough name for flouting the rules as it is.

DublinWriter

ThatFella wrote:

is there actualy anything the council can do to enforce the non payment of a ticket when the vehicle is registered outside the country???

In the case of Dundalk CC, yes. They have an agreement with a UK debt collection agency because of the large number of NI reg car drivers who think having UK plates equals free parking.

Wishbone Ash

Several years ago a NI driver was clamped in Dundalk. He went to pay the release fee and was told that he had 40 outstanding parking tickets to pay for first. Proper order.

ThatFella wrote:

if they took sterlings id pay

That attitude písses off a lot of people down here. If you come into our country you should have our currency. When we go north we ensure that we have Sterling.

peasant

Wishbone Ash wrote:

That attitude písses off a lot of people down here. If you come into our country you should have our currency. When we go north we ensure that we have Sterling.

Unless you go to Eniskillen. The parking meters take Stirling, Euro AND credit cards
So do the shops ...

Our man in Havana

Most NI drivers think they have diplomatic immunity when it comes to parking tickets.

Esel

ThatFella wrote:

.. im living up in newry and hence i have an english registered car...

Omeath is a suburb of Newry now? Since when? Have the locals been informed? Wise up, keep some Euro brass in the car.

ThatFella

I'm feeling the love out there.... its not that i object to having to pay for parking and on most occasions i DO have Euro change and i DO pay. My gripe is just that its not more user friendly and i guess the same can be said for local drivers. the only way i have to get euro change is to park my car and withdraw cash and change it in the shop and given that the length of my stay is usually amounts to no more than 10/15 minutes i'm fecked! and theres not a spot to be had in Dundalk that dosnt seem to be pay and display.... and just because the driver has a NI or GB reg dosnt mean that they presume that they can drive (or Park) with immunity.. infact im all for the cops being able to enforce penatly points cross border but i was just curious to know what the stance was with regard my original post.

LikeOhMyGawd!

There was a big deal in the press a couple of years ago about some debt recovery agencies being contracted by the council in Dundalk to recover unpaid fines. I don't know if anything came from it though.

I can imagine the recovery people going to houses in certain parts of Belfast to collect the fines...they'd end up leaving with broken legs.

LOTTOWINNER

Slightly of the point! I also live in the Dundalk area and I've often tried up to 3 machines before finding one that works, so It wouldn't matter what currency I had.

unkel

Next time you are over here, just get €50 out of an ATM machine and change it for €1 coins in a shop. That'll do you for years...

ThatFella wrote:

untill we share the same currency across the border

Tell your government in Engerland to get a move on

Anan1

unkel wrote:

Next time you are over here, just get €50 out of an ATM machine and change it for €1 coins in a shop. That'll do you for years...

I suggested this in my first post. For some reason, however, the OP appears to still be having trouble getting his head around the idea.

Wishbone Ash

Anan1 wrote:

I suggested this in my first post. For some reason, however, the OP appears to still be having trouble getting his head around the idea.

It's because he really lives in the 'South' but drives a UK registered car. In other words he is hoping he can't be touched.

Mc-BigE

ThatFella wrote:

right so im living up in newry and hence i have an english registered car, now i drive into dundalk once or twice a month to do some banking in town

I’m sorry but am I missing something here? If you live in Newry all the time why do you need to do banking in the ROI? Surely you would do your banking in Newry first before you drive to Dundalk once or twice a month? in other words (without being too nosey) why do you need a ROI bank account?