Fined €225 parking fine! EACH!

corkgal27

I am new here so i really don't know what I am doing, so sorry if this in the wrong place etc. Story is got 3 fines in the space of week in March. Never got a ticket before that just got really unlucky. Anyway I paid one as I couldn't afford to pay the others. Got a court date for last week and I am now living in Waterford so I couldn't go, we are all sick so my mother went to represent me. The fines were originally €40 each and I just got the fines in the post €150 plus €75 costs each!!! Thats €550 for two tickets. Was anyone else in a similar situation?? I find this amount to be extreme!! :mad:

gbee

Stupid money.

Not saying anything.

Last week on the local radio a guy was being interviewed about his non payment of fines, he had amassed a bit more and had missed three court appearances.

Gardaí arrived at his house and removed him to prison where he was processed and released the same evening.

BTW, there is another thread on similar which might interest you, don't have a link, sorry.

marinabannon

Seem's that the courts are picking on the easy targets with huge fines, just to make up money for the low life's that never pay and are always re appearing back in court for non payments..........

hi5

gbee wrote: »

Stupid money.

Not saying anything.

Last week on the local radio a guy was being interviewed about his non payment of fines, he had amassed a bit more and had missed three court appearances.

Gardaí arrived at his house and removed him to prison where he was processed and released the same evening.

BTW, there is another thread on similar which might interest you, don't have a link, sorry.

They've wised up to that too, new laws coming out for payment of fines.

http://www.thejournal.ie/legal-fines-pay-in-instalments-645535-Oct2012/

Tallon

Fines for what exactly?

Where were you parked? What are they for?

Guy:Incognito

marinabannon wrote: »

Seem's that the courts are picking on the easy targets with huge fines, just to make up money for the low life's that never pay and are always re appearing back in court for non payments..........

Easy pickings? You don't even know what she was fine for yet. Could be for parking in a disabled spot or on a dangerous corner etc.

Not bothering to turn up for court is serious , you cant just ignore it and hope it goes away. I doubt the government is making much off the "huge fines" once the cost of running the courts are taken out.

corkgal27

Tallon wrote: »

Fines for what exactly?

Where were you parked? What are they for?

I was parked in town heading in to college came back 5 mins after the time on the first one, second ticket same thing except I was 10 mins late back... I rang the cork city council to explain I was sick and he told me there was no problem I could send some one to represent me.. My mother said everyone was getting fined huge fines. Another thing is how the judge treated the people my mother could not believe it...

corkgal27

Im my original post I said €550 I actually meant €450.. I would have paid if I could afford it at the time. Just things were very tight.

corkgal27

gbee wrote: »

Stupid money.

Not saying anything.

Last week on the local radio a guy was being interviewed about his non payment of fines, he had amassed a bit more and had missed three court appearances.

Gardaí arrived at his house and removed him to prison where he was processed and released the same evening.

BTW, there is another thread on similar which might interest you, don't have a link, sorry.

I understand that there is no excuse for not turning up in court or at least getting someone to represent you.. if they had told me I had to go myself I would of got there somehow but myself, partner and child all had a stomach bug. The point is I did have someone to represent me..

gbee

corkgal27 wrote: »

Another thing is how the judge treated the people my mother could not believe it...

Overpaid bullies IMO. It's no wonder the hardened crims just laugh at them. Been there a few times myself.

mitosis

Aye, this happens near my work. Persons throw the car up onto the footpath to run into the Spar/Bank/Chemist etc for five minutes while the meter spaces are all occupied by others with no tickets or expired ones.

I see the warden about once a month and there's always a dispute "It was only a couple of minutes" is a common one.

The fine would have been punitive enough without failing to pay it. Pay it on time in future would be my suggestion

corkgal27

mitosis wrote: »

Aye, this happens near my work. Persons throw the car up onto the footpath to run into the Spar/Bank/Chemist etc for five minutes while the meter spaces are all occupied by others with no tickets or expired ones.

I see the warden about once a month and there's always a dispute "It was only a couple of minutes" is a common one.

The fine would have been punitive enough without failing to pay it. Pay it on time in future would be my suggestion

Believe me I will pay on time, a friend of mine was in there 2 weeks before me her original fine was €40 got fined €60. Maybe a nicer judge that day.. You don't plead innocent either. Some poor young one was crying and all he doubled her fine

corkgal27

I wasn't parked up on the step or anything like that, just needed a rant ! would get over it if it wasn't going to cut into the santa toy money for my son, it just makes me mad.. drink drivers get off with about €300 fine but I have to pay more just for parking tickets! Madness

gbee

mitosis wrote: »

Pay it on time in future would be my suggestion

OK. Give me a ticket at the time of offence.

IMO it is crazy that they can zap you from across the road with their scanners and issue an electronic fine that gets transferred into a physical letter and posted to your door anywhere from three weeks to three months after the offence was committed and in the meantime, you, the offender, are totally unaware of it.

Not acceptable IMO.

I gave up working in the city centre many years ago over parking fines, in those bygone days I'd get a ticket on the van, at least I knew then and there that I'd have to put money aside to pay for this. At one time I got three ticket for £45 in a row, I only earned £150 for my week's work ~ told my clients that I'd need £50 as a call out fee for the city centre.

awec

This post has been deleted.

gbee

awec wrote: »

Did you know that you couldn't park where you were parking?

I usually only park on double yellow lines these days.

Guy:Incognito

gbee wrote: »

I gave up working in the city centre many years ago over parking fines, in those bygone days I'd get a ticket on the van, at least I knew then and there that I'd have to put money aside to pay for this. At one time I got three ticket for £45 in a row, I only earned £150 for my week's work ~ told my clients that I'd need £50 as a call out fee for the city centre.

Did you not try actually paying for your parking? Tends to stop you getting fines..........

corkgal27

awec wrote: »

Did you know that you couldn't park where you were parking?

Judges generally have no time for people who blatantly are in the wrong but try and feign innocence or trot out every sob story of the day. If you do this you can expect harsher punishment than just holding your hands up and admitting you were wrong.

When you paid one fine and ignored the others what exactly did you expect would happen?

The fine amounts are high to deter people from ignoring parking fines when they arrive.

I was parked in a legal parking spot my ticket was out by 10 mins, I knew i would have to go to court, I am just saying the amount is extreme!

gbee

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Did you not try actually paying for your parking? Tends to stop you getting fines..........

No it does not. As above, I park on double yellows a lot, in the last two years, I've had two fines for €40 for overstaying a parking ticket.

corkgal27

awec wrote: »

Did you know that you couldn't park where you were parking?

Judges generally have no time for people who blatantly are in the wrong but try and feign innocence or trot out every sob story of the day. If you do this you can expect harsher punishment than just holding your hands up and admitting you were wrong.

I never said I wasn't in the wrong either, totally held my hands up. My mother said she was here on my behalf, explained the situation and said I was pleading guilty...

awec

This post has been deleted.

krissovo

There is a similarity between this post and the Simpsons episode where Bart "Smartness" was compared to a hamster.........

Once should have been a lesson, twice you are serial offender, yes its harsh probably overly but you didnt pay small fine and didnt go to court.

awec

This post has been deleted.

Guy:Incognito

gbee wrote: »

No it does not. As above, I park on double yellows a lot, in the last two years, I've had two fines for €40 for overstaying a parking ticket.

Yes it does. Paying for the actual time you are staying and not paying for 10 minutes less means you don't get fined. Paying for less than your using is not paying for parking. Hence the fine.

I cant see what your issue is, you clearly deserved any fines you get. But sure if it makes you feel better to think the world is against you, fire away. Maybe you should start co-hosting threads with Run To The Hills.

Valetta

To me the system is very fair and is based on a series of deterrants:

Parking charges are there in the first place to deter people from parking all day.

Fines are issued as a deterrant against overstaying your time.

Court summonses are issued as a deterrant to not paying the fines.

Each deterrant has to be incrementally more than the previous one to encourage people to comply with the first one- i.e. parking legally in the first place.

corkgal27

awec wrote: »

The amount isn't really extreme, when you have to be brought to court there are other costs involved that then have to be covered.

The fine amount when you get brought to court has to be high enough to actively discourage people from ignoring fines and ending up in court!

You would have been down an extra 80 quid or whatever, now you're going to be down about 450.

Or, even further, if you had stuck an extra euro in the parking meter to cover your extra time you would have been down about 2 euro. If you went over time 3 times in a week surely you thought you'd be better paying for a bit more time (assuming it's those pre-pay ones)?!

I wish still in the dark ages in cork city im afraid where we have to use parking discs that last for 2 hours, 1 hour in some cases.

gbee

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

I cant see what your issue is,

Thanks for the admission, I can't explain it. And more details would simply be boring.

Read the OP, she has made a few very good points, maybe one needs local knowledge too, to appreciate. Thanks for the reply.

Guy:Incognito

gbee wrote: »

Thanks for the admission, I can't explain it. And more details would simply be boring. .

No need for you to explain it, I did. Pay for parking = no fine. Stay for longer than you pay for = fine.

Parking on double yellows is a fully deserved fine too.

gbee

corkgal27 wrote: »

I wish still in the dark ages in cork city im afraid where we have to use parking discs that last for 2 hours, 1 hour in some cases.

There is phone in via credit card too, one has to register in advance and stick a chip on the windscreen for the wardens to scan.

Not sure of availability.

BTW, nice the way they dropped the three hours from the quays.

krissovo

Parking disks in Cork promote turn around of people who want to spend money in the city. This is good IMO, there are lots of all day parking options in the city where you pay for the day at a decent rate like park and ride or a brisk 10/20 minute walk. In fact there are lots of places to park that are free and legal which are only a 15 minute walk.

gbee

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Parking on double yellows is a fully deserved fine too.

Not been fined for this ever, go figure.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Did you not try actually paying for your parking? Tends to stop you getting fines..........

I actually find it works out more expensive thou?

I'd generally get one maybe 2 parking fines a year for not having a ticket, the 80 euro per year works out far cheaper than buying all the the parking tickets, for 1 euro per hour.

keithclancy

krissovo wrote: »

Parking disks in Cork promote turn around of people who want to spend money in the city. This is good IMO, there are lots of all day parking options in the city where you pay for the day at a decent rate like park and ride or a brisk 10/20 minute walk. In fact there are lots of places to park that are free and legal which are only a 15 minute walk.

Theres also a few places in the City Center that are 'free' since they don't fall under the councils remit

Saying that though I wouldn't say the on street parking in Ireland is overly expensive.

In really builtup places like Amsterdam for example they have a P+R facility for 5 euros per day which includes up to 5 return public transport passes to the Center.

The Park and Rides in Ireland are a massive fail IMO because the Public transport from a lot of them is shít

Guy:Incognito

TiltedBrain wrote: »

I actually find it works out more expensive thou?

I'd generally get one maybe 2 parking fines a year for not having a ticket, the 80 euro per year works out far cheaper than buying all the the parking tickets, for 1 euro per hour.

Cork needs more traffic wardens so. Easy money apparenty.

Though in the OP's case, not paying was more expensive.

It's always funny to see people complaining about pay parking in the first place and the subsequent fines , then when people with the attitude that is the cause of the problem come in and show exactly why its needed and if anything, fines need to be increased.

People are selfish pricks, so they need to be told and then forced to obey rules. "as long as I'm alright, **** everyone else" but if someone else gets away with something, they are the prick. This attitude is the cause of most of the issues in society.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Cork needs more traffic wardens so. Easy money apparenty.

Though in the OP's case, not paying was more expensive.

It's always funny to see people complaining about pay parking in the first place and the subsequent fines , then when people with the attitude that is the cause of the problem come in and show exactly why its needed and if anything, fines need to be increased.

People are selfish pricks, so they need to be told and then forced to obey rules. "as long as I'm alright, **** everyone else" but if someone else gets away with something, they are the prick. This attitude is the cause of most of the issues in society.

Well yeah, I'd never not pay a geniune fine, thats silly.

You've hit the nail on the head thou, The fines are not high enough if people can get away saving money by just paying the parking fines instead buying tickets for the year, In the days we live in, money is hard enough to come by, Every little bit saved a year helps.

gbee

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Cork needs more traffic wardens so. Easy money apparenty.

We have loads, but because of some incidents and hospitalisations they go around in three's and are occasionally accompanied by Gardaí.

Have to say though, that with the withdrawal of towing and clamping by a private firm, at least we are getting the fine money again.

senordingdong

gbee wrote: »

Gardaí arrived at his house and removed him to prison where he was processed and released the same evening. .

Great use of resources.
Why do they bother carrying the title of Gardaí anymore.
Debt collector would look far more apt on their jackets.

Guy:Incognito

senordingdong wrote: »

Great use of resources.
Why do they bother carrying the title of Gardaí anymore.
Debt collector would look far more apt on their jackets.

What should they do? Keep sending letters for him to ignore forever?

pom pom snaz peeler

jasus, ive been fined 4 times for parking and ive never paid and never heard anything about them again.... i was expecting something in the post or a summons but have never got them..... thankfully i might add

Hal Decks

OP, it's hard to have sympathy for a repeat offender. It would be interesting to know how you feel the cost of our Courts should be funded when they are being clogged up with ridiculous cases like the non-payment of (deserved) parking fines.

TonyStark

corkgal27 wrote: »

awec wrote: »

Did you know that you couldn't park where you were parking?

Judges generally have no time for people who blatantly are in the wrong but try and feign innocence or trot out every sob story of the day. If you do this you can expect harsher punishment than just holding your hands up and admitting you were wrong.

I never said I wasn't in the wrong either, totally held my hands up. My mother said she was here on my behalf, explained the situation and said I was pleading guilty...

Sorry, but if I were a judge I probably would take a dim view on it as well. I agree it's a stupid amount of money for a relatively minor offence (depends on where you were parked of course)

It would seem to me you didn't want to go to court and sent your mammy in your place into a court. So rather see a humble and contrite individual willing to take a little responsibility for your actions he see's a mother in trying to get her daughter off. Of course he is going to throw the book at you in so far as he can.

pom pom snaz peeler

the majority of judges are ass****s and feel superior to the average human. its the GOD complex the display. :mad:

if the spent more time passing down proper sentances on serious crimes like rape, murder etc it would be time well spent.

senordingdong

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

What should they do? Keep sending letters for him to ignore forever?

Well they could not send him to prison, where he would only cost the state more money. Substantially more at that.

And the Gardaí could go back to policing.

Hal Decks

senordingdong wrote: »

Well they could not send him to prison, where he would only cost the state more money. Substantially more at that.

.....

It wouldn't cost a cent. The prison costs are fixed and do not go up each time a person is imprisoned.

bazzachazza

Unfortunately there is nothing in your story that makes it any different to the judge than any of the other stories he would have heard from the chancers. You got three fines in a week, you didn't pay 2 of them and let them wind up in court, you then claimed you were sick and couldn't go so you got someone else to go for you.

You always have to look at these things from the other side, yes it is a bit harsh but the judge will see dozens of these stories each week and on average a good number of them are chancers with bull stories.

keithclancy

Hal Decks wrote: »

It wouldn't cost a cent. The prison costs are fixed and do not go up each time a person is imprisoned.

Prison costs more than a 5 star hotel / night / prisoner.

Of course the costs go up, the prisons are full as it is.

Violent offenders should be in prison, non violent offenders should be made do community service or something productive.

Hal Decks

keithclancy wrote: »

Prison costs more than a 5 star hotel / night / prisoner.

Of course the costs go up, the prisons are full as ...........

The costs do not go up. Each time a prisoner arrives in a full prison an existing prisoner will be released. There is zero extra cost.

Guy:Incognito

senordingdong wrote: »

Well they could not send him to prison, where he would only cost the state more money. Substantially more at that.

And the Gardaí could go back to policing.

So do we just ditch charging for anything (seeing as fines cant be enforced if people just choose not to pay) and have a free for all?

keithclancy

Hal Decks wrote: »

The costs do not go up. Each time a prisoner arrives in a full prison an existing prisoner will be released. There is zero extra cost.

Ah yes .. so release a rapist to stick a guy who hasn't paid his parking fine in jail, makes perfect sense.

http://www.iprt.ie/prison-facts-2

The average cost of imprisonment per prisoner was €65,359 in 2011

What makes you think that the people being released is going to be at the same rate as people being incarcerated ?

donalg1

gbee wrote: »

OK. Give me a ticket at the time of offence.

IMO it is crazy that they can zap you from across the road with their scanners and issue an electronic fine that gets transferred into a physical letter and posted to your door anywhere from three weeks to three months after the offence was committed and in the meantime, you, the offender, are totally unaware of it.

Not acceptable IMO.

I gave up working in the city centre many years ago over parking fines, in those bygone days I'd get a ticket on the van, at least I knew then and there that I'd have to put money aside to pay for this. At one time I got three ticket for £45 in a row, I only earned £150 for my week's work ~ told my clients that I'd need £50 as a call out fee for the city centre.

Would it not be easier to park legally? You say its crazy that they can give you a ticket in such an efficient manner well I think its very handy they can zap you from across the road. If people parked properly they wouldnt have to moan about fines.

So you were actually charging your clients extra to cover your bad parking?

T-Maxx

I've no sympathy whatsoever. You park in a designated pay area - you either pay, or face the consequence. Simply really.