Another Parking Fine Appeal

WhyTheFace

Hi,

I brought my car to a mechanic for a pre-NCT check. When I arrived I discovered the garage is on a two lane, one way street with very little on street parking. I phoned the garage after doing a loop and asked where to park. The guy said to park in the disabled parking spot and he would make space for my car and take it out of the disabled parking space.

I would never normally park in a disabled spot and when I asked him if there would be an issue he assured me the traffic wardens were sound and often go into them to give them the head's up. Fast forward one week and I have just received a €150 fine in the post. I know I dropped the car off at just after 12pm as I was in work for around 12:15 and the car was ticketed at 12:33pm so he had it there for the guts of half an hour.

Just wondering what my options are?

There is an option on the form to nominate another responsible person or to go into a Garda station and do same. I have not contacted the mechanic yet as just want to know what other's think in advance.

As I said I would not at all parked in the space without re-assurances from the mechanic there would be no issue and that he would have the car moved in a couple of minutes which he clearly didn't bother to do.

I handed the keys over to him just after 12pm, was he responsible for moving it in a timely manner as he assured me he would?

Jim_Hodge

I don't think you have a leg to stand in. "He told me to" or "He was to move it" are not valid excuses for an appeal.

whomitconcerns

You have nothing. It's your fine for your car, no matter what some member of the public told you.

Jim2007

So…

• From 12:15 to 12:33 is not the guts of half an hour
• YOU parked the car not the mechanic, so you can’t claim another individual was in charge of the car at the time you parked it
• As an adult who is assumed to be capable of acting in their own best interests your defense would be that you knowingly broke the law on the advice of a member of the public

This is not going to fly. Try deducting it from the mechanic’s bill and see where that goes.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058276506/another-parking-fine-appeal

An adult shouldn’t need reassurances from another person in relation to parking in a disabled spot. It’s a strict liability offence; my suggestion is that you allow it to proceed to court and have a formal conviction applied.

WhyTheFace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120022454#Comment_120022454

Not sure if you understand how it works but you don't need to go to court, just pay a fine.

WhyTheFace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120020595#Comment_120020595

Yes, bill already paid but I will certainly be looking for him to cover some future bill in the future.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120024613#Comment_120024613

That would take some neck. It was 100% your doing. It's not like he left it there for an hour.

WhyTheFace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120025327#Comment_120025327

Need to have some neck at times in life Jim!

I contacted him today and he told me to scan and email the fine into him and "he would take care of it".

Obviously not the first time this has happened to a customer.

Hopefully everyone involved has learnt something from this episode :)

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120025412#Comment_120025412

Hopefully you've learnt not to park in disabled parking bays, ever, for any reason, and hopefully he's learnt to stop advising his customers to park in disabled parking bays, every, for any reason.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120024612#Comment_120024612

Indeed that’s the easy way. I think you deserve the criminal record, however.

WhyTheFace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120025761#Comment_120025761

You don't get a criminal record for a parking fine 😂

WhyTheFace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120025604#Comment_120025604

I certainly have. Genuinely, never did before and never will again!

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120025814#Comment_120025814

You certainly do if you fail to pay it and end up facing a charge in District Court. Your initial choice was questionable, your subsequent attempts to avoid the consequences mean, in my opinion, that you should not be afforded the option of a fixed charge penalty notice to avoid a conviction. What lesson would you learn otherwise?

WhyTheFace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120025936#Comment_120025936

Pretty sure under Irish law every citizen is afforded the option to pay so your opinion is null and void. Of course I would have done if I had to. Just wanted to see if I could pin it on the mechanic. Found out I couldn't, turns out he is happy to sort it out.