PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

[andyb000!]

This query is on behalf two colleagues of my wife who works for a trust that looks after the needs of adults with learning difficulties.

Briefly, trust-owned 7 seater parked in disabled bay at ASDA. 5 disabled service users and two staff members. All the service users are registered disabled and all have 'blue badges'

However, while administering to the needs of the disabled passengers, the staff completely forget to put any of the blue badges on the dashboard (one presumes only one was needed) and go shopping with their service users.

Town & Country parking issue a ticket for failure to display while parking in a disabled bay. Ticket found on windscreen on return.

The two staff members are of course pretty upset by this and are proposing to pay just to keep the lid on what may follow (letters to the trust as registered keeper of the vehicle from T&CP etc).

My initial reaction was to inform them to ignore the ticket, but I have recently heard about 'new regulations' re tickets on private land and a new appeals process. Are there now more implications than previously - especially since the vehicle is a company vehicle?

What advice would LB forum memebrs give in this instance?

Thanks in anticiaption

Andy

[Curlyben]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

In this case, as it's a company vehicle, APPEAL it all the way up.
The ticket has all the appeal information you need.

If this was a private car the advise is to ignore Private Parking notices as they are generally unenforceable.

[bluebottle]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

Is it pretty obvious the vehicle is adapted or constructed for use by disabled persons? If that is the case, the TCP muppet is heading for a kick up the backside that is going to send them flying across the car park. As for TCP, follow CB's advice and appeal, appeal, appeal.

[miliitant]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

the blue badge scheme is not applicable on private land there is no statutory provision for disabled parking places on private land and is totally unenforceable. The only disabled bays that are NOT enforceable are those on private property (eg supermarkets). A private landowner who advises disabled parking spaces are only for blue badge holders (and places dodgy tickets on cars which don't display one ) is actually breaking the Equalities Act as not everyone who is disabled has a blue badge.

For example if I happen to take someone who is in a wheelchair shopping I am perfectly entitled to park in a disabled space at the supermarket.

[miliitant]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

Non-regulatory markings, by their very nature, are only advisory and are not legally enforceable. Any enforceable markings would be the subject of a Traffic Regulation Order

[Curlyben]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

Yes, points completely agreed with, BUT TCP can make things "interesting" for company vehicle drivers.
In this case better to appeal and tell them they are mistaken and get an official cancellation then the normal letters demanding ever increasing sums of cash..
Follow the official line and avoid any unwarranted questions later, also the possibility of having a BPA charge levied on TCP for their stupidity

[bluebottle]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

Yes, points completely agreed with, BUT TCP can make things "interesting" for company vehicle drivers.
In this case better to appeal and tell them they are mistaken and get an official cancellation then the normal letters demanding ever increasing sums of cash..
Follow the official line and avoid any unwarranted questions later, also the possibility of having a BPA charge levied on TCP for their stupidity

Why do you think I refer to TCP employees as muppets, CB?

If it is obvious the vehicle is adapted or constructed for the carriage of disabled persons, TCP could be in for major grief, especially if it gets into the media.

[michael]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

In this case better to appeal and tell them they are mistaken and get an official cancellation then the normal letters demanding ever increasing sums of cash..

Agreed, by appealing to TCP and informing them you were the driver, TCP can then only deal with you. Once the driver is identified, the RK (ie the trust) is no longer liable.

Assuming TCP refuse your appeal, you can then appeal to POPLA and if they also refuse your appeal (which isn't binding on the motorist), you can resume the usual 'ignore' stance.

[wales01man]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

If the parking co hear of this and dimiss the muppet he can get a job collecting for moorcroft he only needs 1 brain cell

[bluebottle]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

If the parking co hear of this and dimiss the muppet he can get a job collecting for moorcroft he only needs 1 brain cell

I doubt he even needs that.

[andyb000!]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

Thank you for the responses so far - and there are some good replies here. But just to clarify before we lynch the parking attendant - the vehicle in question is a standard Ford MPV 7 seater with no company markings. So the attendant will not necessarily know about the status of the occupants unless they were observed directly.

[bluebottle]

Re: PCN - Town & Country Parking - failure to display Disabled Badge

In that case, follow CB's advice.