Author Topic: Brent Council refuses to cancel parking ticket handed to stroke victim’s family  (Read 2589 times)

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Offline Ewan Hoosami

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This story will make you all good and angry. A clear example of how the parking industry holds it's victims in utter contempt. Bastards.

Brent Council refuses to cancel parking ticket handed to stroke victim’s family in Queen’s Park


Grandmother Kamala, 85, and her son Vishwanath, 61, whom they lost to lung cancer in 2011

When a worried mother drove disabled grandmother Kamala home to Queen’s Park after her 25-year-old granddaughter suffered a stroke, the last thing on her mind was being penalised with a huge parking fine.

But Diskha Chakravarti, a hypnotherapist, claims that three days after she displayed her 85-year-old mother’s blue badge and paid to park on Summerfield Avenue, she was shocked to receive a letter from Brent Council demanding she pay a £110 suspended parking bay fine.

Mrs Chakravarti, 58, said: “You can imagine the traumatic situation we were in. It was midnight and we’d all rushed my youngest daughter to hospital with a stroke.

“I brought my mother, who was disabled, frail and extremely distressed, to my eldest daughter’s flat in Queen’s Park to put her to bed.

“It was very dark, there were no visible signs warning of suspended parking and we immediately went online to pay for a parking permit for the bay, so there was no way we were dodging and diving.

“When I received the letter I was more than shocked.”

Six months on since being given the ticket in March, Mrs Chakravarti is taking a stand by disputing the fine, and has written to the Chief Executive of Brent Council calling for the charge to be waived.   <Flogging>

Mrs Chakravarti said her family, which is still reeling from her daughter Anuna’s stroke and the death of her brother Vishwanath from lung cancer in 2011, deserves to be treated with “humanity and respect”.

“My mother can’t believe that on top of everything else we had to deal with this” she said.

“I just want them to deal with this in a humane manner. I don’t know if anyone on Brent Council has a daughter who had a stroke at 25, but it’s really hard. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

Ms Chakravarti’s says the council should make allowances for “tax payers and law abiding people who make genuine errors” in cases of extreme stress.

“It just makes life even more difficult for all of us. It was a genuine error, ” she added.

A spokesman for Brent Council said: “While we sympathise (no you don't) with Ms Chakravarti’s situation, this ticket was issued as parking in the bay where she had parked had been suspended, which means that paying for a visitors permit or displaying a blue badge, as she did, would not have made her exempt from receiving a ticket.

“The council had signs displayed telling motorists that parking in the bay was suspended. (debatable)

‘‘These were clearly visible, next to where Ms Chakravarti had parked her car. (er…..no)

“Having considered all the circumstances thoroughly, we have decided not to cancel the notice.

‘‘However, we have made Ms Chakravarti aware of the appeals process should she wish to take this issue further.” (My, how jolly decent of you)


Oh but wait. There's another chapter to this story,

Brent Council cancels parking ticket handed to stroke victim’s family in Queen’s Park

Brent Council has staged a sudden climb down and apologised to a woman who was fined for parking in Queen’s Park after her youngest daughter suffered a stroke and her elderly mother displayed her disabled blue badge in the car.

After initially refusing to waive the £110 fine levied on Diksha Chakravarti, 58, for parking in a suspended bay in Summerfield Avenue in March, Brent Council has now apologised for its “mistake” and offered to cancel the ticket after the Times publisized the case.

Ms Chakravarti, a hypnotherapist from Reading, wrote to the chief executive of the council Christine Gilbert claiming she had not realised she had parked in a suspended bay when she brought her 85-year-old mother Kamala back to her eldest daughter’s flat in Queen’s Park at midnight after her youngest daughter Anuna, 25, had suffered a stroke.

Ms Chakravarti claims her mother’s disabled blue badge was displayed and she paid for use of the parking space via an online booking system. She was shocked to receive the £110 fine three days later.

Just hours after the Times first reported Ms Chakravarti’s appeal she received a letter from Brent Council processing manager Robert Perrin confirming the fine would be waived.

He wrote: “I have reviewed your case and taken into account the difficult circumstances you have described, it is clear to me that there was no intention on your part to park in the suspended bay. (Could have maybe done that the first time around?)

“I believe that this is entirely understandable and I have therefore cancelled the penalty charge notice.”

Speaking after the council reversed its position, Ms Chakravarti, 58, said: “Thank God for that- I feel completely vindicated. We clearly had no intention to play the system. Humanity and compassion has finally prevailed but it’s such a shame we have had to go to these lengths. Clearly they saw the article in the Brent and Kilburn Times and saw how clear-cut our case was.”

A spokesman for Brent Council said: “The council made a mistake here which (no f :o cking shit, sherlock), after reviewing all the circumstances of the case again, we were happy to put right.” (or after reading about yourselves in the press perhaps?)

“We apologise for the way in which this case has been handled and are pleased to have resolved this situation in a way which all parties are happy with.”

Oh yeah. We're all over the moon about how you condescendingly brushed off an extremely upset and distressed motorist and then skulked off with your tail between your legs after some negative publicity.

Here we have possibly the dictionary definition of a genuine mistake on the part of the motorist. The well oiled parking machine is more than happy to relentlessly hound someone  who has lost a family member to cancer and another has suffered a stroke over a measly £110. The parking industry regularly brands people like Ms Chakravarti as selfish. Who is it that is really selfish?
Appealing to the council is like playing chess with a pigeon. You might be a chess grand master but the pigeon will always knock all the pieces over, shit on the board and then strut around triumphantly.

Offline The Bald Eagle

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Same shit. Different day.

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WE ARE WATCHING YOU

 


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