Ooh, looky here. After years of raising revenue standards, yet another BPA Ltd member under the Trading Standards spotlight,
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Probe launched into Bedford 'DIY' parking tickets
Graham Purkiss
TRADING Standards is investigating a company which has allowed residents to hand out their own fines to motorists parking down their street - after BoS alerted the council to the issue.
Last month drivers complained they were being slapped with 'unfair' fines after parking on an 'ambiguous' boundary between a council street and private car park in Sandhurst Place, Bedford.
But residents insist parked cars were blocking rubbish collections. When they complained to the manager of the car park, Parking Ticketing Ltd, they say they were handed ticket books and told to dish out fines for themselves.
One resident told BoS: "The refuse lorry can't get through and rubbish bags are left to pile up by the side of the road. We complained to the company which manages the car park and they told us to hand out parking fines ourselves."
But non-residents say they are being tripped up by a 'total lack of clear signage' over where the private border is.
On January 15, Graham Purkiss, from Flitwick (pictured) was hit with a £100 fine. He said: "I wasn't in a hurry. I had a good look at the sign, and decided I would be safe to park here. I will be fighting this ticket."
On Friday Bedford Borough Council confirmed Trading Standards was investigating the firm. A spokeswoman said: : "We have been notified that Parking Ticketing Ltd are enforcing restrictions on their land, therefore this company has an obligation to make sure that their boundary is clear.
"Our Trading Standards department team have not received any complaints regarding this private company however as a result of this enquiry, our officers are undertaking investigations."
Parking Ticketing Ltd managing director Mario Ireland said: "We provide a valuable service to ensure that authorised users and landowners can park without the small number of motorists that choose to flout regulations."
------------------------------Here's the spot then. As you can see, the Google car hasn't been around lately but I'll bet there is only a sign on the right and nothing on the left leaving kerbside parkers at the mercy of wannabe weasels.
I'll also posit that the presence of a £10 bounty might encourage some creative boundary stretching onto the public highway. Didn't Trouserfire ban that sort of thing recently? Or did he just ban UKPC Ltd?
Ewan's interesting facts #72: The Haywards Heath Chief Fire Officer has a Rolls-Royce Celestial Phantom as his official car.
