[Keyboard Cowboy]

It was rather busy today at work, so I figured to get some food subsitute. Since christmas, the local McDonald has put in metered parking.
First 45 minutes free. Then after that you have to pay. Not sure what the rate is as I never in a McDonald's for any more than 10 minutes.

So I go into the parking lot. Grab the ticket, put on dash, go inside and eat.
I come back out to my car, and there is parking officer (from a private parking company) photographing me car and issuing me a ticket.

Me :- "Hey. **** you Charlie. I got a ticket"
Ticket Officer :- "You ticket is not on your dash"
Me :- (looks at dash, ticket missing. Look at seat. See ticket)
Me :- That's because it fell on my seat.
Ticket Officer :- It suppose to be on your dashboard.
Me :- It fell off.
Me :- (Show officer ticket clearing showing that am legal to park here)
Ticket Officer :- Nothing I can do about that. You are going to take it up with head office.
Me :- W.T.F! Clearly can't you see that it fell off my dash board.
Ticket Officer :- It's suppose to be on display on your dash board.
Me :- **** you and **** your head office. Since you are only a plastic police man with no real authority, i refuse to recgonise you or the company you stand for. Therefore I refuse to pay this fine.
Ticket Officer :- Fine. We will take you to court then.
Me :- See you there!

Went back in the MacDonalds where the manager as explained to me that he had no real say in the matter.
McManager :- They are private company which we contracted out. We have not real say in the matter.
Me :- Yeah. You got no real say, however it was your choice to metered parking in your establishment.


So far, this is the second time that I have been fine at that parking lot. And both times I had a valid ticket, it just that it fell of my dash board when I was closing the door.

Last time this happened, I faxed them a letter explaining that I did have a valid ticket, it's just that is fell off my dash board.. The reply I got back was that they fine that excuse was unexceptable and they are still proceeding with the parking fine.

I refusing to pay this. Firstly, it's a private parking firm, so they are not linked with the police or the roads & traffic authority. Therefore they can not deduct points off my drivers license. However they could start playing fun and games with my credit rating.

All I can say this to McDonnald Parking "**** YOU. I am not paying it. If you want to take me to court, so be it."

[Saxon]

I hate the cowboy (sorry not you its a term used in the UK quite a lot) parking units, in the UK they are fond of clamping because it is so unregulated and then they charge excessive fines per hour that it is still there.

A relative of mine was parked legally outside the office he works in and it is on road parking on his side of the street on the other side you have to pay for the parking but on this day they decided that the whole road was there's and clamped his car for 7 hours it was amassing fines totalling around the £300 mark. He came out and saw the clamp called the number and they didn't believe him an refused to send some one out to remove the clamp so he called back and asked for the manager an his response was the same as the call centre staff's was. So James walks down the road to Machine mart and buys a petrol powered grinder and a steel cutting disk. removed the clamp puts it in the back of his car and drives home.

Once he gets home he decides to box everything up including the grinder and a letter billing them for it and the removal of the clamp, it's been 6 months now and they are trying to sue him for criminal damage he however is counter suing them for vandalism and with holding property he owns and interference of a vehicle.

[saltynay]

Saxons story is better.....

[ricanflow]

lol...screw that meter maid and the stupid company he works for.

[HAVOC]

KC, buy yourself a roll and tape the friggin tickets to your dashboard... (Future Reference)

[c0rr0sive]

Next time... Just drive off, put fake plates on car first...

[zmatt]

They are parking Nazis the Uni here. A buddy of mine found an interesting way around it though. He has an old parking ticket, and whenever he parks on campus he puts the old ticket under his windshield wiper. So whenever they make their rounds it looks like the car has already been ticketed.

I also have been told that they have no real way of enforcing the parking fines. They aren't real cops and they can't track you down. I heard of a guy who has amassed $300 in parking tickets on campus and hasn't paid a cent. I'm not willing to test it out though.

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Originally Posted by HAVOC

KC, buy yourself a roll and tape the friggin tickets to your dashboard... (Future Reference)

Currently I am thinking about getting 10 or 20 tickets printed from thier machine (as it cost me nothing) and leaving them on my dash. As some point in time, I should be able to burn through $83 worth of paper rolls. (wishful thinking)

Originally Posted by Saxon

I hate the cowboy (sorry not you its a term used in the UK quite a lot) parking units, in the UK they are fond of clamping because it is so unregulated and then they charge excessive fines per hour that it is still there.

A relative of mine was parked legally outside the office he works in and it is on road parking on his side of the street on the other side you have to pay for the parking but on this day they decided that the whole road was there's and clamped his car for 7 hours it was amassing fines totalling around the £300 mark. He came out and saw the clamp called the number and they didn't believe him an refused to send some one out to remove the clamp so he called back and asked for the manager an his response was the same as the call centre staff's was. So James walks down the road to Machine mart and buys a petrol powered grinder and a steel cutting disk. removed the clamp puts it in the back of his car and drives home.

Once he gets home he decides to box everything up including the grinder and a letter billing them for it and the removal of the clamp, it's been 6 months now and they are trying to sue him for criminal damage he however is counter suing them for vandalism and with holding property he owns and interference of a vehicle.

I hope that works out for him. I hate it how some times the law put you in the You're-****ed-if-you-do-you're-****ed-if-you-don't situations

Originally Posted by zmatt

I also have been told that they have no real way of enforcing the parking fines. They aren't real cops and they can't track you down. I heard of a guy who has amassed $300 in parking tickets on campus and hasn't paid a cent. I'm not willing to test it out though.

Same deal here. It's a private parking lot with plastic police men. Currently i am not going to do nothing until I start seeing letters from a Debt Collection Agent. Then I am taking them to court.