Parking ticket on a disability exemption vehicle help.

[Speedracer329]

I knew this would start to happen, and I am hoping for some replies from people with experience or knowledge of the thread title.
My parents have a Motability car, and yesterday parked in a council run car park, the same one they have used for quite some time now. As this car park is free to vehicles with a disability exemption, they put their blue badge on the dash as they have done many times, but when they returned to their car it had been ticketed.
My father rang the council when he got home & was told because the car wasn't displaying a tax disc he should have bought a ticket, as their system isn't able to differentiate between PLG tax and vehicle which are exempt.
I think this is garbage, as we all know as long as tax is current there is now no longer a requirement to put your disc in the window.
I expect this to be a problem for many people in months to come, but can anyone offer advice as to how to having the ticket rescinded please?
I don't want to get into an argument about whether tax exempt vehicles should pay for parking or not as that is a separate issue.

[Speedracer329]

etchacan said:

Sounds like the usual council inefficiency... If you get no joy with the council, contact your local councillor, that's what they're there for.

A bit more to the point, while I agree that vehicles/people that have blue disabled badges should get wider, closer, more accessible parking spots reserved for their use, why should they be exempt from paying the same parking charge as all the other users of the car park? Are they poorer than the rest of us?

I did say at the end of my post that this is a totally separate issue and didn't want the thread to go off on an unnecessary tangent. However, for the record I also have a blue badge & a tax exempt "tax disc", and I don't have an issue with being charged the same as everyone else for parking.

[Speedracer329]

Thanks all for your suggestions and thoughts on the matter. I have appealed the ticket on my fathers behalf, pointing out if their system can't work within the framework of the new rules it is hardly the fault of the drivers involved. If I don't get a satisfactory reply from them I will be going to my MP and the local press as has been suggested by some of you.

When I get a reply I will come back and update the thread for anyone interested in the outcome.

[Speedracer329]

I thought I would update this thread as there has been a conclusion.
The council have waived the charge for the ticket, albeit grudgingly by saying "on this occasion", but have not admitted liability & have warned it could happen again if they don't display the tax disc. Their system is that you have to register your registration number with them & they put it on a list of tax exempt vehicles they now keep. Not ideal, but fair enough as long as it works.

As an interesting aside, they are picking up their new Motability car this afternoon, but the dealer has not given them notice of the registration plate, so as they have to register the vehicle as per their new system they will not be able to use the car until they write to them & get a reply. Stupid.
I am trying to sort it by getting the dealer to supply the tax disc, but they haven't called me back yet.

[Speedracer329]

elanfan said:

As there will no longer be tax discs what are your council going to do then?

As I understand it you can still ask for a tax disc if you need it. I thought the change in the law said you have a choice of displaying it on not, but if you are correct & you can't get one at all then I will have to think again.

[Speedracer329]

I have just found that out myself Shak, I thought you could still have one if you wanted to.
It is ok though, all I have to do is email scans of the relevant documents to the council & they will add the new vehicle to their list, so not as hard as I imagined.

[Speedracer329]

rewc said:

Does it allow the vehicle to park for free in other Council areas where the free parking for zero rated VED vehicles apply?

As far as I am aware it only applies to Poole Local Authority but happy to be corrected if I am incorrect.
It seems like the Local Authorities can make up their own rules to a point, I think in this case it is because they simply cannot afford to invest in the new technology.

[Speedracer329]

barker22 said:

So they can't use the car because they don't have free parking..... here's an idea, why don't they just pay for the parking for the 1-2 days they need before the reg is on the system. They have benefited from this free parking for ' a while' as you said in your original post.
I'm sure they wont mind paying a few quid out for once or is that not the point because they're 'entitled'

I will spell it out for you because you seem to suffer from hard of thinking disease.

My Mum qualifies for a Motability car because she is disabled and cannot walk far, therefore she needs to use a bay close to where she is going. You cannot use a disabled bay when you pay for a ticket for a normal bay because you will get a ticket for not displaying your blue badge. Also, if your registration is NOT registered with the council you will still get a ticket.
It isn't about money, they haven't benefited from free parking at all, they have benefited from being nearer to where they need to be.
So here is an idea for you....engage brain before opening gob.