15 June 2018

Victory

Letter to Haringey Council in London
May 2nd 2018

Re, PCN Number HP85049555
Dear Sir/Madam,
On Thursday April 19th, my wife and I drove down to Wood Green and parked close to our daughter’s flat. She moved into Disraeli Avenue just last month. A few days before our visit she had posted us a parking permit.
She was at work when we arrived and the idea was that we would park our car and then travel into the centre of London by tube in order to attend a family event in Borough  Market
Believing that the permit she had sent us would cover our parking right up to 6.30pm I was startled to note that it was in fact a two hour permit and not an all day permit. Exasperated, my wife and I were talking about the matter when another motorist appeared having overheard some of our conversation.
Very kindly – or so we thought – he offered us his own all day permit which I think he must have used earlier that day. It was such a relief and we left this permit on our dashboard before heading to Wood Green underground station.
We were astonished when, that night,  we discovered a parking ticket on our windscreen. Straight away I deduced that I should not have accepted the other motorist’s kind offer
I am enclosing a letter written by my daughter confirming that we were visiting her – a resident of  Disraeli Avenue.
I hope you will be able to show some compassion and in this instance, having heard about the circumstances consider waiving the parking fine. Up here in Sheffield all parking permits for visitors are for a full day and never just an hour or two hours. That factor also partly explains our mistake.
Yours sincerely,

Yorkshire Pudding
_________________________________________________

Letter from Haringey Council received yesterday morning

Consequently I do not have to pay the threatened £110 pound fine. Hurrah! And I can place Haringey Council's response in my "V for Victory" files - alongside successes achieved in battles with Georgia State Police (Monroe County), Florida State Police (Franklin County), New Zealand Police (Greymouth) and the  Xercise-4-Less gym in Sheffield. I put all of these victories down to the power of the written word. A well-composed letter can still speak powerfully in one's defence.

21 comments:

  1. A well-composed and polite letter works wonders every time...same applies with the spoken word and actions.

    Rudeness really doesn't get anyone anywhere; and it really isn't necessary.

    Fortunately, I've only ever received one parking ticket in my whole driving life. It occurred back in July 1987...in Launceston, Tasmania.

    I'd driven from Hobart to Launceston to spend a couple of hours on business matters (I was manager of the resort on Hinchinbrook Island at the time).

    I wasn't familiar with the city and its parking regulations. No big deal...I paid the fine...and all was solved to everyone's satisfaction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Three of the tickets I referred to were speeding tickets. No big deal..I wrote to them and didn't pay their fines... and all was solved to my satisfaction.

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  2. Good job. You also have to have authorities who are willing to be flexible.

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    1. That's a good point Red. Authorities CAN be flexible.

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  3. Congratulations! Well done! I am amazed you also won battles with Georgia and Florida State Police. Southern police are not usually easily swayed. You have a real talent Mr. Pudding!

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    1. Trouble is when a tourist has returned to Europe it becomes very awkward for American police to pursue offences. It's easier just to give in. However, simply NOT paying up could have caused problems for me returning to the U.S..

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  4. As this is your fifth victory, I can deduce that it is also at least your fifth infraction! What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Lawbreaker?

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    Replies
    1. Guilty Your Honour!...But Cunning too! Hee-hee-hee!

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  5. You are probably on some international list of "challengers" where police and other authorities can leave remarks about the people who have "challenged" them in the past - and won...
    Entry for Mr. Y. Pudding, Sheffield: Treat with caution. Can write!!!

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    Replies
    1. That would be a real feather in my cap! Thanks for the fantasy idea junge Dame!

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  6. The content of your blog is exactly what I needed, I like your blog, I sincerely hope that your blog a rapid increase in traffic density, which help promote your blog and we hope that your blog is being updated.
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    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello again Piseth! Now pisseth off!

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    2. At least Piseth is always polite! He's my favorite troll. Haha.

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  7. I have had only one parking fine, the next time I get one I will ask you to write the letter for me :)
    Ha ha! Your above reply!
    Greetings Maria x

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    Replies
    1. Trouble is my Italian is very,very,very poor Maria (i.e. non-existent)

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  8. After our exchange on your last issue of moral turpitude (depending on on's viewpoint) I'd better not comment.

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    Replies
    1. A wise decision Graham. You do not want to get bitten by a Yorkshire terrier!

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  9. I've never attempted to get out of a ticket, though there have been a few I should have challenged. I was once pulled over for speeding through a school zone one school morning. The policeman asked if I knew it was a school zone and I said "yes, my kids go to that school, i just dropped them but they have made me late for work and i wasn't thinking."
    I was quite harried and probably looked it. He went off and checked my licence and came back to tell me I would just be receiving a warning. Goodness me, I nearly kissed the guy!

    I'm glad you won, now you can have some extra pints!

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    Replies
    1. Kissing policemen is not advisable as they tend to have bad breath.

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  10. That is amazing. Well done. My daughter lived for a while in Clapham/Brixton and we had similar headaches with the local council there. You might chuckle to see this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gkiw7zpULo

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    Replies
    1. Nice one ADDY. That link gave me a laugh.

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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