C H R O N I C L E

Mrs Monk’s

Would-Be Diary

 Petulant Parking

26 December 2006 (Boxing Day)

Director of Parking Services City Of Westminster

Dear Sir or Madam

Parking Ticket   WM25857006

I intend to dispute the above ticket, which was issued Boxing Day Bank Holiday 26 December 2006, since the ticket was issued improperly. The parking ticket reference above may be incorrect because it is illegible on the ticket.

This is not the first time I have found it necessary to dispute an inappropriate parking ticket issued by Westminster Council, and in view of the continuing press and TV coverage, I am inclined to accept the common view that there are rogue parking ticket attendants in Westminster, and that Westminster Council is unwilling to correct the problem since Westminster Council depends upon the income generated by inappropriate parking tickets.

This is what happened.

I stopped outside Selfridges where there were no yellow lines to pick up my wife who was shopping. I was  asked to move on by a parking attendant which surprised me since I could not see why I should move. I asked him why?  He refused to answer me, so I asked him again and then a third time. He refused to tell me why, and seemed affronted that I should dare ask the question three times.

With a deliberate petulant flourish he slapped the ticket on the windscreen.

He waited for me to get out of the car, so that he could take some pictures of the car unattended, but I decided to move on. As I started to drive off he leaped in front of the car preventing me from driving off and took some pictures.

At no time was the car unattended and the engine was running all the while.

In due course, I was able to read the ticket which seemed to claim that I was parked on the footpath.

I was not parked on the footpath. Westminster Council has helpfully described the footpath with yellow lines and I was not parked on the footpath, unless Dame Shirley Porter is a Chocolate Fudge Cake

Quite clearly the parking ticket against us was entirely inappropriate.

Parking attendant WS 4599 needs training since he is obliged to be courteous and helpful, and not belligerent and obstructive.

Merry Christmas

Leslie Monk

Shoestringonline.co.uk

Boxing day Pictures