A LAW graduate has told how he has successfully appealed 150 parking tickets.
Sam, 29, from Redcar has been fighting councils and companies who have slapped his friends and family with parking penalties.
itvLaw graduate Sam, 29, has told how he fought 150 parking tickets and won[/caption]
He wins appeals on the basis that the parking firms haven’t written to the car owner within the 14-day legal requirement.
He told ITV’s Tonight: “My appeals the first time round have always been rejected and they’ve all been rejected for the same reason.
“This is an indication to me that the parking companies aren’t even looking at them.
“They’re just a money-making scam I think.”
One of the people Sam helped was his grandad George.
He explained: “My grandad was terminally ill and we tried to get him out of the house as much as possible.
“He was disabled so he had a blue badge.
“We went out for a walk along the marina and came back and there was a parking ticket on the windscreen.
“He just wanted an easy end of life so he said ‘we’ll just pay it’ but I was like’ absolutely not’.
“I said ‘we’re not letting these people get away with what they are doing’.”
It took nearly four years for the case to be rectified but eventually, a court ruled in Sam and his grandad’s favor.
In that time George sadly passed away, but Sam sees the case as one little win for the consumer.
It comes after local authorities have been accused of treating motorists like a ‘cash cow’ as they seek to ratchet up parking charges amid a cost of living crisis.
drivers could be stung by hikes of up to 10 per cent as councils are plotting fee increases.
And a string of councils, including those in York, Southend, Thanet and the London borough of Waltham Forest, have already said they will bump up parking charges by double digit percentages from April.
In even more extreme moves, Cornwall Council are planning to boost the price for an hourly ticket at tourist hotspots by 29 per cent to £2.20.
Dudley Council will hike the cost of an all-day ticket by 43 per cent to £5, while Bristol City Council will double the prices at popular sites.
Not only are price rises clobbering car-owners, but some local authorities are extending charging times late into the evening and charging in previously free areas, as well as bumping up parking fines.
However, council officials have defended the increases, saying they need the extra cash to fund services like social care as prices spiral out of control.