Motorist demands £2.5K compensation after stress over unfair parking ticket

A motorist is demanding £2,582 council compensation after being handed parking ticket in a free parking zone.

A motorist slapped with a parking ticket despite being in a free parking zone is now demanding £2,582 in compensation after suffering from stress. Jonathan Dickson, 65, was unaware he had to print out a ticket when parking for 14 minutes in a 15-minute free zone in Greater Manchester. He was handed a £75 fine, which he appealed, and the ticket was then voided by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Despite this, Mr Dickson now wants Bury Council to cover his expenses as well as fork over a “grief and distress” payment. The retired businessman is also suing Bury Council for £2,582.13.

The claim was calculated based on the time and money spent sending correspondences to Bury Council. Mr Dickson said: “I have yet to find someone who understands how you could get a ticket for not displaying a parking ticket, to get 15 minutes free parking.”

He added: “Their action has cost me quite a lot of expense in terms of time and money, and they haven’t even bothered to apologise. It has caused me months of sleepless nights. They have not even considered apologising, and that really hurts.”

A spokesman for the council said: “Mr Dickson was issued with a penalty charge notice because he had not obtained a ticket when he parked his car in Silver Street. Even though, at the time, we allowed drivers to park for 15 minutes without charge, we still required them to obtain and display a ticket.”

The spokesman went on: “It was so that our enforcement officers would know how long a driver had been parked for. Mr Dickson lodged an appeal with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The tribunal found in his favour, and therefore we cancelled the penalty charge notice and considered the matter closed.”

Mr Dickson was not awarded any costs, and the spokesman added that Mr Dickson provided no evidence to the council to support his compensation claim for stress.

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