Penalty Notice? Unsure of What to Do

Yeah right so basically what happened was that my mum was parked in a parking bay at the hospital with her disability card displayed but came back to find a General Penalty Notice (Part C CCP 007) on her car with ineligible writing on the notice. The whole thing is written in pencil but the 3 boxes at the bottom are written in pen. Figured out the offence code and searched it up but nothing has come up so far (83588). Attempted to request a review but myPenalty says the fine information is invalid. I figured I should just pay for it but ran into another issue. On the penalty notice, it says that the fine is $80 but when about to pay for it through the Revenue website it says that the fine is $112. This whole thing looks dodgy and I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone have any advice?

Comments

  • +21

    Welcome to ozbargain. Thanks for joining.

    Top ozbargain member Pegaxs will be along shortly to help. He is a true gentleman and can definitely assist with your query. He can't stand these revenue raising scams. Please be patient.

    This is a traffic infringement automated message.

    • +2

      Damn bloody BOT.
      Can we get instant human help instead pls?

      • +2

        You need to grab a ticket

        • For Captain Marvel? :p

    • +14

      This is just outright rEvEnUe RaIsInG!!!

      But in this case, from the sounds of it, it is not a "fine" but a search for compensation via liquidated damages sought by a private parking enforcement company. So, it is more akin to theft or extortion than it is to revenue raising in this instance.

      If it has not been issued by a local council nor the police, then it is not enforceable. If you are trying to reference the ticket reference number on any government system and getting nothing, then best to call the local council and ask them if it is one of theirs. Call your local area command police station and ask them if it is one of theirs.

      If both if them say it isn't theirs, then it is "liquidated damages" being sought by a private parking operator. This is most likely the case considering that car parks at most hospitals are privately owned by the hospital. Unless called in, council and police don't care about people overstaying on private land unless it's causing an obstruction.

      If it is a private company trying to extort you for "damages" then do NOT reply to them. There are a heap of websites out there that state what you should do in the event of receiving one of these pieces of litter. READ THEM FIRST before trying to make any contact with a private parking company.

      Legal Aid NSW
      Fair Trading NSW
      Choice Magazine

      In late 2012 the NSW Parliament passed legislation that prevents private car park operators from gaining access to motorists' personal information to send out demands for payment. The bill was designed to prevent courts from forcing the RMS to disclose personal information if it's for the purpose of collecting private car park fines.

      If it is (and on the slim chance that is actually is) a legitimate fine issued by a council ranger, then it will be easy enough to contest if your mother was at the hospital for treatment and she was correctly displaying her parking permit.

      PS: can you scan/photo/MSPaint the ticket (deleting obvious details) so we can actually see what it is?

      • Thanks for the advice.

        Tried scanning it but you can't see the bits in pencil, so I'll see if it's visible when taking a photo

        • Looks like a police issued fine. Contact your local police station and ask them. They will be able to cross reference it on their system and maybe get you a clearer copy of the infringement notice. I don’t think it was written in pencil, but it was a carbon copy sheet.

          You WILL need to take care of this one. It wasn’t issued by a private parking company.

          I will ask my police friend tomorrow what the code 83588 is actually for… seems a bit vague

          Edit: Found the relevant code here

          Long Description
          The driver of a vehicle (other than a public utility service vehicle) must not stop in a restricted parking area, unless the driver is stopping in a parking station or actually engaged in dropping off, or picking up, passengers or goods.

          Sounds like your mum was parked in a “Restricted Parking” area and was not dropping off or picking up passengers. (Aus. Road Rule 168-1)

  • +3
  • Q? If you needed a ticket for that parking spot then a fine is likely. If on the ticket machine it advised that a disability card is all you need and no ticket required to park then you should contest it. Having said that was it a no standing sign or the like. Then you have no hope whether you have a card or ticket. IMO.

    I wouldn't pay it until the actual fine is clarified. You should be able to write a letter and put copy of ticket to get it disputed or clarified then hold tight.

    Odd that its pencil and pen.

  • +4

    Don't pay and just wait until they send you an overdue reminder notice? They should be typed with details which you can then decide if you still want to contest

    • -2

      Terrible idea. OP will get slogged further late fees.

      • +1

        Not in NSW, it is the same fine with printed details sent by mail to the registered owner of the vehicle.

      • I've never had to pay late fees, and I never pay my fines on time. But yes as neyo mentioned perhaps there are differences between states

  • +6

    What did council (or whoever issued the penalty) say when you called them?

    • +2

      hahaha… never gets old. :D

      Problem is, if it was issued by a private car park operator, you do NOT want to ask them.

      • So true. If it was from a private place, you simply throw the notice in the bin.

  • +2

    You need to tell us

    a) which exact hospital;
    b) the Act or Reg the fine says it is issued under; and
    c) what the relevant parking sign indicated where the vehicle was parked.

    Otherwise you're just wasting your and our time.

    Some hospitals have authority to issue parking fines. Others have commercial agreements with different goal posts.

    • It was Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick. I can't where the Act or Reg is on the notice and my mum says she parked in a bay bearing the disability signposts

      • POWH is a public hospital. Pay the penalty notice and take care next time when parking in areas where there are parking restrictions.

      • Joostin. There will be a phone number on the penalty notice. Who's phone number is it?

  • +1

    contact the RELEVANT council and ask them to confirm if it's legit.

    • +1

      Councils are one of several entities that can issue parking infringements. As it occurred at a hospital it's unlikely it was the local council.

      • I'm 100% sure it wasn't the council or police. It will be CarePark or National Car Parks Aus, or some other privately owned entity trying to issue what look like fines, but are nothing more than money grabs.

      • so call the hospital and ask who usually issues fines?

        The whole things suss to me.

        how hard is it to chase this up?

  • +1

    I have $8000 worth of infringement notices which they haven't being able to recover in the last 15 years and your worried about a questionable parking ticket ? Don't pay

    • These infringement notices havent affected your life in any way? Just curious. Do they every get turned over to debt collectors?

  • my mum was parked in a parking bay at the hospital with her disability card displayed

    We need a little more information:

    1. Was this a private parking bay?
    2. Was this a paid parking area?
    3. Was there a time limit restriction on the parking bay and how long was your mother parked there?
    4. Was this actually a parking bay at all and not a drop-off/pick-up zone?
    • From what she told me,
      1. She was sure that it wasn't a private parking bay
      2. It was not a paid parking area
      3. Yes there was a time limit restriction but as she says "I was only there for an hour"
      4. She assures me that it was a parking bay otherwise she wouldn't have parked there

      • First, check that it's a legit infringement notice from council or state government. If it's a private car park operator "penalty notice" they'll have to sue you to recover it.

        And second, if it is a legit one, can your mum go back and take a photo of the parking sign?

        Just re (3) - there are parking areas which are timed for a lot shorter than an hour, 30min and 15min (even 5min) zones exist too.

  • I've experienced the invalid thing before. Means it was just issued and has not showed up on the system yet. Give it a few days

    • Yeah right, thanks it's popped up now.

  • Is it maybe someone elses fine and are trying to get you to pay it for them?

    • Yeah, that'd be some dodgy stuff. Hope it isn't

  • +1

    The offene code is correct. Hospitals (some) cannot issue disabled parking penalties or a myriad of other types, same with some local authorities, so they group them all under the one offence code. Great if you have done the wrong thing as a disabled penalty is $500+.

    Anyway, as they have their own rules, some are time restricted for disabled, or maybe they didn't see the permit. You are BLIND atm without the full info. Call OSR in a 7 days and the penalty should be loaded on the system and they can tell you the actual offence and what it was for.

    Then you can work out if you want to dispute it.

  • parked in a parking bay at the hospital

    Public hospitals in NSW have authorised officers that may issue on-the-spot fines.

  • +1

    PS: Disabled permits in restricted parking areas ie: Hospitals and certain LGA's, the concessions that apply in normal street parking do not apply. ie: Free parking, not having to display a valid ticket etc.

    You need to call OSR and find out exactly what your Mum has been done for.

  • aaaaaaaand OP is gone never to be seen again.

    • Like you were expecting anything more…

    • Hahahaha yeah I disappeared for a bit cause I totally forgot about it then mum asked me if I've paid for the fine yet and voila, I'm back for a quick scroll through

  • did you pay OP? or find out what was happening

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