Poll of the Day > Took a chance not paying £2 to park. Get slapped with a £130 fine

(+) Yeah! (+)

Talk about a false economy

risk did not pay off

i repeat

did not pay off

fuck my life
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Sheesh that seems way too high
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Yeah Im gonnna appeal on the basis of this is way too high
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Should have paid.
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Ouch. I got lazy once and didn't look for an actual parking spot when I went out with friends for food. I just parked behind a market thinking at 1am no one is going to be using it. Stupid me didn't realize I actually parked in someone's spot at an apartment.

Came back hour later and car was gone. Thought it was stolen but eventually noticed the warning sign of it being private parking. Took a while but eventually found out where my car was towed to and because it was after hours I had to pay extra. Total came out to about $400ish I think.

What made this all worse was the fact that the restaurant's parking lot was actually across the street with plenty of open spots, and free but I was simply too lazy and stupid to go back to my car and move it.
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InfestedAdam posted...

Ouch. I got lazy once and didn't look for an actual parking spot when I went out with friends for food. I just parked behind a market thinking at 1am no one is going to be using it. Stupid me didn't realize I actually parked in someone's spot at an apartment.

People don't have better things to do than look for cars that shouldn't be parked somewhere at 1 in the morning?
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Revelation34 posted...

InfestedAdam posted...

Ouch. I got lazy once and didn't look for an actual parking spot when I went out with friends for food. I just parked behind a market thinking at 1am no one is going to be using it. Stupid me didn't realize I actually parked in someone's spot at an apartment.

People don't have better things to do than look for cars that shouldn't be parked somewhere at 1 in the morning?

if someone who i didn't know parked on my property at 1 am i would call it in, too.
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MrMelodramatic posted...

if someone who i didn't know parked on my property at 1 am i would call it in, too.

But you clearly don't have anything better to do since your girlfriend left.
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Your fault
Not sorry for you
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lolok
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Greenfox111 posted...

Sheesh that seems way too high

A fine of 130 is pretty standard in the UK.
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That is freaking ridiculous

Nobody should be fined that much just for parking their damn car
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Mead posted...

That is freaking ridiculous

Nobody should be fined that much just for parking their damn car

Personally I do feel a fine needs to be high enough to sting but not so high that it's borderline crippling. I actually would prefer percent base fines that's based on one's income than a fixed rate. What's the point of a fine if no one learns because one person can brush it off while another person is financially crippled by it.

MrMelodramatic posted...

Revelation34 posted...

People don't have better things to do than look for cars that shouldn't be parked somewhere at 1 in the morning?

if someone who i didn't know parked on my property at 1 am i would call it in, too.

I actually am in agreement with MrMelodramatic here. It sucked for me but it is within the right of whoever that spot belonged to and it was my fault for not looking for an actual legal parking spot elsewhere. I got lazy and literally paid for it.
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Deserved, next.
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Ooof, that sucks. You never know when they will actually slap you with a ticket but usually it is safer to assume the worst.
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InfestedAdam posted...

I actually am in agreement with MrMelodramatic here. It sucked for me but it is within the right of whoever that spot belonged to and it was my fault for not looking for an actual legal parking spot elsewhere. I got lazy and literally paid for it.

It was a person just being an ass though. It was 1 am.
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Revelation34 posted...

It was a person just being an ass though. It was 1 am.

That doesn't make it any more okay on my end. I can't recall 100% but there was a car there when I came back to the spot. I can understand someone coming home at 12-1am, finding someone else in their stall, and having to choose to look for street parking, or calling a tow truck and stuck waiting until they arrive to move the other car. If I couldn't find nearby street parking, I doubt the tenant will so said person shouldn't have to deal with my laziness just because it's 1am.
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Personally I do feel a fine needs to be high enough to sting but not so high that it's borderline crippling. I actually would prefer percent base fines that's based on one's income than a fixed rate. What's the point of a fine if no one learns because one person can brush it off while another person is financially crippled by it.

For parking their fucking car? Unless it was in a fire zone or something, just no.
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I'm so glad in the usa we do not pay fines based upon income. Thats simply insane:

In Finland, fines for traffic violations are assessed based on the drivers earnings and calculated as day fines. Having pulled the offender, police ping a federal taxpayer database with their details to uncover their income. It then starts with an estimate of the amount of spending money a Finn has for one day, and then divides that by two to get a number considered to a reasonable fine. Then, based on the severity of the crime, the system has rules for how many days the offender must go without that money. For instance, exceeding the speed limit by 15 mph earns you a multiplier of 12 days, and going 25 mph over carries a 22-day multiplier.

The average driver would see themselves paying around 30 per day, for a total fine of around 300 or 400. Finlands maximum multiplier is 120 days, but theres no cap on the fines themselves which proved unfortunate for the Nokia executive caught speeding on his Harley Davidson in 2002. With a salary of 14 million euros, he was handed a day fine of 116,000 euros for his recklessness roughly 14 days of income.
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Mead posted...

For parking their f***ing car? Unless it was in a fire zone or something, just no.

Rules are rules. As stupid as some are, we don't need to agree with them, we just need to follow them or attempt to change them in a reasonable manner. I do agree said fine for the TC is overkill but if it was any less, would he or any of us actually be mindful to avoid future violation? That's why I feel said fine should only sting but not cripple someone financially.

HitomiKagewaki posted...

I'm so glad in the usa we do not pay fines based upon income. Thats simply insane:

Depends on one's perspective. Low income folks who goofed off probably do not want to deal with a $400-500 speeding ticket which can easily be 1-2 weeks of pay. While someone making $80-100k a year, such speeding ticket is maybe a days worth of pay.
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Rules are rules.

Im against fining people for stupid petty shit.
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Mead posted...

Rules are rules.

Im against fining people for stupid petty shit.

Then that's when we attempt to change said rules so folks are punished in a more reasonable manner that still gets the message across. Or in the case of the TC, perhaps his punishment served as a reminder to the rest of us to never take that chance to not pay for a simple parking fee.

EDIT: I guess another way of looking at this is TC probably paid for 64 other people who have parked without paying and weren't caught. As far-fetch as that may sound, I wouldn't be surprise if that's how some fines are calculated.
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InfestedAdam posted...

Revelation34 posted...

It was a person just being an ass though. It was 1 am.

That doesn't make it any more okay on my end. I can't recall 100% but there was a car there when I came back to the spot. I can understand someone coming home at 12-1am, finding someone else in their stall, and having to choose to look for street parking, or calling a tow truck and stuck waiting until they arrive to move the other car. If I couldn't find nearby street parking, I doubt the tenant will so said person shouldn't have to deal with my laziness just because it's 1am.

You implied there was no car at all when you got back.
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Oi mate
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Revelation34 posted...

You implied there was no car at all when you got back.

Apology for not being clear. My car was gone and I think another was in its place. Thought it was stolen at first until I noticed the sign stating it was a private parking spot
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Revelation34 posted...

InfestedAdam posted...

Revelation34 posted...

It was a person just being an ass though. It was 1 am.

That doesn't make it any more okay on my end. I can't recall 100% but there was a car there when I came back to the spot. I can understand someone coming home at 12-1am, finding someone else in their stall, and having to choose to look for street parking, or calling a tow truck and stuck waiting until they arrive to move the other car. If I couldn't find nearby street parking, I doubt the tenant will so said person shouldn't have to deal with my laziness just because it's 1am.

You implied there was no car at all when you got back.

Yeah. Thats what I thought as well. If there was a car there, then thats fine.

That does seem like a pretty high fine for parking. Im in agreement with Mead. I think its dumb. In an emergency vehicle space or in front of a fire hydrant, then fine them. Also, paying fines by income can still financially cripple someone pretty easily. Some people are barely able to live on their wage as it is. I know when I switched jobs, I still didnt have enough for a month or two based on how much I was making. I ended up having to borrow money to make ends meet. Any fine that I would have had could have killed me( financially, maybe literally). Plus, I think to actually give a fine that would sting, but not cripple would take more than just income. Theres a lot of other factors...
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LinkPizza posted...

Plus, I think to actually give a fine that would sting, but not cripple would take more than just income. Theres a lot of other factors...

Fair points. Apart from being used as a supplemental income for the city, I do feel there's bound to be better ways to get the message across than targeting people's wallet.

Personally for me, mandatory non-online traffic classes would be more hellish than paying $400ish for the speeding ticket I had years ago. Yea $400 is still a lot but having to physically spend X hours everyday or so for however number of days at a class will drive me nuts even if I just sit there playing on my phone the entire time.
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I think the only time I ever got a parking ticket was when I was in college. The "campus security" gave me a ticket for parking in a student lot without a pass. I laughed at it and ripped it up because I knew they had no actual authority to enforce it. It was only like a $50 fine anyways.
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InfestedAdam posted...

Personally for me, mandatory non-online traffic classes would be more hellish than paying $400ish for the speeding ticket I had years ago. Yea $400 is still a lot but having to physically spend X hours everyday or so for however number of days at a class will drive me nuts even if I just sit there playing on my phone the entire time.

In that scenario you're still losing money. You won't be getting paid for the days you have to attend that class.
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Bugmeat posted...

InfestedAdam posted...

Personally for me, mandatory non-online traffic classes would be more hellish than paying $400ish for the speeding ticket I had years ago. Yea $400 is still a lot but having to physically spend X hours everyday or so for however number of days at a class will drive me nuts even if I just sit there playing on my phone the entire time.

In that scenario you're still losing money. You won't be getting paid for the days you have to attend that class.

Thats what I was thinking at first. Unless he takes it during a time when hes not working...
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Dikitain posted...

I laughed at it and ripped it up because I knew they had no actual authority to enforce it.

I can't recall how much authority the campus police/security had at my college but unpaid citations would lead to academic holds. I can't recall the cap back in 2010 but seems now it is $300 before the hold goes into affect.

https://www.cpp.edu/~parking/holds-faq.shtml

LinkPizza posted...

Bugmeat posted...

In that scenario you're still losing money. You won't be getting paid for the days you have to attend that class.

Thats what I was thinking at first. Unless he takes it during a time when hes not working...

Aye, that's what I'm thinking. Being forced to take a class outside of your work hours. Of course I'd imagine some folks with dependents/family might be able to get something waived.
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LinkPizza posted...

Thats what I was thinking at first. Unless he takes it during a time when hes not working...

If that is even an option. Realistically it would have to be done on your days off. Going to classes several hours before or after work would mean no time for sleep. But really, what are they going "teach" that takes more than a couple of hours in a single session? Anything beyond that would be just be bullshit filler to drag it out.
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Bugmeat posted...

Going to classes several hours before or after work would mean no time for sleep. But really, what are they going "teach" that takes more than a couple of hours in a single session? Anything beyond that would be just be bulls*** filler to drag it out.

Perhaps after the "lesson" is taught, the remaining hours/days is just there to waste our time instead of burning our wallet. A "timeout" for adults of sort. Bullshit filler or not, some folks might prefer that over paying hundreds for a fine. I'd say sometimes there isn't a message to get across. Sometimes folks might just need to be punished to discourage from doing it again.

As odd as it may sound, if some adults are going to act like children then they'll be punished like children. At the very least this should be an option for those who can't afford paying a fine in the hundreds. As much as I would hate these "time out" sessions, I've had some fines where I would prefer dealing with these "time out" sessions to either eliminate or reduce the fine.
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Bugmeat posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Thats what I was thinking at first. Unless he takes it during a time when hes not working...

If that is even an option. Realistically it would have to be done on your days off. Going to classes several hours before or after work would mean no time for sleep. But really, what are they going "teach" that takes more than a couple of hours in a single session? Anything beyond that would be just be bullshit filler to drag it out.

It varies from person to person. Some classes have multiple times to take it. Also, I think the classes are about 4 hours a day at most. With a normal 8 hour job, you still have 12 hours to do whatever. For a 12 hour job, youre down to only 8 hours free. Enough for sleep. And for some people, a couple hours to also do some errands depending on how much sleep they need. But it is something that varies...
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Bugmeat posted...

In that scenario you're still losing money. You won't be getting paid for the days you have to attend that class.

They generally do those on a Saturday though.
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Zangulus posted...

When I got my speeding ticket, the fine was $395. I could pay it and take a point hit. Or I could take online classes. Two four hour sessions. For $450.

I paid the $395. Especially since my insurance ignores 1 ticket every 3 years.

So, two of the options were to pay, or pay more and waste your time?
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HitomiKagewaki posted...

I'm so glad in the usa we do not pay fines based upon income. Thats simply insane:

In Finland, fines for traffic violations are assessed based on the drivers earnings and calculated as day fines. Having pulled the offender, police ping a federal taxpayer database with their details to uncover their income. It then starts with an estimate of the amount of spending money a Finn has for one day, and then divides that by two to get a number considered to a reasonable fine. Then, based on the severity of the crime, the system has rules for how many days the offender must go without that money. For instance, exceeding the speed limit by 15 mph earns you a multiplier of 12 days, and going 25 mph over carries a 22-day multiplier.

The average driver would see themselves paying around 30 per day, for a total fine of around 300 or 400. Finlands maximum multiplier is 120 days, but theres no cap on the fines themselves which proved unfortunate for the Nokia executive caught speeding on his Harley Davidson in 2002. With a salary of 14 million euros, he was handed a day fine of 116,000 euros for his recklessness roughly 14 days of income.

How horrible, a fine that a rich person would actually take notice of.
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intentionally broke the law

fair next
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Zangulus posted...

When I got my speeding ticket, the fine was $395. I could pay it and take a point hit. Or I could take online classes. Two four hour sessions. For $450.

I paid the $395. Especially since my insurance ignores 1 ticket every 3 years.

Who is/was your insurance at the time? Wasn't aware they even give you a freebie.

LinkPizza posted...

So, two of the options were to pay, or pay more and waste your time?

Works if your insurance gives you a freebie point. AAA didn't let my accident slide despite taking an online class. I think the class only took the point off my official driving records. My annual premium went up about $800-1000 a year for about three or four years before dropping back down to $800.
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