A young electrician who got a parking ticket after leaving his car outside his own home was told he has to pay £424 by bailiffs.
Reece Dawson left his Ford Focus outside his house in Prestwich during the Parklife festival in June. But as tens of thousands of festival-goers headed to Heaton Park, a parking warden slapped a ticket on Reece's car, despite being told he lived at the address.
The warden issued a fine as there was no special residents' parking permit on his car. Reece and his family say they had applied for extra permits after receiving two but no further ones were issued.
Reece, 23, said: "I was at work at the time, but had left my car at home. A neighbour came out and told the warden it was my car and I lived there but they carried on issuing the ticket. Then my dad, Mark, came out and told her too. But she still issued it."
In July, Reece received notification that he had been fined £70 which could be reduced to £35 if he paid within 14 days. "I appealed against it through the Bury council website but my appeal was rejected. At that point I had 21 days to appeal again but didn't do. The next letter I got was from bailiffs asking for £189. Then this week they delivered another letter and the bill had gone up to £424.
"I just don't understand. I am registered as living at this address with my family. I guess I will just have to pay it. If I had realised it was going to court the first thing I would have done was get a solicitor as I think I have a good case against paying any fine."
Reece's mother Julie, said: "When my husband was explaining to the warden that my son lived at the address she said she had printed off the ticket and told my husband that she couldn't retract it and to tell my son to explain to Bury Council. Last year and this year ahead of Parklife we applied for extra permits that were not sent after receiving just two. Last year Reece did not receive a parking ticket.
"Reece, is a young hard working lad and £424 is a huge amount for him to have to pay. When he called the bailiff company about it they told him they had been expecting a phone call from him after being fined for parking outside his own house. This is so infuriating there is no need for this stress if the council had just checked the electoral register."
Parking permits for residents during Parklife are issued prior to the festival via the Maccabi Centre, off Bury Old Road, by email or phone as instructed on a leaflet delivered to residents by Parklife organisers. Julie said she had applied for extra tickets in addition to the two issued to the family but received no extra this year.
In response, Bury Council issued a timeline of correspondence which they claim was issued in the case. It says a penalty charge notice was issued on June 11. An appeal was received on June 13 to NSL, the company who deal with online correspondence, but it was rejected "on the grounds that there was no permit displayed in the vehicle."
The council says a Notice to Owner form was sent on July 15 providing an opportunity to pay the fine or make formal representations against the issue. But it says there was no response.
A Charge Certificate was sent on August 16 with no response, the council said.
They added: "The case was registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre and witness statement forms were sent out on 3 October with no response. A warrant was issued on 17 November and the case was passed to bailiffs for collection. Bailiffs sent their first letter on 22 November 2022 with no response. A bailiff visit was made on 8 December."
A spokesman said: "Apart from the initial challenge to NSL, there has been no response to any of the subsequent correspondence prior to the bailiff visit. As we informed the family the car owner needs to deal with the matter and file a late witness statement with the Traffic Enforcement Centre."
