Parking fines most likely to be written off in this city

Car parking fines in Newcastle were overturned after motorists appealed their charges with a total of 66 percent of appealed fines returned with a successful outcome. A total of 80,972

penalties were issued by Newcastle council over the past 12 months with a quarter of these sent to an appeals process.  The staggering success rate means one in six of the 80,000 total fines

were overturned in a major blow to councillors who lost potential revenue.  The data was revealed through a Freedom of Information request sent by car specialist AMT revealed Liverpool has

the second-highest rate of overturned parking fines.  A total of 63 percent of fines were overturned after an appeal which equates to 14 percent of the total 89,190 fines which were issued.

AMT’s general manager Ian Wright told Express.co.uk: “The fact that such a high number of appeals for tickets are successful shows how lax councils and traffic wardens can be.  “These fines

could have been cancelled for several things, such as poor signage confusing drivers, worn-out yellow lines, or simply traffic wardens being far too keen to dish out the dreaded yellow

envelopes when parking restrictions don’t apply.  “It must be far more costly for a local authority to issue this number of tickets and then cancel so many - let alone if they are then

appealed formally in court - compared to simply improving the signage or giving wardens more training.  "Surely, that should be borne in mind for the sake of the public purse.”  Over

half of appealed claims were later written off in Cardiff, Bristol and Leeds while London saw 49 percent of their appeals later cancelled.  DON'T MISS ANYONE CAN PARK ON YOUR DRIVEWAY

FOR FREE TODAY [INSIGHT] MAKE £1,000 BY RENTING OUT YOUR DRIVEWAY [TIPS] CAR PARKING AT ELECTRIC CHARGING BAYS COULD SOON BE ILLEGAL [ANALYSIS] London saw the highest number of parking

charges issued in the UK with 3.7million handed out to motorists.  The massive figure was more than double all the other cities included in the study out together,  However, just one percent

of London motorists sent their fines to appeal with a total success rate of 0.3 percent for all charges issued.  Motorists in Leeds made the most parking ticket appeals with 30 percent of

their 97,000 penalties questioned by road users.  Over 28,500 motorists appealed their parking fines but just over half got lucky with 51 percent overturned.  Norwich overturned just nine

percent of their total appealed penalties despite a quarter of all parking fines being challenged by motorists.  Manchester and Edinburgh saw the lowest number of total charges overturned

with 0.03 percent of the area’s parking fines cancelled.  HOW TO CHALLENGE A CAR PARKING TICKET Car parking tickets can be challenged through an appeals process if you feel a penalty has

been unfairly issued.  Council-run car parks will issue motorists a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) which is a legal fine and must be paid unless a formal appeal is made.  According to AMT

experts, motorists should provide as much evidence as they can to dispute the claim.  Showing you have a valid pay and display ticket or evidence car park signs were hard to see could help

your cause.  Private parking charges are issued by private companies who consider a motorist to have broken the terms and conditions of use.  To challenge these fines road users are urged to

write to the parking company responsible and include a series of evidence to back up your statement.  Some private companies may write off a ticket if a valid explanation is given or if

they are a loyal and trusted customer.  If the appeal is rejected, motorists can make a further request to Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) or through an independent service.