Episode 4 Parking Mad

In the UK, someone gets a parking ticket every three seconds.

-You can appeal against it.

-I will appeal, don't worry.

I think it's disgusting.

CAR HORN BLARES

With more cars than ever on our roads,

the battle over parking has reached boiling point.

Is there any questions you want to ask me now?

How do you sleep at night?

You people, you rob the general public. You're absolute vermin.

Just tear your heart out and just leave it at home.

With space at a premium, councils need parking controls.

We've got a board that says "car park full",

and they drive round it.

Engine's off. Door's open.

She's got a baby and can't even park outside her own bloody house.

I'm going to allow the appeal. You don't have to pay.

Oh, I feel great.

But for many, parking enforcement is a direct attack on motorists.

It's just about the money.

In my opinion, they are bloodsuckers.

You've got no compassion doing the job that you're doing.

And staff are in the firing line...

"Come back round here and we'll shoot you"

is the most common thing you'll hear up here.

If you are civilised, you will not tell somebody that "I hate you".

..as they deal with parking madness.

You might as well just stand here and nick it off of people.

When I say I hate them, I mean I hate them.

Every month, 900,000 Penalty Charge Notices

are issued in the UK.

The majority of people pay on time.

For those who don't pay, there is even harsher enforcement -

the bailiffs.

How much is owed?

Outstanding is £485.44.

I have a warrant for this vehicle.

If I don't receive any details soon about this vehicle

or someone pays me some money then the car's going on the back of that.

She just bought the car, you can see she's learning!

Oi, mellow! You've been told already.

All live PCNs outstanding for Croydon,

so, between us, we've probably got a couple of hundred thousand records.

Today, bailiffs Whyte & Co

have joined a roadside police operation in Greenwich.

Using Number Plate Recognition cameras,

they're able to stop drivers with unpaid parking fines.

This is ridiculous. I haven't even had any...

I haven't even had any notice.

Bailiff Steve has pulled over roofer Peter Hall

for a parking fine that has now risen to £500.

How's it 500 quid? What's the parking fine?

You've got £127 for the parking fine and the council's fee.

Yeah.

You've got 320.20 for our fees.

You've got £64...

320! Is that what you get?! 320?!

-You've got £64.

-I am in the wrong game, ain't I?

Working hard for money, it's no way,

you might as well just stand here and nick it off of people.

That's much better, ain't it?

We don't want to be taking your vehicle,

but I will be taking your vehicle.

I know, you keep telling me, but if I can't get the money...

If you can't get the money, you might as well just

put your hands up and just say, "I can't."

But then I'm never going to get the money, then, am I?

How am I going to get the money?

-I don't know, sir, that's not our problem, unfortunately.

-Well, of course not.

What are you going to do? Take my motor, sell it in auction,

get your money? What happens then to me?

Just go and...

Well, you might as well lock me up now, actually,

cos I'll just have to go out and commit a crime or something

to get my money, cos there's no way I can get it now.

-Not the best place to admit that.

-Well, yeah, but I might as well,

at least I'll get fed if I'm in nick, won't I?

He's had quite a number of letters

and it's gone on now the best part of ten months.

He claims to know nothing about it, but..

I can't believe you're going to take my truck.

I can't..

These guys, these guys, it's ridiculous.

How can a parking fine be £511?

Even if it's over three months, you know,

that's worse than getting one of these Wonga.com loans.

You know, they're high interest.

How it can work out to £511 is beyond me.

It's just highway robbery. They are just thieves and robbers.

Something I've never done in my life. That's what they do.

But they do it legal, it's all legalised. It's a joke.

I feel like topping myself.

Do you know what? I do, I feel like going home,

switching on the gas and sticking my head in an oven,

cos all I'm doing is just treading water.

On the frontline are Civil Enforcement Officers, or CEOs,

responsible for handing out Penalty Charge Notices.

On we go.

Horsham District Council employs 12 of them to patrol the town.

They've been instructed to adopt a more softly, softly approach.

Hello.

Are you going to be here very long, my love?

I just want to get a sandwich from the little restaurant.

All right, just be mindful, though,

-you've stopped on double yellow lines.

-Oh, I didn't realise.

They look after the parking in the town, they interact with the public.

Their duty is to help the public.

It's never ever been famous as the most popular job to do.

They try and make sure that they have a friendly face for the town.

I've only been five minutes...

LAUGHING: That's five minutes too long!

-But if you would, please.

-I'll move it right now!

Thank you.

-Just a bit further up...

-Yeah, OK.

There are no lines there.

-All right then. Won't be a sec.

-Thank you.

Despite this, Horsham's CEOs aren't everybody's cup of tea.

I think we ought to have another little scout round, Matt, I think.

Residents Mike and Matt are on a mission

to get parking prices reduced.

To make their point,

they're targeting council profits..

..by renewing expired parking tickets themselves

before the CEOs can issue fines.

When you get back, you don't get fined.

-And they won't give you a ticket?

-No, because I'm paying for it.

That's, what? Is that four?

We're paying car tax, we've got car insurance,

we've got high fuel prices.

Then you've got to go and pay...

You've got to pay to park that vehicle

to get you to the town which you're about to support...

-Yeah.

-..and spend more money.

And, on top of that, as we all know, because you're spending money,

you come back late and you get another.

More money, please.

Given them an extra hour.

OK, nice one.

Every weekend, Mike and Matt spend up to £60

of their own money on a campaign they call Random Acts of Kindness.

There's bound to be another one down there.

If you see one of these on your car, it's basically that we've decided

to pay for your parking so you don't get a fine.

I mean, the reason why we do this is that, erm...

we hate the council.

Here, Matt, go and grab a ticket, probably just up that end, mate.

Today, they're renewing tickets

in Horsham's multi-storey car park in the town centre.

Where's he going?

On the third floor, they spot a CEO about to issue a ticket.

He doesn't, after seeing the new ticket

that Matt and Mike have already paid for.

For Mike, it's a chance to confront the enemy.

Why have we been issued a ticket?

There's a ticket on the car.

There's a valid parking ticket on this, displayed on the windscreen.

We've got another warden about to...

Are you going to issue a ticket on this car, sir?

I don't have to answer you.

I'm just asking you a question.

So, can I ask what you were doing with that ticket then, sir?

You were just about to issue that car a ticket

when we'd already paid for it.

You thought we'd disappeared.

I will be reporting it to Horsham District Council,

what you were about to do today. I will do.

Yeah, thank you very much, all right. You're welcome.

Come on, let's go, we've got to go.

Despite the CEO not issuing a ticket,

Mike decides to pursue him down the street.

Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots(!)

Yeah, you are, because your attitude absolutely stinks.

We're trying to do a good thing here

and it's people like you that are giving Horsham a bad name.

You're entitled to your opinions.

I am entitled to my opinion.

Do I look bothered?

You're not bothered, are you?

-No.

-Because there's no compassion in your job.

Cos I have a clear conscience.

You've got no compassion doing the job that you're doing.

Is that what you're doing?

Is that what you're doing as a public servant, is it?

Sir, you don't know what's just happened.

Mellow, all right?

At the joint police and bailiff operation in Greenwich,

roofer Peter Hall has persuaded a friend to pay his £511 fine.

If I'd have known about it, I'd have sorted it,

but I've just drove along here and just got captured.

I hope it goes through.

Got you bang to rights, they're going to take your truck.

And the geezer's going, "Oh, take your tools out."

Carry them on your back!

I know, they don't live in the real world, do they?

511 quid!

A bailiff for over ten years, experience has taught Alan

the value of involving the police in their operations.

40% of those involved in unpaid parking fines

are actually involved in other forms of criminal activity.

So our data is quite useful to the police.

We've found people on the run for murder, class A drugs,

with sawn-off shotguns in the boot...

Alan's next fine evader isn't hiding anything suspicious,

but the bailiffs have been after him for 12 months.

You have a bill of £585.48 that needs paying today

or I'm afraid we're going to be seizing the vehicle.

You say this is your father-in-law's address?

Yes.

So has he not told you you've got letters?

Can you pay by card?

He has three young children in the car

and he's trying to take them to school.

I have given him the opportunity to pay maybe over half of the debt

now and pay the rest next week,

and he can't pay a penny, so, unfortunately,

we're now forced to take the vehicle.

If it isn't paid within seven days,

the vehicle will get sold at auction, OK?

-All right?

-Yeah.

He's chosen not to pay it,

so he's kind of put himself in this situation.

And we're just following, you know, a lawful process.

So, you know, the only person he really has to blame is himself.

As well as the parking fine, the motorist will have to pay

an additional £200 to have his vehicle released.

If he doesn't, it'll be sold at auction.

Motorists who want to fight their Penalty Charge Notice

attend Traffic Penalty Tribunals, like this one in Sheffield.

Take a seat, please.

Just take a seat.

-Morning.

-Good morning.

My name is Steven Knapp.

I'm a lawyer and the adjudicator for this hearing

so it is an entirely independent consideration of your appeal.

Run by independent adjudicators,

they offer a final stage of appeal for drivers disputing parking fines.

I'd looked for some signage and there wasn't any.

And so I thought it would be fine just for a couple of minutes

while I popped into the bank.

Had I know they were yellow lines, I wouldn't have parked there or bought a ticket.

We'd been shopping,

and my mum's had two knee replacements.

I just said to myself,

"Well, how could you possibly miss them?"

There's a side road.

There's a road that's bollarded off

and when you get past it, there's another side road,

and you can go left, but it's after.

I mean, the line doesn't have to be in perfect condition,

it's just a question of fact as to whether or not it's clear enough.

Can you drive that way...

-No.

-..along the road? Right, OK.

No, you can't.

And never before had a PCN?

No.

I don't know what happened, but it's up to the council

to demonstrate that it had been properly issued,

and I think, taken as a whole, that whole stretch between the bin

and the Pay & Display machine was very poorly marked.

So for that reason I am going to allow the appeal,

because I'm not satisfied that the contravention occurred. OK?

I will allow the appeal on the basis of the issues.

The first Tony Warrington knew about his parking violation

was when he received a letter from the council

for non-payment of a Penalty Charge.

It was issued for his car being illegally parked in a loading bay.

But, at the time of the incident,

the car was being driven by his nephew.

Right.

First and foremost, I would like to stress that

I was not using my car on the night of the alleged offence.

Well, as I understand it, the issue, you weren't driving, it's your...

No. Nephew.

It's your car, but your nephew...

The principle there then is that, because you're the owner,

you may know by now, that it's a question of owner liability,

so it's the owner, not the driver, in a parking offence.

It's not the same for speeding and things like that...

-Yeah.

-But for parking contraventions, it's owner liability.

Tony's also disputing the council's photographic evidence,

which consists of a picture of the parked vehicle

and a separate photo of the loading bay sign, but not of them together.

If my car was photographed with a loading bay sign behind it,

I would pay the fine.

It's just a picture.

The council have even sent me a picture of a loading bay sign,

what does that mean?

I can send you a picture of a loading bay sign.

OK. So your submission is that these photographs

don't demonstrate that the contravention occurred?

No, they don't. They don't.

They are dark, but you have to look at this as a whole.

I mean, first of all, the Civil Enforcement Officer

has made a note about what happened on the handheld computer.

Secondly, the photographs do show, in my judgement,

taken together, that there is a bay there.

You can see the bay in the bottom right-hand photograph on page 25,

and there's also the sign, which I'm satisfied was next to the bay.

So, I am satisfied that the bay was correctly signed.

Tony has one last ace up his sleeve -

the 1689 Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights 1688/1689 states that all grants

and promises of fines are fortuitous of particular persons

before the conviction are illegal and void.

This cannot be repelled.

We have the right to a fair trial and due process.

The council is a service created by man

and as such requires contracts to claim authority.

So, do you want to say anything about that?

-That's it.

-OK.

Well, I'm afraid, Mr Warrington,

that I think your view of the law is incorrect.

It sounds to me like you've been looking at one or two websites.

The Bill of Rights used to be...

A few years ago, everybody was bringing it up.

There is a High Court case

which actually puts an end to that argument,

so that's not actually right.

I'm afraid I'm going to dismiss the appeal.

You will get a written decision

and I will set out in detail what I think the law is,

and, obviously, if you disagree with that,

then you have a right of challenge to the High Court

if that's what you think is required.

OK, thank you very much.

There was no proof at all that my car was there.

Just three darkened photographs and a picture of a loading bay sign.

If I was guilty, I would pay...

but no, the council...

It's just a quick buck, you see, and I refuse to pay.

In Worthing, bailiff Alan and his new recruit, Paul,

are chasing drivers with unpaid parking fines.

Part of the fun of bailiffing

is you just never know what you're going to find.

You can have days where you've found six cars

and got six payments before 10 o'clock.

You could have days where you're out on a 12-hour day,

meet no-one, see no-one,

those you do meet, spit at you...

You know, could be lovely, a lovely day.

This morning, they're going door to door,

trying to speak to them in person to collect the debt.

Nah.

DOG BARKS

HE LAUGHS

79...

It's potentially that one, I think, isn't it?

Hello?

Well, there's a bank statement on the table here.

Oh, it's very much like being a detective, yeah.

Quite a lot of people make stories up.

Looking for Matthew Gilligan?

-I think my sister kicked him out about three or four months ago.

-Right, OK.

A good bailiff will keep asking sufficient questions,

a bit like a police officer does, keep asking questions

and maybe throwing the odd curve ball.

So what, he was the girlfriend's partner, was he?

-My sister's.

-Oh, your sister's partner.

-My sister's partner, yeah.

-OK. Any idea where he went?

Mate, she kicked him out, she'd had enough of him

and kicked him out, so I wouldn't have a clue.

OK, mate.

Is there anybody with sort of details of a council tax bill

or a utility bill we can just take the details off?

My sister would know where it all is, mate,

I wouldn't have a clue where it is.

-Right.

-So, like I said, she ain't back until Thursday.

-She's away, is she?

-Yeah.

-OK, mate.

-All right, well thanks for that.

-That's OK.

-Cheers.

I'll take that away.

So far, it's been a fruitless morning.

But, in another part of town, they've located a BMW

that has 22 outstanding tickets.

He'd have got another ticket today if it wasn't clamped,

which would have made 23, so he's clearly quite keen on...

Maybe he's repainting his house, repapering his house with tickets.

He's probably got enough to do a bathroom at the moment.

We'll stop him getting to the lounge, I think.

It's bad news for the owner,

but the scale of his offences is good news for Alan and Paul.

Bailiffs are on performance-related pay.

We earn commission based on what they recover.

This guy owes over £3,000 in unpaid parking fines.

If this guy pays, then Paul's buying breakfast.

Here we go.

The arrival of the tow truck is closely followed by the car's owner.

Where do you live now? In this road?

This road, yeah.

Well, the DVLA and the council have been sending us to that address.

Suddenly, a tow truck turns up with flashing lights

and all of a sudden they come running down the road.

Quite interesting.

You've got unpaid parking fines with us as bailiffs.

OK, well, let's get cracking and just sort it out then.

OK. We've got a balance of £3,469.04.

Right. OK.

So if we can get that resolved, you can have your car back.

We can take a card payment, if you wish.

Yeah... Um...

And then we'll take the clamp off and you can have your car back.

-Right.

-All right?

-Well, give us five minutes.

-Yeah, no worries, mate.

I'd much rather you pay than we have to take it,

cos it's hassle for us,

so if we can get this resolved, that'll be great.

Well, obviously,

if he can't come up with the money, then the car's going, end of.

The owner can't come up with the £3,000.

OK. All right, well, we'll be forced to take

-the vehicle then, I'm afraid, sir.

-Right. If I can have some

-details to contact you then.

-Yeah. OK.

Chris! Chris!

Carry on.

A car with keys will go for more money at auction,

but first Alan has to convince the driver to hand them over.

Are you pretty confident you'll come up with

-the money in the next few days?

-I am, yeah. Completely.

Well, if you can give us the key then it won't damage the vehicle

getting it on the tow truck, that'll just be easier.

Don't want to cause any damage.

Got the keys.

We've won the game, he's lost.

Up till now, he's been winning,

because he's not at the address we've been going to,

so, today, this is one where we've won over them.

You know, millions of motorists pay Pay & Display every day.

They park legitimately,

they go about their business normally.

People that go around not paying, you know,

not paying for the parking or parking illegally

or parking in contravention, parking where they're a nuisance,

and getting away with it, of course,

it's not fair on all those that do pay,

so, you know, it is fairly satisfying

to know that you've caught one that's been fairly persistent.

The BMW's owner did eventually pay his fine

and got his car back before it was sold at auction.

In the last five years, a 20% rise in parking appeals

and tribunals has led to an increase in legal firms and self-styled

parking experts offering help to beleaguered motorists.

Meet the Black Beret.

I'm a parking campaigner.

Oh, fair enough.

If you ever have a ticket, ring that number.

I like that, what's that all about?

Have a read. If you've ever had a parking ticket, read that.

Behind the mask is former schoolteacher Albert Herbert -

a self-taught specialist in parking law

who offers his expertise free of charge.

I started fighting parking tickets seriously,

I mean, the last three years,

when my son drove down a contraflow bus lane in Kingston.

I just went straight to the legislation

and discovered that it had one word wrong,

and they cancelled it.

I know more about the law than a lot of these councils do.

Now Albert thinks he's found an even bigger flaw

in the wording of Islington Council's parking paperwork.

A section about the procedure for challenging a ticket is missing,

potentially rendering the tickets unenforceable.

It is legally wrong, because they've missed out a clause.

It's not telling you that, if you've already made representations

AND they send you a Notice To Owner,

you've still got to make further representations.

A six-year-old, right, at a good grammar school

or a good state academy or whatever,

with Mr Cameron's government,

could actually copy and paste the legislation

and get it right the first time.

The Black Beret's campaign

has attracted the interest of the local press.

'We've done a front page,'

we've done follow-ups,

mainly on the exploits of Mr Herbert.

He knows a phenomenal amount about parking law.

He seems to attend every hearing,

he represents a lot of disgruntled drivers.

The council, it looks like, has made, or may have made,

a massive mistake.

The result of that, if it's upheld,

is that every parking ticket

issued by Islington Council since 2008 would be invalid,

which we've estimated could be 90 million quid.

That's £90 million that the council

would have to refund on tickets issued.

8:30am, and in towns and cities across the UK,

the morning school run is in full swing.

You're going to need to reverse,

come back in and straighten up so they can get past,

cos the traffic's building up all the way up there.

During this daily mass migration,

traffic increases by 20%

and swallows up every last parking space.

Naz Ulazoye drives three miles to take her young children

to two different fee-paying schools in London's Hampstead.

And she thinks the council are treating mothers like her unfairly.

There is a big discrimination between state schools

and private schools in this area.

I can only talk about our area.

We have to pay extra for the parking.

Councils should be really more understanding

and make it easier for us to park, you know.

They think that we are the kind of mums loaded with money.

If I am here for, you know, meeting friends

or having coffee with friends or having dinner, fine,

but, for school purposes, why should I pay extra?

We are paying a lot for schools.

CAR HORN BLARES

The area Naz drives into

has the highest concentration of private schools in the country.

Parents like her are used to the near gridlock and parking chaos.

It's a total nightmare.

And you can drive around in a whole circuit

two or three times before you find a place.

I've actually stopped owning a car because of the amount of damage that

was been done to my car, you know, the wing mirror being broken off...

The problem is that all the mothers drive cars like this.

They drive big cars.

You can see one, you can see another one, you know,

they all drive big cars.

They don't care about where they park -

they don't care about where to stop.

To try and cut the number of cars,

resident Martha Bashwitz has set up a dedicated school bus service.

So, Jack, how was your day today?

Yeah, it was good.

'For me, the ethos of the project is just to get as many people

'involved as possible.'

I think the mothers drive

because it's a cultural thing in this country.

I don't think they are used to having a school bus service

that is well-organised and is a whole scheme of a school bus service.

And they are used to drive.

So they are trying to push us to this alternative way

of getting our kids,

but I don't think you can stop driving, really.

The bus are overcrowded and they're late,

and, erm...

We have like six bags walking in the bus early in the morning.

I mean, how on Earth we are going to manage with that?

We are late, they have only four minutes.

I'm on a double yellow line, but I have to put...

And let my children to get out, two of them only.

Come on, boys. Have a good day. Love you. Bye.

Over 1,000 Civil Enforcement Officers

were assaulted in the UK last year,

and one hotspot for this is Cape Hill,

just outside Birmingham,

one of Britain's most deprived boroughs.

245 to 240, I'm just leaving base now, what's your location? Over.

It's 6pm, and Civil Enforcement Officers

Chris Clark and his colleague, Ken,

are heading in to the area for their last shift of the day.

For safety, they always patrol here in pairs.

They seem to think that they own the streets.

I mean, you can walk round there sometimes

and they'll say, "What are you doing down Cape Hill?

"This is our area, you're not supposed to be here."

On the late shift up here, another officer,

he was left unconscious in the middle of the road on Cape Hill.

They'd punched him in the head with a set of car keys in their hand.

Around the area we're going now, its getting shot, ain't it, Ken?

"Come back round here and we'll shoot you,"

is the most common thing you'll hear up here.

One street in the area

has devised its own system for avoiding parking enforcement.

You can see the first one there's been part-painted over white, as well.

They do one, we just get it cleaned off

and they spray another one.

-INTERVIEWER:

-So, then, would a ticket be invalid if you issued one

and they could say...?

If it was the only time plate in the bay,

then you wouldn't be able to issue it

cos the time plate's covered.

But say they've painted one and there's two or three other

time plates within close proximity to it, then there's still other

opportunities for people to see that it's a restricted parking place.

He's a troublemaker, he is, he gives us tickets.

-We're sorting him out.

-LAUGHING

I've got my own house,

I'm not allowed to park outside my own house and I have to pay for it? That's ridiculous.

Just ridiculous. What do you reckon, Scottish?

Seriously, look at all that beer... Look at this beer belly coming out.

-All that profits, that is.

-LAUGHTER

You should know, you've had enough tickets, eh, gaffer?

And do they not own their cars then?

I'm not too sure what they do, actually.

They probably just buy a car

with X amount of road tax

and MOT on it and don't register it and then just get rid of it.

Good evening.

Can you move your vehicle on from there for me, please?

Yeah, I was waiting for someone.

No, unfortunately, you're not allowed to wait there,

-unfortunately, sir.

-Oh.

-Thank you very much.

-Excuse me, excuse me...

-OK, this is...

Unfortunately, you're parked on a loading restriction.

Between 4:30 and 7 there's no stopping at all.

-INTERVIEWER: You grew up in this area.

-I did, yeah. I did.

Does that make the job harder or...?

Um...it did at first, when people first realised

what I was doing round here, then, yeah, it did.

But as time goes on, no, to be honest, it makes it easier, I think.

It passes the time away.

I walk round the street and people stop and chat.

And everyone knows, I've booked so many people that I've known

and grown up with. I've booked a family member before.

But, you know, it's a job, it's nothing personal,

I'm booking the car, not the person.

In Horsham, campaigners Mike and Matt

think that parking prices and the threat of getting a ticket

is starting to affect high street business.

Mike, this is Matt.

We're doing just a bit of a survey, really,

just to find out what independent shops,

what their stance is on the car parking in Horsham?

So, if they're trying something on, say,

and then their time's coming up, they'll have to rush back.

What, and they've actually left clothes here and...

-Yeah, put it back on the rail and had to walk out.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Has that occurrence happened a lot?

-Yeah, it happens a fair amount.

I mean, every single independent store that we've spoken to

has experienced some form of issue.

-Hiya.

-Hello there, how are you doing?

We get a lot of people who are running out of time

whilst we're trying to serve them.

There is a tension, always, between parking prices

and the interests of retailers,

because retailers, obviously,

would like to have no parking charges at all.

What we've tried to do in Horsham

is to make sure that we have very competitive pricing.

In response, Mike and Matt are expanding their

Random Acts of Kindness campaign by taking on three new recruits.

To start things off, we'd like to sort of create

an army of people that go out there and do exactly what we're doing.

We're going to give them a little bit of training.

So it does, in effect, go viral.

We don't really want to be looking for the CEOs,

but if they happen to be there, they happen to be there.

If they are, I just suggest that we kind of stay two steps ahead.

What they'll probably do is end up leaving

because they know that we're going to end up doing their job for them.

We see that the car's got a couple of kiddy seats in there,

so rather than them getting a fine,

we'll stick a ticket on that, as well.

So let's just pay for their parking,

just give them a little bit more time.

Well done, Matt, nice one.

So it looks like these people have been back a couple of times

-today already by the looks of things.

-Yeah.

I just hate paying for parking fines.

It's not really fair, is it?

It's just trying to do the right thing, really, yeah.

Being kind and doing a good thing and raising awareness about

the shafting that the public get with regards to parking and money.

Yeah, money that you don't have, but you've spent in the town,

and then you come back and find a hefty fine.

It's not cool, it's not cool.

How does that feel now? You're now saving somebody

-from getting a £50 fine.

-It feels really good.

-Yeah?

There we go, beautiful.

Another 50 quid saved.

Well done, Matt, really proud of you, mate.

-Oh, it's good, man.

-Well done, mate. Fantastic job, fantastic.

Good job, Matt.

Inspired by their day preventing fines,

the group practice a song they've penned on parking.

# I was only coming in to pick up my kid

# And pay for the groceries... #

You know, people in France don't stand for this sort of thing,

you know, people in Brazil don't stand for it,

Greece, Turkey, Egypt doesn't stand for it.

# It's just not fair

# It's just not right... #

I hope it is the start of a revolution, I do,

of a parking revolution, yeah.

National Car Parks is the UK's largest privately-owned

car park operator, and has over 200,000 parking spaces.

In Central London, the demand for parking

means that space comes at a premium.

All right, darling,

you might just have to go down by the silver van.

There's just one space left down there, OK?

-Cheers, love.

-Thank you.

Shirley Hughes manages Brewer Street NCP,

one of the most expensive car parks in the UK.

The costs at this car park, it's quite...

You know, it's not too bad.

You know, the first hour is £8.

How long are you parking for? 24 hours?

No idea.

No, it'll be eight, at least.

Oh, well, that'll go in to the 24 price mark, so that's £60.

-BOTH:

-£60?

-Yeah.

-She's going to love you.

It's dearer than last time!

Oh, it's not that bad!

It's expensive.

I know, I know.

Actually, ridiculously expensive.

I know, but then is it coming out of your pockets?

Well, fortunately not.

There you go. So I wouldn't worry too much about it then.

Yeah, but if they didn't have to pay so much for parking,

we might get more wages.

I know.

All right, darling, see you later.

The car park is safe, the car park is clean,

it's well lit, it's bright.

And also my lovely face.

You have to pay for this!

Oh, it's Scott!

Everybody's in new cars today.

Olly's got a big one there.

All right.

This is Scott's space, he'll usually drive a 4x4.

All these spaces here, they're all reserved,

all the customers have paid extra.

It's available to season ticket holders only,

and I think it starts from about 15,000.

It's just something about

owning your little bit,

whether it's yours or not,

because that's where you park, that's yours.

One of the things I also do, as well, is just check.

Hello? Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Well, he's not dead, he's still... He's breathing.

Hello?

Darling, you know you can't stay here.

You have to go, sweetheart.

Just come with me, darling.

Let me show you out. Are you all right?

Eh?

-Yeah.

-OK.

CAR HORNS BLARE

Go on, pull in. Look right.

If you know the quote from Napoleon where he said,

"In war, it's the man, not the men,"

and, unfortunately, perhaps I'm the man.

Brian Ingram lives just a few doors from a school where parking

opposite the front gates has been causing mayhem,

and he's taken it upon himself to marshal the motorists.

I'm sorry, but you can't park on the single yellow.

It's a safety issue.

If you park here, then someone will park in front, then it's even worse.

Would you mind moving?

Hi, I'm sorry to trouble you,

but you can't park on the single yellow lines here.

Until I got started on this,

there were people parked across the corner.

It's more bluff, if you like, just to sort of get them worried

and then they'll move on.

It's a single yellow line.

Yeah, I'm sorry to ask you to move on.

You just have to drive round until you find a parking space.

Yeah, I can think he was going a bit too fast here.

Until there's a fatal accident, it's not an accident situation.

That is unfortunately just the way of the world here in England.

MEN CHANT

In the Midlands, West Bromwich Albion

are playing at home.

Obviously, we've got a pretty high profile game on today.

We're going to have two vehicles out deployed this afternoon.

For CEO Chris Clark and his team,

match days like this are one of their biggest challenges.

As thousands of football fans flood into the area,

roads around the stadium become a parking nightmare

for local residents.

If we stay in, we're blocked in our house.

If we go out, we can't get back in.

And if there was an emergency, God forbid,

you can't plan for that.

And it's not fair that they just have to park here

when there is pay parking and they don't use that,

and it's not fair on us.

There's half an empty car park over there,

yet we still have supporters

parking up without a thought for the residents or the main roads,

which brings to mind safety,

children and people trying to live their lives.

Today, Chris and his team are clamping down on the problem,

which includes Blue Badge holders

who wrongly believe they're allowed to park near the stadium.

Disabled Badge holders aren't allowed to park here

due to the good double kerb markings.

I'm taking the details of the Disabled Badge

before I issue the ticket.

£70.

I've got a Disabled Badge, haven't I?

I think it's disgusting.

Utterly disgusting.

It's not acceptable to park on a pavement, anyway.

I mean, at the end of the day,

pavements are not meant for vehicles

to be parked on,

because it can obstruct members of the public...

i.e. bringing pushchairs past, wheelchairs past, things like that.

They all get issued with a blue book when they get the Disability Badge

which explains exactly what all the contraventions are,

exactly where they can park and where they can't, so,

you know, if they're reading the book properly

then they should be aware of where they can and can't park.

People are saying, "Oh, we get targets, we get commission",

and, you know, it couldn't be further from the truth.

Everyone here is just on a salary, hourly wage.

Even today, it's a Sunday,

everyone's getting paid normal time on a Sunday.

Targets and that never existed in my eyes, never.

I mean, these cars are here every single week.

Why have they picked this particular day?

Every single week.

In Worthing, bailiffs Alan and Paul,

are also dealing with a disabled driver.

You've said, "It's not my car, what are you going to do about it?", and drive off.

He has two outstanding parking fines for his vehicle,

which is owned by Motability Finance,

a charity which leases cars to disabled motorists.

They shouldn't be allowed to bully people like this.

I will pay my fine, I will pay my fine,

but I can only pay at £5 a week.

You've offered £5.

That's it. That's all I can afford.

OK. OK. Well, seeing as you're clearly a refusal to pay...

No, I'm not refusing to pay.

What I will do is I will notify Motability Finance.

Under the terms and conditions of Motability Finance,

you are to pay your parking fines.

Well, it's a leased vehicle owned by Motability Finance,

and therefore we, as bailiffs, can't seize those vehicles

and remove them, because they don't belong to the debtor.

So, there are still quite a few that, you know, run up tickets.

And it may not be somebody who's genuinely disabled.

It may be a carer, and we've got on-going problems with that.

I will pay it. I don't have money.

Come to my house, take what goods you want.

I don't have money. I'm on benefits.

But you can afford to run a fairly nice car though, can't you, sir?

It's £50 a week out of my benefits!

Because I haven't got legs. That's why.

Ring our office and we'll...

It's a good job it's a charity, isn't it? Patron-ted by the Queen.

It's a good job somebody helps us out.

I worked all my life until I lost my legs.

-Give our office a call...

-Building labourer.

Give our office a call and we can help you out, all right.

-Or give me a call later...

-Attitude's changed now, hasn't it?

No, the attitude's still the same.

-Try not to bully people, mate.

-I didn't bully you, it's a fact.

What do you mean, "it's a fact"? I did not refuse to pay my fine.

I've told you, I've told your mates.

-Have a good day.

-You do the same thing.

Parking campaigner Albert Herbert has used a missing clause

in Islington Council's parking paperwork

to overturn a motorist's Penalty Charge.

Today, the council are appealing that decision.

INTERVIEWER: Do you think of yourself as a lawyer?

I don't think myself as a lawyer, I think myself as a loose canon,

a kind of Simon Templar trouble-shooter.

Not quite as handsome, and not quite as tall.

But I'm basically a bit of a council-baiter.

If Albert wins, Islington Council have a lot to lose.

They would become liable

for millions of pounds in refunded tickets.

It's not about one parking ticket - it's about 850,000 parking tickets.

Here we go.

'If the adjudicator agrees with the council,

'I don't know what I'm going to do.'

I'll probably go and become religious or something,

or I'll take up drugs.

After two hours, the hearing is over.

Albert's self-taught parking knowledge has come up against

everything that Islington Council's legal team could throw at him.

And one week later the result has come through.

Lovely jubblerly.

HE LAUGHS

Albert Herbert - 2, Islington - nil.

Albert's victory is over one ticket,

but it could set a precedent which could force Islington

to refund every Penalty Notice issued since 2008.

You know, we've got every right to go to the High Court

and demand that they pay back

all recipients of such defective documents and pay back the money.

Dah-dah-dah-dah.

Do you want to stand down there?

In Croydon, bailiff Alan Woods

and his team are taking part in another roadside police operation.

OK, we're here today for the non-payment of a parking fine,

and at the moment there's an outstanding debt.

According to this driver, his car can't be seized as the fines

against it were incurred when it was registered to a previous owner.

But the bailiffs beg to differ.

-We've just done a DVLA...

-Yeah.

..and it's coming back that she is still...

She's still on the insurance and she...

She's not on the insurance.

The officer has just confirmed that she's...

-No, no, no, you're going to have to ask him again.

-I will.

She no longer owns this car.

They're claiming change of ownership, yet when the police

do their checks, which is live in to the DLVA database,

it's coming back as the person named on our warrant.

The insurance is coming back with him

and the person named on the warrant on the insurance.

Yet they claim not to know her, not to know anything about it,

and have recently bought the vehicle.

So we're here today to have the payment made of 487.84

or we're going to remove the car, unless 487.84 is paid.

I'm going to speak to a solicitor.

No, that's fine, no, no, that's fine.

I believe that this is a civil matter that the police should

-not be enforcing bailiffs.

-They're not enforcing it.

-They are.

-No, they're not.

-They're holding me up,

they're stopping me from getting in that car and driving away,

-so they are enforcing it.

-Oh, well, they're not.

At the other end of the road, another vehicle with parking fines

of over £1,400 has been pulled over by bailiff Steve.

What's the total amount, please, Ben?

-RADIO:

-'£1,402.92.'

The motorist, who's travelling with her elderly mother,

claims to know nothing about the tickets.

These are not my tickets. You're pulling me over,

putting me on the spot, asking me to pay £1,040.. £1,400.

Unfortunately, it's not our problem.

It's your husband's problem, isn't it?

Yeah, it's not my problem, either. You know, she had a fall.

She's just had an operation, you know, so she can't walk much.

I just took her to the doctors

and I'm coming home now, you know, and it's a shock.

In Bristol, more than £1 million in revenue has been generated

by the city's bus lanes in the last three years,

much of it coming from driving violations on Gloucester Road.

This is showing the time that I was seen in the bus lane

and four minutes before me, and several minutes afterwards,

all these other people also caught in the same lane.

Bernard Rambey's car was photographed

crossing into the bus lane just before it ended.

But Bernard says he did so in order to turn left at a junction,

and that crossing any later would have meant blocking a cycle lane.

If somebody's deliberately driving in a bus lane

and shouldn't be doing that, yeah, I understand that.

I wasn't doing that.

I simply crossed the bus lane.

That's the point where I crossed in to the bus lane,

and there is a sign below the larger sign saying "end".

So I've come in a little earlier,

but you can clearly see there's a cycle section.

If I'd have crossed where I think they're saying

I should have crossed,

I think that's a little more dangerous

because you've got to cross a cycle lane to get into the lane

to turn left at the traffic lights.

You have to draw a line, don't you?

I don't think this is in the spirit of the law.

This is not why it was designed.

PHONE RINGS

Hello.

-PHONE RINGS

-Hello.

Having appealed the charge,

Mr Rambey's case is today being decided by telephone tribunal.

Let me introduce myself. My name's Caroline Sheppard

and I'm the adjudicator who will deal with this case today.

Independent adjudicator Caroline Sheppard is hearing

arguments from Mr Rambey and Bristol Council representative Mike James.

But it seems Mr Rambey's preparations

haven't been as thorough as they might have been.

Now, Mr Rambey, have you seen the council evidence in this case?

-Yes, I have. Yeah.

-And have you seen the video?

No, I haven't looked at it.

-I've got the photographs in front of me.

-Right.

But you didn't look at the video of your vehicle, you know,

and the manoeuvre it was making?

Oh, there is one in the envelope and, I'm sorry, but I didn't look at that.

Oh, I see.

The video isn't the only thing that Mr Rambey hasn't seen.

Mr James, I'd like to include you in this, in the still photographs,

when looking at the second car back, is that Mr Rambey's car?

Yes, that's correct.

No, no, it isn't.

The first car is my car.

Oh, right. Mr James, is that right?

What's the make of your car?

My car is a Volkswagen. You've got it down on your paperwork,

it's a Volkswagen, and the registration written there.

The first car in the first picture

-that you've got on page three is a Citroen.

-Yes.

That shows Mr Rambey's car, which is the second car in that picture.

Fully in the bus lane, the one that's fully in the bus lane.

-I didn't think the car behind me was my car.

-Right.

-The second car was my car, no.

-Right.

I did query where it had got to between the two photographs.

Right.

Despite the set-back, Mr Rambey still argues that having to turn

left justified him driving into the bus lane.

To settle the matter,

the adjudicator wants to refer to maps of the junction.

Mr James, if you would look at your map on page 20.

I can't see Zetland Road, I don't think.

-Erm...

-I'm trying to work out...

I've got a confession to make here, Caroline,

that I don't think this is actually the right map for this junction.

I've only just seen the paperwork myself,

so I've got to say that this seems to be

an error on the council's part in this particular case.

Mr Rambey, your appeal will be allowed because, obviously,

there is some confusion in this, and no doubt that comments

about this junction will be, you know, will be looked at in future.

OK, good. Thank you.

If you ever have the misfortune to receive

another of these through the post then do look at the video.

-All right.

-I will.

-OK.

But I think confusion all round here,

and so there's no penalty to be paid, all right?

-Thank you very much.

-All right, thank you both very much.

-Thank you.

-Bye.

Due to the council sending through the wrong maps,

Mr Rambey wins the appeal.

I made a mistake.

Two mistakes. One, I didn't look at the video. And two, I assumed -

and assume can make an ass out of you and me -

that that's my car, cos I can't see the registration.

And therefore, there I am, three seconds later there I am.

But my car is the one behind,

so I did think I was dead in the water there really.

And if I'd have looked at the video, which I didn't,

I know I should have, it would have been clearer, I suppose.

I would have seen that it was my car actually in the lane.

So I'm a bit lucky, aren't I?

It's a bit of a blow because I felt that, you know,

the case was quite clear. The person was in the bus lane.

And we'll just make sure that we're a bit more

vigilant in future on what goes out.

The police should not be... You guys should not be...

You guys should not be enforcing

it on behalf of these bailiffs - it's not your job to do that.

That's not your job.

After 45 minutes protesting his innocent at the bailiff

operation in Croydon, there's good news for the driver of the Peugeot.

The initial information from the DVLA was incorrect.

He is the registered owner of the vehicle.

It's not her.

It's a no-go.

He's just checked it again and it's come back... Yeah.

-Oh, well, we've got to let him go then, haven't we?

-That's right.

-Sorry. Excuse me.

-Sorry. I'm sorry. OK.

-Have a nice day.

-Right, see you later. Take care.

See you. Take care. Bye.

The lady travelling with her elderly mother has been to the bank

and withdrawn £1,400.

Do you know why I had this kind of money?

Two weeks back my son got married and I put all his gifts in there.

-That's why I was crying my eyes out.

-Oh.

I mean, the kids, they haven't even spent it and I'm spending...

I wouldn't have had that kind of money.

-£1,402.92.

-92 pence, as well.

-Yeah, £2.92.

-Check that, it's £1,000...

-Thank you.

That's £1,400 I've paid for parking tickets.

-My husband... Thank you, my husband.

-One, two, three..

Of the £1,400 handed over, 700 will be paid to the bailiffs.

£2.92.

-You're a horrible, horrible lady.

-SHE LAUGHS

I know it's not your fault.

That was a good result.

They've had five, six letters before we actually get involved,

so if they chose to ignore them then that's their problem.

We're here to enforce.

In Horsham, Mike and Matt have decided to record

their parking song professionally in what they hope

will become the soundtrack to their parking revolution.

# Driving into town

# Parking in a car park

# Doing a bit of shopping

# There ain't no stopping me... #

'I mean, let's face it, throughout history, you know,

'whatever the movement,

'there's always been usually some sort of music involved in it.'

# Went to another store

# In which to spend more money

# But whilst browsing the selection I came over rather funny... #

CAR HORN TOOTS

People would like some form of free parking.

I think they deserve it. They get, you know, car tax.

They pay for their parking in the first place, anyway.

They spend money in the towns, come back, find themselves with

a fine on the car - the minority - but it's just not right.

# Cos I realised I had to go feed the machine

# Some more cash

# How much more do they want of my depleted stash?

# Quicker, quicker, running faster

# Trying to avert oncoming disaster

# All of a sudden, he is there before me

# Basking in his unwholesome glory

# Ticket is issued

# The deal is done

# Ticket is issued

# The deal is done. #