mike[space] dot net

This morning I overslept enough that my car was parked in a restricted area for about ten minutes. I would've gone out straight away, but I knew that the traffic wardens would've been waiting for the clock to tick around 8:30 so that they could get the ticket on my car. Sure enough I went out around 9ish and there was my ticket - issued at 0833.

Rather than risk forgetting to pay the fine and seeing it automatically double to 120 quid, I figured that I would sort out the payment straight away. So this morning I have tried to use the website, and the phone system to do it. Having looped around their automated phone system a couple of times (the usual collection of badly defined options and call forwarding when you try to speak to someone), I eventually found out that it takes 24 hours for the fine to get into the system. Presumably this isn't take into account in the 14 day period in which you get to paid the original fine amount ....

Anyway, general observations around the parking in Lambeth (to justify my slightly over the top title):

1. Everyone I know lives in fear of the parking attendants - I drove round to a friend's on Friday, and whilst I used their toilet, she kept an eye out for any parking attendant.
2. The wording of the ticket is that the fine is £120 that must be paid in 28 days, but that is reduced to £60 if it's paid within 14 days. Like they're somehow doing you a favour.
3. It costs 6 quid to have a resident visitor permit - what a rip off!
4. £60 is bloody expensive for 30 minutes of parking.
5. Parking attendants are all bastards (they're not really, i am sure at least some of them were born in wedlock, and some of them are probably wonderful family men/women who are the life and soul of the party. But deep, deep down, they're bastards. And they know it. And their families know it.)

(yes, I know it was my fault I slept in, there's no real excuse, I'm just feeling exceptionally ripped off for being charged 60 quid for 40 minutes of parking, and then not actually being able to pay it cos they can't be bothered to word things on the ticket correctly).