Drove back from Germany over night again recently, and this time I managed to avoid a £100 fine for 'oversleeping' at South Mimms Services. In any case, it looks like common sense and/or reasonableness prevailed in the end, as evidenced by the fact that they cashed the £11 cheque I sent them in lieu of the unreasonable £100 fine. See text of cover letter below for your entertainment. Further details of this saga on request.
Dear Sir / Madam,
Reference: ….
When I first came to Britain in 1988 I was glad to leave behind the proverbial German bureaucracy, although somewhat alarmingly I sometimes feel that Britain is well on the way of overtaking Germany in this respect, and the attractive concept of ‘reasonableness’ seems to have been lost in many cases.
This parking fine saga is another example, and I have to say that I find it rather depressing.
One of the pieces of the very comprehensive ‘evidence’ sent to POPLA by ParkingEye indicates that that parking fee for staying more than two hours would have been £11. As indicated previously, I did not see any signs at the car park, so I was unaware of this. I now enclose a cheque for £11, and I sincerely hope that this will be the end of the matter.
Yours sincerely,
