London BWM owner fined £650 after disabled bay painted around car
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Furious motorist fined £650 after council worker paints disabled bay around his parked car
- Paul Cooper left his BMW in a neighborhood for residents near his home in South West London
- But a disabled bay was extended under his car, leading to a fine
- Merton Council says it has warned residents about the works to expand the disabled bay
An irate motorist has accused a council of painting a disabled bay around his car – before fining him £650 for parking in it.
Paul Cooper left his BMW in a neighborhood for residents near his home in Merton, southwest London, on Sept. 18.
But when he returned on October 6, the 42-year-old was shocked to discover his car was then in a disabled parking space that had been extended during his absence – and that he had been stung by five fines of £130 for leaving it there without a blue badge.
Merton Council insisted it had warned residents about the expansion of the bay, saying it ‘cannot be responsible’ for Mr Cooper not ‘reading the signs informing residents of the work’.
He accuses Merton Parking Services of damaging the rear of his vehicle while workers were expanding the disabled parking area, something the council denies.
Paul Cooper, from Merton in southwest London, left his BMW in a neighborhood for residents near his home on September 18. But when he returned on October 6, he found he had been painted in a disabled parking space – and had been fined £650
Mr Cooper claims he parked correctly in a resident parking bay on 18 September and that work to expand the disabled car park took place in his absence
Merton council said it had warned residents about the work to expand the bay and that it ‘cannot be responsible’ for Mr Cooper (pictured) ‘disturbing the signs informing residents of not read the work.
Mr Cooper claimed the council had confirmed the bay extension had taken place on September 26, with officials telling him it was impossible to mark a space under the car because the sealant used to paint was not under the vehicle.
But the 42-year-old labeled this “complete rubbish” and claimed that photos clearly showed no machine had been used and that someone had “bent” under his BMW to paint the lines by hand.
“The council says the paint on the old lines cannot be removed without causing damage to my vehicle, and the rear of my vehicle is completely destroyed,” he said. told the BBC.
He added that a neighbor had told him the bay had been painted while his car was parked there and that it was ‘unfair’.
“I’ve lost my temper,” Mr Cooper said in a lengthy post on Facebook. “This is simply unacceptable.”
Merton Council has since refunded Mr Cooper in everything except the initial fine. But it refutes the charge that it damaged his car.
A spokeswoman for the council said: ‘We have fully investigated Mr Cooper’s claim that a disabled parking space was extended under his car while it was parked in a non-disabled parking space, and subsequent allegations that his car was damaged while painting new lines .
Mr Cooper also accused council officers of damaging his car to paint lines under it – something Merton Council denies
He claimed that the lines of the new parking lot (pictured) were hand-painted
‘Mr. Cooper left his car in the same place for several weeks, parallel to his house, without visiting or informing him of the work to be done.
Merton Council cannot be held responsible for not reading signs informing residents of the work, and attempts were made to contact him in the weeks his car was parked.
“Despite Mr. Cooper’s admitted knowledge and understanding of the PCN appeal procedure, he made the decision to pay the fines imposed, which is a legal acknowledgment of the violations.
“However, we have decided at our sole discretion to refund everything except the original PCN.”