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Skint Driver's Desperate Post-It Note To Avoid Parking Ticket

Skint Driver's Desperate Post-It Note To Avoid Parking Ticket

Jay Bentham left the cheeky note with the hope of being let off

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Parking meters can be stressful little things - especially when you turn off the ignition and realise you've got no change.

For Jay Bentham, things got even worse when his parking app also stopped working and he resorted to leaving a note for the parking attendants in a last ditch attempt to avoid a fine.

Deadline News

The 26-year-old from Mossley Hill in Liverpool was on his way to a work meeting last week (29 March) after being furloughed last year and had only recently returned back to work so was short on cash.

In a bid to avoid a fine, the drinks company rep left a cheeky note hoping that any approaching parking attendants would show sympathy and let him off the hook.

On a Post-it note, he wrote: "Phone and Pay App not working.

"Please don't give me a ticket, I'm proper skint."

Jay Bentham.
Deadline News

Jay's search for sympathy didn't go down well, it seems. Because when he got back to his car later, he snapped a photograph showing a bright yellow parking ticket placed next to his note.

The official Liverpool City Council envelope with 'Penalty Charge Notice enclosed' was left waiting for Jay when he returned back to his car later that day.

The notice for the fine could be seen offensively close to Jay's note, with half of the ticket overlapping the bid for a free pass. Meaning that the parking attendant definitely saw the post-it.

Jay said: "I was heading to a work meeting and went to use the phone and pay app but it said there was an error. I don't carry any cash or coins because it's the year 2021 and genuinely have not needed any with being stuck in the house for a year.

"My meeting was nearing and I just thought I'd write a polite note and see how I got on. When I got it I just thought you heartless b***ards.

"To begin with I was a bit like this is typical of my luck to be honest... but then I saw the funny side of him just plastering it on top of the note. Literally slapped it on my heartfelt note.

"You would just like to see a bit more empathy and discretion from these people. Not everyone can afford to pay these fines, luckily I just about can."

Deadline News

After coming to terms with the fine, Jay later posted the humorous comparison photos to Twitter the following day, writing: "How it started.

"How it's going."

Jay's post has since gained over 31,000 likes and more than 1,000 retweets, with Twitter users sympathising with his unfortunate fine and gave advice on how to avoid fines in the future.

One person wrote: "Contact the local authority, explain that you were unable to pay because of their lack of maintenance of the app and provide them with photos.

"It's on the authority to make it fair and easy to pay for parking, otherwise you can claim unreasonable infraction."

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council told LADbible: "There were no technical issues or downtime with the pay-by-phone system on the day in question that would have prevented a payment being made. Over 1,000 motorists used the system successfully on that day. Also, there were no issues with the machines when taking cash payments.

"We always advise that app users make sure that they are running the latest version of the app.

"Anyone receiving a penalty charge notice is entitled to appeal and this process is detailed on each PCN as well as on the council's website."

Featured Image Credit: Deadline News

Topics: News, Community