Parking ticket costs couple their honeymoon

nlnews@archant.co.uk
20 July 2006

MARRYING next month: Adam Hartley and Sarah Sharpe

A PARKING ticket has cost a Crouch End couple their honeymoon.

Adam Hartley and Sarah Sharpe, of Middle Lane, were forced to spend all their £750 wedding savings paying off a parking fine - and had to cancel their planned trip to Italy.

Now Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Crouch End, has taken up their case in the hope of getting the fine set aside.

Mr Hartley was forced to hand over the cash last Wednesday as bailiffs chased up an overdue parking fine of £155 - which he had paid two months ago.

Mr Hartley, a video games journalist, said: "This has wiped out our savings. We have had to take out an emergency loan and we don't think now we have the money to go on our honeymoon.

"My fiancée was in tears all day when this happened.

"All we want is our money back."

Mr Hartley, 34, has the receipt to prove that he settled the fine with Camden Council back in May - but claims officials had not told the bailiffs firm Drakes that it had been paid.

He and his partner Sarah, 34, are due to marry in Elgin, Scotland, on August 5 - but their plans for a romantic honeymoon tour of Italy have been wrecked.

They paid up to avoid the further costs which would have been racked up if their car - which had been clamped outside their home - was taken to the pound.

Ms Featherstone has written to Camden Council about the "totally unreasonable" affair. She said: "I consider it totally unreasonable to expect this couple to have their wedding funds depleted, however temporarily, because of an error on the part of Camden Council."

Camden Council said that no error had occurred and that a final Order for Recovery letter was sent on February 21, 2006 - stating that Mr Hartley had another 21 days to make the payment.

A spokeswoman said: "This is the crux of the case - if someone does not pay within this time limit, it will then be passed on to the bailiffs and even if they subsequently make a late payment to the council, rather than the bailiffs, as he did in May, this does not automatically close the case.

"However, as Mr Hartley has now paid the bailiffs Drakes, we have told him that we will refund the £155 late payment that he made to Camden Council.