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News and Comment June 2010

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14 June - Bexley council. Arrogant, obnoxious, wicked, lawless? Take your pick!

Moron MobileA recurrent theme of correspondence, apart from the regular complaints about bad road design, concerns the arrogance of far too many Bexley council employees and their enthusiasm for going out of their way to be as obnoxious as possible. Presumably that tone is set from the top. Certainly we have councillor Craske who delights in making the worst possible decision if he can in the process blight someone’s life and bank balance, and councillor Davey who speaks with a forked tongue and would rather see residents unfairly fined than stand up for justice. I could also mention the social services department who believe in punishing the mentally disabled for being difficult to handle. Miss Cairns, jobsworth extraordinaire, who twice threatened to prosecute when a council tax payment was delayed solely by a bank holiday. And did I mention the undersized parking bays and Bexley’s retort that they could do pretty much what they liked and if you didn’t like it challenge the parking fine in court?

The latest episode to come my way is another concerning a parking fine. Due to a medical emergency while transferring an elderly lady to hospital a driver had to pull over and stop for a few seconds, well under a minute. The road was congested because someone had inconsiderately parked in an awkward place so the driver stopped with his wheels up the kerb so as not to congest the road further. Unfortunately the awkwardly parked vehicle was Bexley’s moron-mobile which photographed the brief incident. A few days later the penalty notice arrived in the post.

The driver decided to appeal against the fine on the grounds that it was a very brief transgression, there was a medical emergency to deal with and the problem was largely caused by the council’s gestapo camcar. Despite a number of emailed ‘chasers’ the council did not bother to reply for more than a month and as one might expect from such an obnoxious bunch of sub-humans they rejected the appeal. By this time the fine had doubled and Bexley council simply didn’t care that the delay was entirely of its own making. These so-called public servants unreasonably insisted that the driver had to pay extra for the dubious privilege of appealing against being forced up the kerb by the council’s own vehicle. Contrast that appalling attitude with a letter issued in similar circumstances by a nearby borough.

Currently we are unable to specify a date for our response but during this time the case will be placed on hold to stop it progressing any further. You will not be disadvantaged by any delay on our part. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this delay may cause you”. What a refreshing change from the diabolical attitude Bexley council has on any matter involving roads or money.

The doubled fine was paid on the day the appeal was rejected. The receipt came back with the words “To avoid incurring further charges please do not send any further correspondence as it may not be responded to, however, it may result in further recovery action being taken.” What is that nonsense doing on a receipt for payment in full? My correspondent thinks it is “just another of their snide digs”. It almost certainly is another of their attempts to hound residents whenever possible, like when my bank made one error after 20 years of perfectly on time council tax payments, I was given two days to pay or be prosecuted. It not only adds to Bexley council’s reputation for being bloody-minded but confirms their total incompetence too.

The spycam shown here is for illustration purposes only. This one is delaying buses and causing mayhem in Northumberland Heath; not the site of the incident reported above.

 

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