'Ignorant' traffic warden slaps ticket on delivery driver's vehicle whilst he was collecting food

A delivery driver from Oldham has accused a town centre traffic warden of being "ignorant" after receiving a parking ticket when collecting a food order.

Asif Yunus, who delivers food to customers across Oldham, says he was parked outside Nando's in Oldham town centre for just "20 seconds" when he was ticketed.

"I went into Nando's to collect the customer's order.  I ran back to the vehicle, and the traffic warden was there.

"He clearly saw me leave my vehicle with my delivery bag, but when I returned, he wasn't interested in a conversation."

Asif says the officer stood in front of his vehicle, so he was unable to leave:  "It was absolutely ridiculous.  Delivery drivers are key workers, we've worked hard during the pandemic delivering food and supplies to customers, yet now we're being punished for just doing our jobs."

Delivery platforms like Just Eat, Uber Eats, and Deliveroo will not re-imburse parking fines, leaving Asif to pick up the tab from his earnings.

"I was there for 20 seconds to collect food.  Delivery drivers can't use car parks because they are too far away from the stores, meaning the food will be cold by the time it arrives.

"What's really annoying is that other vehicles were there, but delivery drivers are just an easy target."

Asif says he complained to the council but was told they will only consider complaints in writing.  He has now launched an appeal.

A spokesperson for Oldham Council said: "During the pandemic, we’ve been working hard to ensure car parks across Oldham, particularly in the town centre, support the essential response to Covid-19.

"Many of our parking locations are still being used for important testing centres and have been prioritised for key workers.

"It’s the responsibility of all drivers to clearly display the correct parking permit or parking ticket, and park legally.

"Parking fines are only issued when vehicles are observed to be parking in contravention to the parking arrangements at a particular location.

"Members of the public can appeal a parking fine and details are on the ticket of how to do this."

There is no strict requirement for traffic wardens to monitor a vehicle for any period of time before giving it a PCN (Penalty Charge Notice).

While some contraventions are eligible for an instant fine (parking on zig-zag lines outside a school, for example), others (such as stopping on double yellow lines) may need an observation period of anything up to five minutes to prove that, for example, passengers weren’t alighting or goods weren’t being unloaded.

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