Pay up, or I'll send the boys round

And so to the latest attack on motorists and the Government's obsession with giving more power to the least appropriate people. A Department for Transport's feasibility study into "pay as you drive" includes proposals to use debt collectors to chase unpaid fees. And these glorified thugs will have a right to force their way in to your home, no questions asked, and take what they think is worth a few quid. The system barely works at present with crooked or bullying bailiffs only allowed in to premises by consent. We have seen it all before with parking tickets - local authorities setting targets, fining unfairly, putting out deliberately confusing signs just to raise coffers for the local authorities to spend on what they will (most probably hefty wages). Now when we get an unfair ticket - or a ticket we didn't even know we got, the people charged with getting the money of will have incentives to make more money out of the situation - no questions asked nor legal right from our side.

The Telegraph explains the root of the problem: "More than 200 local authorities have control over parking. Many of them use Northampton County Court [debt collecting firm] to pursue unpaid fines. During the current financial year the court has issued more than one million warrants - all by computer and without the motorist being in a position to contest the debt. Once the warrant is issued, the matter is handed over to bailiffs to collect the money on behalf of the council. The debt collector also is entitled to levy additional fees on top of the fine." What makes the Government think this is a fair system? The prospect of local authorities being able to raise more of their own money, maybe, without Central Government funding? If I have been unfairly issued with a ticket, I don't want to discuss with a burly thug and his barely registering IQ, I want to have a fair hearing. Whatever happened to innocent until found guilty?