Disabled Pensioner ‘Could Face’ £1500 Bill For Placing Blue Badge Upside Down

A disabled pensioner claims he is facing a parking bill of up to £1,500 – all because he failed to display his Blue Badge correctly.

John O’Callaghan, 66, parked in Liverpool city centre to visit a friend who was in hospital, reports the Liverpool Echo.

When he returned his Ford Focus car had been slapped with an £80 ticket because his disability badge was the wrong way up.

But he did not have enough money to pay the fine and now a bailiff company acting for Liverpool council is demanding he forks out a whopping £422 – or face having his possessions confiscated.

And the retired factory worker, claims he has been told over the phone the final bill could rise to an eye-watering £1,500.

Mr O’Callaghan, who suffers from a heart condition and uses a walking stick, said: “They are threatening to come round to my flat and clamp my car.

“I parked in Crown Street and left my badge the wrong way up, it was an honest mistake.

“I told them I couldn’t pay £80 in one go so asked if I could do it over two months but the council wanted it straight away.

“Now I’ve had a letter saying it’s gone up to £422 or they will send the bailiffs round. I think these are bully-boy tactics.

“And they are threatening it could go up to £1,500.

“The stress of all this has been really bad for my health – I’m not a well man, I’ve got a heart condition.”

He added: “They want me to pay an absolute fortune and it’s frightening the living daylights out of me.”

But Liverpool council has defended its position and said there will always be “additional charges” when bailiffs are called in.

A spokesman said: “Before bailiffs get involved there are opportunities to appeal against the notice, several reminder letters are sent out and we would ask people not to ignore these letters.

“If anybody has difficulty in paying the penalty charge notice, they should contact us to make arrangements about paying.

“We also require a county court order before the matter is sent to the bailiffs and there would have been further opportunities for people to state their case.

“If bailiffs do become involved there will be additional charges so it is important that they get in touch with us at an early stage.”