Paying A Fine Dave Land Style

[crispy_tofu]

I think I vaguely remember an ad here in Australia about coin deposit systems in banks, which is like a tray where you put your money...

Something like this:

[B.B.Bubby]

So if $5 is the maximum amount that is considered legal tender for 5c coins..........

Does this mean that I am able to take > $5 face value to the scrap metal dealer legally?

75% copper and 25% nickel will be the new gold standard soon  Start hoarding silver coins before the government starts minting in aluminium.

Just how low does the Australian dollar have to go before this is viable?

 

[Halcyon]

"Legal tender" in Australia is clearly defined in legislation and businesses can refuse to accept payment if it's outside these boundaries.

Yes, but also they don't have accept any "legal tender" at all. Businesses have the freedom to accept any form of currency they want unless it's an actual debt.

Yes, true, but do you know of any business that doesn't accept cash? I honestly can't think of one.

[krivx]

I thought this was a much more creative protest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/man-pays-137-traffic-ticket-with-origami-pigs_n_1877766.html

[rickselectricalprojects]

the idea was kinda funny,
but he was an asshat about it.

[VK3DRB]

The technical definition for the bloke pushing the coins over the counter is that he is a "smart-arse". But I see he was angry. He should not take it out on the office clerk.

But I sort of understand...

I had a colleague whose car broke down in a non-busy side street in a no standing zone. With her bonnet up (or hood for the Americans), a council parking officer dropped by and issued a fine for parking in a no-standing zone. (Monash Council).

My own experience is a council erected 2 hour limit parking signs during the day in an area where I was parked in which was a previously all day parking area. They fined me for overstaying 2 hours, a few hours after they erected the sign (Prahran Council)
 
Another one is where the council placed parking meters almost on the line between parallel parking bays, so people can accidentally put money in the wrong meter (Wangaratta Council).

I once parked in an all day parking area to park (to take a ferry across the bay for a day out) where the central electronic meter was defective. All the motorists had placed "meter out of order" notes on their car windows. The council fixed the meter during the day and then fined everyone who had not paid, even though they had signs on their car windscreen. The special day out was ruined. (Mornington Peninsula Council).

And finally, I asked a parking officer if I could refill a meter because I only had to go back to pack up tools and would be gone in 15 minutes. She said "No problem, be back within 20 minutes and I won't book you." I returned in 10 minutes. She was gone but she left a fine on by car window (Melbourne City Council).

I name these council because they deserve to be named and shamed.

So I can understand why people get very angry at councils who are involved with extortion. But I don't blame the office clerks - they are just doing their job. The parking officers who issued the fines and their CEO should take the rap.

[Artlav]

So, is there any backstory or reasoning?
Why he did it, and why he thought that annoying a minimal wage employee somewhere was somehow a good idea?
Is that some form of a perception that every government employee feels the hurt if any one of them is hurt, or something like that?

In short, WTF?

I think I vaguely remember an ad here in Australia about coin deposit systems in banks, which is like a tray where you put your money...

That's neat.
I once changed a few bags of coins to paper at a bank, and they had a rather crude-looking counting machine, that feed coins through a hole somehow.
I had to pre-sort them by denomination before they feed them in.

This thing is so much more advanced in comparison, and does not take fees too.

[John Coloccia]

I think it is say to assume there is no thought or reasoning involved. Just a good serving of anger.

Some people do good and improve the world around them. The rest are like that moron in the video.

[EEVblog]

Some banks here have ATMs with coin counters:

Yep, they are common here, my local Commonwealth bank has one.
Feed in coins & it gives you a deposit slip.
Would love to do a teardown on one.

[SeanB]

So if $5 is the maximum amount that is considered legal tender for 5c coins..........

Does this mean that I am able to take > $5 face value to the scrap metal dealer legally?

75% copper and 25% nickel will be the new gold standard soon  Start hoarding silver coins before the government starts minting in aluminium.

Just how low does the Australian dollar have to go before this is viable?

All Reserve banks have it that it is illegal to deface or destruct currency. It is the property of the Reserve banks, you are merely allowed the use of it as a medium of exchange for debts private and public. Some even issue bearer cheques, like the Zimbabwe reserve bank did. I have some $20 000 bearer checks, and am looking ( asked a tour guide who lives near and who is on holiday at the moment in Vic Falls) to get a few million dollars more. Worth under 1c US or anywhere.

[SeanB]

The technical definition for the bloke pushing the coins over the counter is that he is a "smart-arse". But I see he was angry. He should not take it out on the office clerk.

But I sort of understand...

I had a colleague whose car broke down in a non-busy side street in a no standing zone. With her bonnet up (or hood for the Americans), a council parking officer dropped by and issued a fine for parking in a no-standing zone. (Monash Council).

My own experience is a council erected 2 hour limit parking signs during the day in an area where I was parked in which was a previously all day parking area. They fined me for overstaying 2 hours, a few hours after they erected the sign (Prahran Council)
 
Another one is where the council placed parking meters almost on the line between parallel parking bays, so people can accidentally put money in the wrong meter (Wangaratta Council).

I once parked in an all day parking area to park (to take a ferry across the bay for a day out) where the central electronic meter was defective. All the motorists had placed "meter out of order" notes on their car windows. The council fixed the meter during the day and then fined everyone who had not paid, even though they had signs on their car windscreen. The special day out was ruined. (Mornington Peninsula Council).

And finally, I asked a parking officer if I could refill a meter because I only had to go back to pack up tools and would be gone in 15 minutes. She said "No problem, be back within 20 minutes and I won't book you." I returned in 10 minutes. She was gone but she left a fine on by car window (Melbourne City Council).

I name these council because they deserve to be named and shamed.

So I can understand why people get very angry at councils who are involved with extortion. But I don't blame the office clerks - they are just doing their job. The parking officers who issued the fines and their CEO should take the rap.

The ones writing the fines are not Metro employees, but are working for the company who installs and maintains the meters in many places. Here in Durban South Africa the meters are a contract from the council, and the policing is done by Metro police parking, who are required to issue a set minimum number of tickets a day. Meter out of order find one working and use it. Also they have to have the first parking receipt visible INSIDE the vehicle, subsequent ones can be outside so long as the first is inside, a little law designed to prevent paying the meter. Solution of course is to drive a vehicle classed as "light commercial" and park in loading zones all day long, as most wardens do not know that you can only park there for a limited time.

[G7PSK]

I once had a little Hitler put a parking ticket on my car when it was in a car park, The ticket stated that I had no ticket displayed. I did have a ticket in the front on the  the windscreen. The idiot did not bother to look as the front of the car was up to a wall, the ticket machine said to display the ticket in the windscreen so I did. I rushed round to the council offices with my ticket and the parking ticket which still had 20 mins of time left when I got to the offices told them about the situation and they cancelled the ticket there and then, they then wrote to me explaining that the parking warden (little Hitler) was not so little and could not get around to the front to see if there was a ticket on display, i presume that any one who parked front into those bays got a ticket from this particular traffic warden.

[GK]

I used to work at a university where the parking lots were patrolled by a some over-eager inspectors. Sometimes in the minute or two it would take to walk to the ticket vending machine and return to put the ticket on display on the dashboard, there would already be one of these vultures standing besides your car writing out a fine.

On one occasion that this happened to me a bunch of maybe a dozen students were coincidentally walking past when I returned to my car. The parking inspector puffed up her chest and stretched out her arms horizontally, dramatically wielding her pen to her ticket book held out for all to see at shoulder height. She then exclaimed in a proud and authoritative voice loud enough to get everyone's attention: "this young man is getting himself a parking fine!". FFS. I just opened up my car door, put the ticket onto the dashboard, shut the door and walked away without saying anything or even looking at her directly. All dejected-like and with everyone's attention she had no other option but to tear her partially written script from her book and screw it up. Sure, the parking inspector is just doing a job that pays the bills, but fark, there are some petty losers attracted to the profession that is for sure.
 
       

[wagon]

Do they start out as 'petter losers' or do they end up that way, after years of just doing their jobs and getting abused for it?

[Muttley Snickers]

I've noticed our local council starting to use those immobilisation wheel clamps and if they happened to apply one for some silly or unwarranted reason to my vehicle and providing that it wasn't illegal or in any way creating a new infringement then I'd be almost tempted to remove the device myself as we do carry cordless angle grinders in the trucks permanently, I don't get the reasoning behind them really because if a car is being a hindrance to the local community then putting a lock on it just restricts the owner from moving it earlier than they otherwise would given the chance.

These regulations appear to be a new tactic by the council which in my view is paramount to extortion and I personally disagree with the policy, additionally the ridiculous new rule that if you put your rubbish bins out on the nature strip too far ahead of the due pickup time you may incur a fine, so I expect that council staff are now driving around looking for rubbish bins that are out a day early and if they ever combine these two regulations I have a trick up my sleeve, they may not be aware that a clamped wheelie bin can be carried, don't tell anyone about this and keep it to yourself.

Just to add, I haven't had a parking fine, speeding fine or any other traffic infringement for well over twenty years and because we carry expensive tools and equipment in the trucks we don't just park anywhere and are extremely cautious about leaving vehicles unattended.

Muttley

Edit and update: It seems that they can only clamp a vehicle if the owner has an outstanding warrant and it can only be applied by the sheriffs department, still reading up on this by the way but I'm pretty sure it's a new undertaking by our council as well.

http://online.fines.vic.gov.au/fines/content.aspx?page=50

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/bill/rscb1996250.pdf

[Halcyon]

Edit and update: It seems that they can only clamp a vehicle if the owner has an outstanding warrant and it can only be applied by the sheriffs department, still reading up on this by the way but I'm pretty sure it's a new undertaking by our council as well.

Interesting. I know Victoria is very much the "fine" state. A few KM's over the speed limit and you're as good as 'done' by some unmarked speed camera or mobile camera car. In NSW I don't know of any power or legislative instrument that allows sheriffs to clamp vehicles. Warrants are enforced by the Police and the courts (the way it should be). That said, if you don't pay a fine in NSW, your licence and vehicle registration is suspended (then finally cancelled), get caught driving and you're in a whole world of hurt.

Even general duties vehicles (plus all highway patrol) are being fitted with Automated Number Plate Recognition systems. They capture the plates and display information to the Police about the vehicle, registered owner as well as 'other' information in close to real-time of vehicles to the front, sides and rear of the Police vehicle. The scanning speed is amazing even at night.

[SeanB]

There was a guy in the UK who had his car towed by these plonkers, and they damaged it in the process. The clanger is that the park enforcer was in the wrong, the car did not need the insurance, as it was exempted, and the cost to fix it was in the region of 100k pounds. They were claiming it was not their fault, but they were taken to court. Wonder what happened there......

Here if you come back and the car is not there you phone the tracking company and ask them where it is, and they will go and shoot the guys who stole it. Metro police forgot to renew the towing contract, so no towing unless you get one of the 7 metro tow vehicles left.

[rickselectricalprojects]

There was a guy in the UK who had his car towed by these plonkers, and they damaged it in the process. The clanger is that the park enforcer was in the wrong, the car did not need the insurance, as it was exempted, and the cost to fix it was in the region of 100k pounds. They were claiming it was not their fault, but they were taken to court. Wonder what happened there......

Here if you come back and the car is not there you phone the tracking company and ask them where it is, and they will go and shoot the guys who stole it. Metro police forgot to renew the towing contract, so no towing unless you get one of the 7 metro tow vehicles left.

i remember i once saw this car that had been towed (another car had it the back of it and the front was not damaged) and the front bumper was scraping on the road and it looked like it was going to rip off.

[Halcyon]

If you want your kid to stay in school get them to work in some shit ass service job, after dealing with ignorant pricks all day they will probably turn into honor students.

With the exception of Police or Ambulance Officers who cop shit day in, day out? I'd say both of those are fairly noble professions rather than careers to avoid.