Fined for driving in bus lane... but I was on other side of the world
A DAD-OF-TWO has been landed with hundreds of pounds worth of bus lane fines – despite being 9,000 miles away in Australia at the time.
Philip Cross is locked in a 10-month legal battle with Manchester council after he was handed five fines for driving in bus lanes – for a car he claims he had already sold.
Philip, 33, said the ‘ridiculous’ decision had turned his life upside down. He has already been forced to pay more than £1,000 in fines and legal bills, and is being challenged for another £600.
Philip said: “I’m going to have to fork out all this money, and I just haven’t got it.”
The self-employed barber, from Childwall, Liverpool, swapped his silver BMW at a dealership in 2016 in a part-exchange deal. It was later sold to a new owner.
Philip claims he sent a form to the DVLA at the time telling them he was no longer the car’s owner, but the DVLA said it didn’t receive notice until May 2017.
Philip eventually learned that the car’s new owner had racked up a fortune in bus lane fines, which he was expected to pay.
Philip insists he was actually on a family holiday in Australia with his wife and two kids when some of the fines were incurred.
He has since dug up evidence – including sales receipts, travel tickets, and car insurance statements – to prove his case.
But Manchester council still claim he has failed to give ‘adequate evidence’ he was no longer the car’s owner.
He even contacted Google after he found a photo online of his old car being advertised at a car dealership. Philip said: “This is how in-depth I’ve gone to try and prove my innocence, but nobody seems to want to listen.”
The dispute culminated in a court bailiff turning up at his house and threatening to remove his possessions unless he paid up.
A Manchester council spokesman said: “The council was notified by the DVLA that Mr Cross was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the offences and he has failed to provide adequate evidence that this was not the case.”