Grandfather with 'For Sale' sign in car window given £100 fine for running street business

Victor Abrahams was accused of 'offering goods for sale in a parking place'.

When the 67-year-old grandfather called the council, he was told the offence had been introduced a year ago and had been advertised in the local paper.

But as he does not live in the North London borough of Barnet, he says he had no idea that new rules had been brought in.

Victor Abraham, with the Ford he was hoping to sell, before being told he had acted 'illegally'

'I don't live in the area but I've had my office here for the last 25 years and I've never heard of anything like it,' Mr Abrahams said yesterday.

'I've got a tax disc, I've got insurance, I was parked legally but I was penalised for advertising my car for sale.

The car-sale notice was swiftly joined by another sticker - a fixed penalty notice

'Lots of people do it so I can't believe it can be an offence. And why is the for-sale sign in my car window any different from a delivery van with the name and phone number of the company on the side? Or why is it different from a driving instructor's car that has the name and details of the driving school on the side? Surely if I'm offering goods for sale, so are they.'

Mr Abrahams, a property manager from Brent, North London, is retired but still works a few hours each day in Finchley. He decided to sell his R-registered Escort after he was offered a newer Saab by a friend. A month ago he put a printed A4 sign in the car reading: 'Ford Escort Ghia Cabriolet, fully loaded, very low mileage, one owner' with his mobile number at the bottom. The asking price was £2,995, although this was not on the notice.

Last Tuesday, having parked in a side street near his office, he returned to find the penalty ticket. He wrote to Barnet Council spelling out his objections that day and called two days later to confirm it had received his letter.

'They told me that the new rule had come in about a year ago and it had been advertised in the local paper,' he said. 'But I only work in Barnet, I don't live there so I hadn't seen the notice. What happens to all the other people like me who don't live in the area and don't know about it either? Is everyone going to get a ticket?'

Mr Abrahams is now selling his car through a garage. He is waiting to hear the result of his complaint before deciding whether to pay the fine.

Barnet council said the rule was introduced to keep parking space free for residents. A spokesman said: 'New parking contravention codes were introduced on April 4, 2007.

'A new code was introduced with the description of "using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with the sale or offering for sale or exposing for sale the goods when prohibited".

'The council's position is currently that we do not encourage or support trading from the public highway, including offering vehicles for sale. The council is undertaking a comprehensive review of this policy and will make a decision as to its viability after all of the options available to support our corporate priorities have been investigated.'