Insurers looked for many ways to carry on scamming us after blatant sexism was outlawed late last year, but overall, things have balanced up slightly in favour of equality.

Average car insurance prices fell towards the end of last year, and only young women aged 17-22, saw their premiums rise, according to the AA.

Even that was only 4.7%. Young men of the same age group have seen an average fall of 1.9%.

Women now outnumber men as drivers, while men in their 20s increasingly don’t drive, because they’re discriminated against in the workplace, and in society at large, particularly through the tyranny of family persecution

Surveys have found men drive more environmentally responsibly than women, and get less road rage, while three out of ten women text at the wheel.

But, in case you’re surprised the uber-conformist EU has done anything to redress misandrist gender inequality – don’t be – because in the bigger picture, they haven’t.

At the same time as outlawing sexist racketeering in the insurance trade, they axed mens incomes yet further by a whopping ten per-cent.

But for both sexes, comprehensive car insurance is at its lowest average cost since October 2011, after prices fell by a typical 2.9% to £789 between October and the end of December last year.

Consumer supersite Money Saving Expert noted; ‘The rise is far less than some of the doomsday figures predicted before the law change.

Average home insurance rates were relatively steady in the last three months of 2012, according to the AA.

Average buildings insurance prices have risen by 0.2% to £176, while contents cover has slipped 0.5% to £90. A typical quote for an average combined buildings and contents policy fell by 0.6% to £230.

However, the home insurance figures do not take into account claims made during the flooding at the end of 2012, which many insurers believe will lead to an increase next quarter.

How to cut insurance prices

There are ways to cut your insurance costs — here’s what you can do:

Step 1: Use price comparison sites. These trawl a host of insurers’ and brokers’ websites to find you the cheapest deal based on what you require. No site lists every provider, so the key is to combine searches to give you the widest range. See our Cheap Car Insurance and Cheap Home Insurance guides for more detail.

Also note Aviva and Direct Line don’t appear on comparison sites so, if you’ve time, search their sites to add to your comparison.

Step 2: Grab cashback. Once you know the cheapest provider, check whether you can grab any money back via a cashback website.

Step 3: Remember next year. Just because you got a cheap quote this year doesn’t mean you will next year. Diarise a note six weeks before your renewal so you don’t end up paying your insurer’s expensive renewal price.

If you have a medical condition, have a high claims history, if you are sharing a home with friends, or if you have any other complex issues, comparison sites may not offer the cheapest policies.

If you can’t find a decent quote, use a broker. You can normally find one via the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) website

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The Bodmin politician said he’ll be getting involved in a report into the scandal , which is so big we don’t have to write about it, because everyone else is – even the Independenski, which is so highbrow and has such tremendous integrity it was bought by a Russian spy for a pound.

Lib Dem Dan said: “Public trust in food content and labelling is vital.

“The Government and Supermarkets have to make sure that people can trust the labels on the products they buy.

“During the committee we had a chance to question Ministers and representatives from Tesco and Iceland about the need for proper checks and safeguards to be in place.

“We’ve also spoken with the Food Standards Agency.

“While the supermarkets do now seem to be taking action, it is a matter of concern that further checks weren’t being made up to now.

“The answers we receive from Government and from the retailers will help us prepare a report with our recommendations to Government. It is vital that people can trust the labels on the products they buy.”

Dan is part of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. Find out all about this open institution of the House of Commons and hold its members to account HERE.

If you want the most in-depth report on the Horseburger scandal, click the link behind; the Daily Mail have gone into raging housewife mode.

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by the fantastic Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert. Just click on either of the above links to go straight to MoneySaving Expert for lots, lots more excellent, independent consumer advice.

Quick dos and don’ts before you start

DON’T assume every ticket is unfair

DO check who your ticket’s from

DON’T assume the driver’s responsible

DO act immediately

DO print MoneySavingExpert’s Glove Box Parking Guide before you do anything This printable A4 guide is packed full of tips on what to do if you’re ticketed and how to avoid tickets by parking right in the first place. Print and keep in your glove box in case of the dreaded moment when a ticket’s slapped on your windscreen, or worse, your car’s clamped or been towed.

Should you appeal?

Usually, pay the fine within 14 days and it’s half price. For further info, check out typical parking fines and the costs if you don’t pay.

Even if an appeal’s unsuccessful, you’re often still allowed to pay at the half price rate within 14 days of the rejection, although this isn’t guaranteed. Help the chances of this by clearly requesting the fine to be put on hold in your appeal letter.

The chances of success
If you get all the way to the last, Independent Tribunal stage, the success rate is 50%. This means if you believe in the justice of your cause there’s a 50:50 chance you’ll win if you keep going, though it can be a slog. Here are a few examples to give you inspiration (also read about Martin Lewis’s appeal success on his blog

Gathering evidence

Don’t waste any time. All your evidence should be contemporaneous to reflect the situation when you got your ticket. Gather as much evidence as possible, as without it, winning an appeal is more difficult.

Of course, if your car isn’t there when you get back, you first need to establish whether it’s been towed or stolen. Contact your local police or the firm that owns the car park, if parked on private land. In London, call Trace, the 24-hour car locating service run by London Councils on 0845 206 8 602.

Take photographs

If you can, photograph the scene, if it’ll help explain your argument. Don’t worry about the type of camera, even a mobile phone picture will do, providing it’s clear. Things to photograph include:

• Road signs. Any unclear signs such as suspended bay signs or residents’ parking signs.
• Road markings. Any unclear bay markings or yellow/red lines.
• Lack of signs/markings. Areas without signs or markings you believe should be there.
• Your car. If you’re disputing where you were alleged to have parked, take a picture of your car and capture the immediate area around your car.
• The meter. If you were parked in a paid-for bay, keep your ticket or take a photo of the meter if it still registers the time your paid-for parking expired.
•
Gather the paperwork

Any documentary evidence you can gather is also useful. Sometimes this can be tricky to get, but everything that proves your part of the story is helpful. This includes:

• Proof of mitigating circumstances

Keep anything relevant. Examples include travel documents if bays were suspended when you were on holiday, a death certificate if you’ve had a bereavement, a doctor’s note if you were ill or the ticket/permit if it fell off. Read a list of further possible mitigating circumstances.
• Crime reference number

If your vehicle was stolen, include a crime reference number and any correspondence from the police.
•
• Witness statements 

If anyone will corroborate your story, get their details and ask them to sign a statement. For example, if it was impossible to see the signs or you were loading or unloading goods from your car and you stayed within the rules. For more details on parking rules read the How To Park Right article.
• Keep copies of all correspondence

Appeals can sometimes drag on, so keep the ticket and any correspondence safe.

If your vehicle’s been clamped or towed away

There’s no definition of a ticketable, clampable or a towable offence. Generally speaking, it’s purely down to the discretion of the officials on patrol at the time. So, any offence worthy of a ticket can result in your vehicle having a lump of metal attached to its wheel or getting removed.

Again, if you’ve returned to your car and it isn’t there, the first thing to establish is whether it’s been towed or stolen. Your local police or the firm that owns the car park, if parked on private land, should be able to help, or in London, call Trace, the 24-hour car locating service run by London Councils on 0845 206 8 602.

Don’t delay

Whether you’ve been clamped or towed away, you need to pay to get your vehicle back. Here, paying DOESN’T count as an admission of guilt so you can still appeal. One word of warning though: don’t try and remove the clamp yourself. That’s classed as criminal damage and is also likely to damage your vehicle.

If a vehicle is clamped and you ignore it, it can get moved to the car pound within hours, meaning you pay towing fees plus clamp release costs and the ticket charge.

If your vehicle’s in the car pound, for every day it’s left there, the cost to get it back rockets. If you don’t collect it, it will eventually be destroyed, meaning further costs.

When you collect your vehicle from the pound, take your driving licence (counterpart and photocard), the vehicle registration document and a utility bill with your address.

Beware tickets that come through the post

Regulations brought in during 2008 mean you can get a ticket through the post in England and Wales, if caught on CCTV.

This makes it more difficult to gather evidence for an appeal because the ‘contravention’ would have taken place days before. The only plus side is that you have 21 days if caught on CCTV, instead of the usual 14 days, to pay at the reduced rate.

If you can’t afford to pay

If you can’t pay the fine, it will end up as a court debt like any other. This will NOT go on your credit file, as the judgment won’t be from a civil court.

If you car has been towed away and you can’t afford to pay, you’ll need to negotiate. Technically, there is no leeway and eventually your car will be crushed and you’ll still be liable for all the charges, though kind-hearted officials may help. If not, urgently contact Citizens Advice for help.

How to appeal against parking fines

The appeal process is in place so that you can fight your corner if you believe the fine is unfair. You have a right to appeal whether you think the council got it wrong, or you broke the rules due to mitigating circumstances. Some tips and rules before you start:

• You can’t appeal if you’ve paid the fine

Paying the fine is considered an admission of liability. However, if you’ve been clamped or towed away you have to pay to get your motor released, after which you can appeal.
• The appeal can take a couple of months

How long it takes depends on who issued the ticket. There can be three stages to the appeal: an informal appeal, formal appeal, and if all else fails an appeal to the independent adjudicator.
• Most people have nothing to lose in the first stage

Those who make an informal appeal within two weeks and lose it will usually have a further 14 days to pay the ticket at the reduced rate. So you’ll lose nothing by making that first appeal, although this isn’t guaranteed.
• Stick rigidly to the timeline

Stick to the deadlines or you’ll lose by default. Don’t worry if the council, police or adjudicator take a while to respond. During that time, the appeal’s effectively frozen which means any time period you need to abide by begins from the date on the reply.
• Submit full evidence at each stage

Ensure you submit full evidence at each appeal stage. There’ll always be a different official dealing with it, who will often have no idea what you’ve previously sent.
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Step 1. Work out who issued the ticket
(or clamped/towed your vehicle)

There are four different issuers of parking tickets and the appeals procedure operates separately with each. The biggest difference is whether they operate under civil or criminal law.

If it’s criminal, don’t fret that you’ll be branded a convict. As long as you pay it on time or win your appeal you won’t encounter any legal problems or get a criminal record. Criminal tickets are more difficult to successfully appeal against though.

The four types of agency are:

1. Local authorities
2. Transport for London: Penalty Charge Notices
3. The police: Fixed Penalty Notices
4. Private companies

Step 2: The grounds for appeal

The grounds for appeal differ depending whether yours is a ticket under civil or criminal law.

• The civil system

The appeal grounds and procedures to follow are consistently laid out. They’re detailed in full below.
• The criminal system 

Criminal rules can vary, so either check your council’s website or if the police issued a ticket, call the number listed, to ensure you know the rules. In general, it’s worth reading the civil guidelines below as the same principles usually apply. 

Where procedures differ, it’s usually about the levels of fines, timescales and any correspondence you receive.

The grounds for appeal for civil penalties

There are eight official grounds for appealing against a ticket and eight for clamping and being towed. Don’t get too worried, they’re mainly in place for the council or adjudicator’s benefit. If you pick the wrong box on the form, they’ll just allocate you to the correct one.

They can exercise discretion, so appeal even if you don’t fit into a category. In particular, if there are mitigating circumstances to explain why you parked ‘illegally’, councils should listen to them.

I’ve focused on the rules for England and Wales below. It’s by and large the same in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with only minor differences. For precise info go to the NI Traffic Penalty Tribunal site or call the Scottish Parking Appeals Service on 0131 221 0409 as it has no website. The Citizens Advice website also has some useful info on the process in Scotland.

The eight grounds for appealing against parking tickets


Most people will fall into the first category. 


Appeals based on mitigating circumstances

If you hold up your hands to parking illegally but believe there are mitigating circumstances why the penalty should be waved, you can still appeal and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal says councils must show discretion.

If possible, it can be a good idea to inform of any mitigating circumstances before you park, as this can avoid the rigmarole of having to appeal against a ticket.

Mitigating circumstances include issues of health (yours or others), bereavement and motor breakdown. See a full list of typical mitigating circumstances.

In addition, you could also appeal under the following circumstances:

• You were fined within three minutes of paid parking expiring
• Some councils may offer an amnesty where you won’t get a ticket within three minutes of the meter, pay and display, pay-by-phone or voucher parking paid-for period ending. It’s mainly to cover instances where your watch and the traffic warden’s don’t match up.
• Check with the council if it offers this amnesty, and if it does, ask for the penalty to be waived as you were simply following its published guidelines. You may be able to find the rules on the council’s website.
• The penalty was too harsh – towing or clamping only
• It’s possible to argue that getting towed or clamped is excessive and the resulting cost is unfair, and ask to pay only the Penalty Charge Notice value. Councils have been known to make partial refunds on this basis.
• To help, check the PCN code to see whether the ‘contravention’ you committed is deemed a serious or less serious offence. While you’ve a better chance if it’s a lower offence, even if not, there’s no harm appealing as you’ve already paid so won’t lose out financially.
• You can’t afford to pay
• While, technically this is no defence, you’ll sometimes find a kind-hearted council worker who will let you off. Make sure you submit all financial evidence to highlight your plight.

With mitigating circumstances, like those above, it’s really a question of the luck of the draw. It’s up to the council whether it accepts your appeal, and some do have a heart. If these cases reach the adjudicator, it doesn’t have power to cancel the ticket but can recommend the council cancels it, yet this isn’t binding.

Once you’ve picked your ground to appeal, jump to Step 3: How to appeal.

Circumstances councils say you can’t appeal against

There are some situations where you can’t appeal, such as if there is nowhere to park, and in general trying will meet failure. Yet if you strongly believe in the justice of your case and have the time, there’s no harm trying, providing you don’t lose the opportunity to pay at the reduced rate.

Some circumstances in which you generally can’t appeal: See list.

Once again. check out Money Saving Expert for much more excellent consumer advice like the above. And good luck fighting your ticket! Let us know how you get on!