Buyer fined $ 200 for sleeping in new caravan says Napier’s advice lacks ‘compassion’

A Whangarei man who bought a caravan in Napier in an attempt to do a money-making exercise didn’t even make it out of town before it started to cost him money.

Ross Salter “rested” in Westshore for the night after driving to Napier to buy an old caravan, only to wake up to a $ 200 freedom camp ticket in his window.

Salter said he did not want to commit to the second half of his 1200 km round trip home at night and that he had just chosen the safest place he could find to park.

He says the Napier City Council’s no-warning ticketing policy lacks “old-fashioned compassion,” particularly at a time when the number of camps in the city is low.

The Napier City Council says Salter has the ability to request that the notice of violation be reviewed.

“He also has the ability to appeal the notice through the courts,” said an NCC spokeswoman.

The 57-year-old man woke up on September 2 to the ticket, which had been processed at 3.39 a.m.

Salter, who had become unemployed due to Covid-19, said he bought the caravan, which was not autonomous at the time, as a “repair project to make a little money.”

“I find it sad that we have come to these strict and fast laws,” he said. “I really feel like the good stuff doesn’t fit with what I’ve done.”

“I have not paid the fine and currently do not have the capacity to do so.”

Salter said he would have liked the opportunity to speak with the person who gave him the ticket to explain his situation.

“Give me a verbal notification and make sure I go and comply – that would be the traditional Kiwi way of dealing with this,” he said.

Salter said that not being aware of the statutes was not a defense, and he should have checked into a motorcycle camp, but that would have hurt the profits he was trying to make from the caravan.

“Now I have read the law and will be much more diligent in the future. The lesson is to do research.”