best scam ever

[lilpaulie85]

From The London Times: A Well-Planned Retirement   
A perfect example of government mismanagement.   

         
Outside England 's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, it's parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were for cars (£1.40), for buses (about £7).
Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day off work, he just didn't show up; so the Zoo Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent.

The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the Zoo's own responsibility.

The Zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee.

The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll.
 
Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain or France or Italy ... is a man who'd apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own, and then, had simply begun to show up every day, to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about £560 per day -- for 25 years.
 
Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over 7 million pounds ... and no one even knows his name.

[tyrone girl]

Urban myth if ever there was one 

[Shamrock Shore]

Heard about this at least 2 years ago.

I agree it's probably an urban myth.

[screenmachine]

I would very much doubt that within 25 years not one person from the council who would be in the know about ticket machines within the district area would have not visited the zoo.  You could maybe get away with this for a day or two just collecting money in a bag but to think no-one would question a man appearing outside the zoo and installing his own ticket machine is quite ludicrous! 

[supersarsfields]

I've heard a few different strains of this story. Was one of them not "meant" to be in Belfast.

[Hardy]

Sure the Lockhards in Mountjoy Square, Parnell Square etc. were at this for years, without even spending money on a ticket machine. Their only expense was a peaked hat. I wonder what ever became of them?

[Shamrock Shore]

Their only expense was a peaked hat

And a rolled up copy of The Evening Press.
Dangling cigarette, whilst not essential to guide you into the parking spot, was de rigeur

[muppet]

Sure the Lockhards in Mountjoy Square, Parnell Square etc. were at this for years, without even spending money on a ticket machine. Their only expense was a peaked hat. I wonder what ever became of them?

They all got jobs as airport security.

[BarryBreensBandage]

A previous boss of mine went to Croke Park to watch a match one Sunday about fifteen years ago. Was waved into one of the side streets off the Drumcondra Road. He said to the young fella who directed him in - "here's a fiver, and there's another fiver in it for you when I come back and the car is in one piece".

He returned and the wee fella was sitting on the wall and said "Mister, I noticed you had a missin hub cap; me brother is a mechanic and he happened to have a Mitsubishi hub cap in his garage doin nuttin so I fitted it onto your yoke for ye".

John said "fair play to ye fella" and gave him 15 punt instead of five as a thank you and went on his way.

Next morning, John was going to work and went out to his car - and looked at the car on the driveway - the wee ballecks had removed a hub cap from the other side of the car and fitted it where the missing cap was, to make it look like he had replaced it.

Genius