Holiday Inn Shamefull Parking Policy

There's one in Hamilton which shares a carpark with the retail park. Limited time parking, but if you enter your registration no on the screen at reception, you don't get a ticket for staying too long.
 
dejongj said:
Don't underestimate the power of TP...Someone will be near or passing by. Was it the Holiday Inn that is just besides the motorway with that fusion asian restaurant on site? Unfortunately as an IHG Platinum member I do stay in a fair few and I think when Telford was full I had to go there once...
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When I was working in Telford and couldn't find a space in the Plaza 1 car park, I used to use the Moat House car park (opposite the Plaza, now Park Inn I think). At the end of the day I'd pop in for a half and get a token for the barrier to get out. :D
 
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ZoneV said:
When I was working in Telford and couldn't find a space in the Plaza 1 car park, I used to use the Moat House car park (opposite the Plaza, now Park Inn I think). At the end of the day I'd pop in for a half and get a token for the barrier to get out. :D
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Yup been there and done that, although my parking was normally a building just up the road with the "other" side. :) So you were/are an aspirational ;) man....
 
skiking said:
If it's a free car park then, don't ignore it. Write to them and tell them you are not paying. They will send you many requests for money then up the rate then reduce it then pass to a debt collector then tell them that you aren't paying. They ten go away! This is a private mate and will NOT affect your credit rating.
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If they pursue the debt through the court and you get a summary judgment against you, that does go on your credit rating.
I recently had a would-have-been colleague not get a job because of a past CCJ on his record.
 
You'd have to go to court first, then lose then refuse to pay before any CCJ is issued. Very unlikely!
 
skiking said:
You'd have to go to court first, then lose then refuse to pay before any CCJ is issued. Very unlikely!
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It would be a stupid thing to do, I grant you that. Likewise it is a stupid thing to ignore it and hope it goes away. It is easy to fix these things when you stick to the procedure, but a lot of these sites are run by professional outfits who whilst knowing the procedure very well, in my experience are not so hot on understanding the actual local situation on be ground.

The key is to avoid the debt to mature, make it go away at an early stage. Will be a lot cheaper as well.
 
skiking said:
You'd have to go to court first, then lose then refuse to pay before any CCJ is issued. Very unlikely!
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A wrong parking ticket is a wrong parking ticket, whether it is a local authority/police one or a private one and both have means of appealing the ticket. You would be foolish to completely ignore the ticket as it would cost you considerable more in the long run. By all means if you believe the ticket has been incorrectly issued then use the proper channel of appeal, but don't simply ignore it and refuse to pay. That way only leads to further costs and possible court judgments. The above case went all the way to the supreme court, and he lost, you cannot refuse to pay it simply because you feel the charge unreasonable
 
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skiking said:
You'd have to go to court first, then lose then refuse to pay before any CCJ is issued. Very unlikely!
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Not unlikely at all if you're ignoring the letters, as per the (very poor) advice offered on this thread.
 
Separate out police/council issued fines and private parking invoices. In my original post I said, for the latter case, tell them you will not pay. I didn't say ignore them. In the unlikely case it gets to court and you fail you still have time to pay (28 days I think) before a CCJ is attached to you.
 
By which point you'll have incurred court fees. Surely makes sense to pursue the pre-court appeal avenues first?
Courts take a very dim view of defendants who haven't engaged with the appellant prior to proceedings (and rightly so).
 
Each of my posts say contact the private company. I have two where I refused to pay and both times I have stated that I am not paying for x y z reasons. One is 18 months old and the other must be 12 months old and got as far as a debt collector. Not heard anything from the latter for about 6 weeks now and to be honest I'm not expecting to either.

To be very clear, I do not dodge paying a car parking fee. Both my invoices were for car parks that offered free parking.
 
skiking said:
Each of my posts say contact the private company. I have two where I refused to pay and both times I have stated that I am not paying for x y z reasons. One is 18 months old and the other must be 12 months old and got as far as a debt collector. Not heard anything from the latter for about 6 weeks now and to be honest I'm not expecting to either.

To be very clear, I do not dodge paying a car parking fee. Both my invoices were for car parks that offered free parking.
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So if you contacted them, and gave them reasons why you are not paying; isn't that really the same as appealing?
 
No. I told them I wasn't paying. I wasn't attempting to connect with their better nature as their business model prevents that. Both times they said they 'looked into' my reasons and defended them, well they missed out the reasons they couldn't defend. They rejected my reasons. I still didn't pay.
 
skiking said:
No. I told them I wasn't paying. I wasn't attempting to connect with their better nature as their business model prevents that. Both times they said they 'looked into' my reasons and defended them, well they missed out the reasons they couldn't defend. They rejected my reasons. I still didn't pay.
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And they just left it there? No follow ups? No further demands for payment? Perhaps they did agree with your reasons, it is perfectly normal for many organisations to never admit to that...
 
No, they passed to a debt collector. I think I've had one demand off them and either the private firm or debt collector even reduced the amount that they wanted. Still refused, however, I am now ignoring demands. Like I said earlier, last contact was about 6 wks ago.
 
With Beavis vs Buttheads having just come out the parking companies are going to treat people like crap even more. They're a disgrace. Parking Eye are particularly bad for deliberately installing systems which don't work properly and which confuse people.

I think the more people that write to businesses with PPCs in their car parks and tell them they will no longer risk using that business because of the punitive nature of the parking charges if they make a mistake the sooner these companies will disappear. B & Q have dumped parking eye because they were costing them business.

There's nothing on the holiday inn site for Stoke about parking. It's all this warm welcome fuzzy stuff. I usually check that before going anywhere. If they don't advertise it on their website that it even exists then it is designed to catch people out. They obviously know if they put information about having to be careful where/how/who you inform when you park because if you don't follow all the rules you'll be slapped with a punitive charge will put people off even going.
 
skiking said:
No, they passed to a debt collector. I think I've had one demand off them and either the private firm or debt collector even reduced the amount that they wanted. Still refused, however, I am now ignoring demands. Like I said earlier, last contact was about 6 wks ago.
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Oops, a dangerous cat and mouse game. One I wouldn't advise to anyone, and definitely not as general advise. If they choose to press this through the courts it could be rather expensive...
 
dejongj said:
Yup been there and done that, although my parking was normally a building just up the road with the "other" side. :) So you were/are an aspirational ;) man....
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Ah, Fujitsu... or Capgemini... or was HP up that way too (before they bought EDS)? I can't remember, it was quite a few years ago.

Anyway, yes - I'm always aspiring towards something, although my focus has changed since those days, as enjoyable as they were at the time. :)
 
What annoys me is the misleading way the charge notice is written. In many cases it's written in such a way that you think it is a council issued parking ticket. It's almost tantamount to fraud. in some cases.
 
dejongj said:
This one ;)

http://www.trustonline.org.uk

And many employers use it as part of their many checks from varying sources to enrich the persons profile. It is a part of open source intelligence available to all.
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It would have to have been one that had not been satisfied or a recent one

I know one thing for sure, I wouldn't want to work for a company that goes snooping around like that
 
Keith W said:
It would have to have been one that had not been satisfied or a recent one

I know one thing for sure, I wouldn't want to work for a company that goes snooping around like that
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Well unfortunately those that work in say financial services, or intelligence/law enforcement, or supplying industries, to name a few may not have that luxury to choose. Anyone really in any role of importance where coercion could have an impact....
 
dejongj said:
Well unfortunately those that work in say financial services, or intelligence/law enforcement, or supplying industries, to name a few may not have that luxury to choose. Anyone really in any role of importance where coercion could have an impact....
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Lets just say I am involved in one of the organisations you have listed, had to jump though many a hoop etc., I also have a CCJ going back a few years and no mention was ever made of it during my hoop jumping
 
Keith W said:
Lets just say I am involved in one of the organisations you have listed, had to jump though many a hoop etc., I also have a CCJ going back a few years and no mention was ever made of it during my hoop jumping
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Lets just say people work at all sorts of different levels with all sorts of different access. It all depends, better to avoid being in that situation all together....
 
Astonishingly, I've managed to completely avoid being given either council "penalty charge notices" or private "parking charge notices" in my entirely driving career (29 years at present).

Maybe it's because I always park in the box, for no more than the free period allowed (or for no longer than I've paid for). Of course, I find it incomprehensible that people would want to spend more than three hours in a shopping centre when there's a whole internet full of stuff to buy without leaving your home.
 
onomatopoeia said:
Astonishingly, I've managed to completely avoid being given either council "penalty charge notices" or private "parking charge notices" in my entirely driving career (29 years at present).

Maybe it's because I always park in the box, for no more than the free period allowed (or for no longer than I've paid for). Of course, I find it incomprehensible that people would want to spend more than three hours in a shopping centre when there's a whole internet full of stuff to buy without leaving your home.
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Until you encounter a situation where the signage isn't in the right place, yet ANPR cameras are on entry and exit.
 
MWHCVT said:
I'm regularly at holiday inn's all over the area as one of our contracts is with them for disco work and never come across such a restriction, did you have to go through a barrier?
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No barrier.
Also I have parked here to meet people in the hotel many many times, no registering and no fines, so I guess this is something new.
 
onomatopoeia said:
Astonishingly, I've managed to completely avoid being given either council "penalty charge notices" or private "parking charge notices" in my entirely driving career (29 years at present).

Maybe it's because I always park in the box, for no more than the free period allowed (or for no longer than I've paid for). Of course, I find it incomprehensible that people would want to spend more than three hours in a shopping centre when there's a whole internet full of stuff to buy without leaving your home.
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You still have time!
I have been driving for 38 years, pretty much always had a job that involved lots of travelling. I have had 1 parking ticket, (which I successfully defended at the Mansion House Magistrate court,) in all that time. That is why I am so annoyed about this, I always pay for parking and invariably pay for longer than I think I will need to be on the safe side
 
BBR said:
You still have time!
I have been driving for 38 years, pretty much always had a job that involved lots of travelling. I have had 1 parking ticket, (which I successfully defended at the Mansion House Magistrate court,) in all that time. That is why I am so annoyed about this, I always pay for parking and invariably pay for longer than I think I will need to be on the safe side
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Same here. I totally get it; somehow it is more annoying when this happens when you want and always are compliant.
 
BBR said:
No barrier.
Also I have parked here to meet people in the hotel many many times, no registering and no fines, so I guess this is something new.
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Sounds that way, we regularly get fine notices from one small hotel that contracted it's parking out like this, it got so bad that eventually we told the hotel we were going to put their contract price up to cover the hastle of having to get the charges cancelled every time they failed to correctly recorded are vehicle on their system
 
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