Parking Charges. Gotta Love 'em.

[Dale.]

So Wifey opened some mail this morning, one of them was a parking charge. 8 minutes over the 2 hours allowed at our local supermarket. That'll be £70 please, reduced to £40 if she pays within 7 days.

No mention on the notice of, or a concession for having to wait to be let in to the supermarket due to Covid restrictions. If it hadn't been for the queue, Wifey would've been done within the 2 hours and away.

I feel an appeal coming on, as we have the option to do so and she'll speak to the store too as apparently, they can cancel the 'fine'. It's not a fine though, as if I'm right, only the police and the courts can issue fines.

Makes my blood boil though, it's not much more than a scam.

 

[robj20]

So Wifey opened some mail this morning, one of them was a parking charge. 8 minutes over the 2 hours allowed at our local supermarket. That'll be £70 please, reduced to £40 if she pays within 7 days.

No mention on the notice of, or a concession for having to wait to be let in to the supermarket due to Covid restrictions. If it hadn't been for the queue, Wifey would've been done within the 2 hours and away.

I feel an appeal coming on, as we have the option to do so and she'll speak to the store too as apparently, they can cancel the 'fine'. It's not a fine though, as if I'm right, only the police and the courts can issue fines.

Makes my blood boil though, it's not much more than a scam.

The store can definitely cancel it for you, I had one a while ago, the car broke down at Morrisons so was there well past the time. They just did something on their computer and flagged our numberplate.

 

[Sky]

You're right, it's not a 'fine' it's an 'invoice'. Rarely will it go beyond this first letter, but some companies will take it further so beware.

The best thing is to pay the minimum fee and then appeal it for a refund, but if the store can cancel it for you before that, so much the better.

Good luck.

 

[Box Brownie]

FWIW

Though I never attended Morrisons doing fundraising job, I did so at Tesco and Waitrose and in both those stores they logged my number plate. It happened a few times at the big DIY stores that 'they' neglected to enter my number but a quick phone call with their email confirmation that the charge had been cancelled sufficed......having said that I had on a few occasions to write to the parking control company telling them if the circumstances and all cancelled.

So, starting point is as above phone (or go in?) and get them to action the cancellation and/or write to the parking control company appealing it......maybe do that in parallel with getting the store to act?!

 

[Donnie]

Fight unfair private parking tickets

You shouldn't pay unfair 'fines' and many parking tickets issued in private car parks are invalid - see our step-by-step guide on how to check & what to do.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

 

[Dale.]

Wifey is going to speak to the store in the first instance and the parking company too. 40 minute wait to get in the store resulted in her 'overstaying'.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Wifey is going to speak to the store in the first instance and the parking company too. 40 minute wait to get in the store resulted in her 'overstaying'.

Yeah, most supermarkets are pretty cool about this. They genuinely don't want to "fine" people who were delayed with their shopping (it's a PR disaster) but don't want people clogging up their parking bays while they get the train to work.

I'm sure they will sort it out.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

They genuinely don't want to "fine" people who were delayed with their shopping (it's a PR disaster) but don't want people clogging up their parking bays while they get the train to work.

I've seen (and used) car parks in various places which have barrier exit control. If you spend a certain amount in one of the retailers, you're given a free exit pass, otherwise you need to purchase one from an onsite machine. That seems fair to me.

 

[JonathanRyan]

I've seen (and used) car parks in various places which have barrier exit control. If you spend a certain amount in one of the retailers, you're given a free exit pass, otherwise you need to purchase one from an onsite machine. That seems fair to me.

On the flip side, we have a notorious shopping area in Dover. You get 20 mins free and then you pay. I have returned to the car after 19 mins and seen 3 "enforcement officers" all sauntering in the direction of my car from separate directions.

 

[unclened]

You're right, it's not a 'fine' it's an 'invoice'. Rarely will it go beyond this first letter, but some companies will take it further so beware.

The best thing is to pay the minimum fee and then appeal it for a refund, but if the store can cancel it for you before that, so much the better.

Good luck.

Sorry but that is wrong advice. The parking company have no incentive to refund you or even give your 'appeal' any consideration.

OP, these fines are generally unenforceable as they can only pursue the driver and not the registered keeper and you are not under any obligation to disclose who the driver was. Please head over to Fightback Forums for advice. They will ask you to post a copy of the letter (with details removed) and will advise accordingly. I had one where I overstayed by 40 mins in November. Didnt end up paying anything other than the postage cost of writing back to them and it got cancelled,

 

[Sky]

Sorry but that is wrong advice.

I've had about about a dozen of these invoices over the last twenty years or so (staff driving my vehicles). Most I've ignored completely and never been contacted again, but of the few that I did pay the minimum charge (due to my ignorance at the time), once appealed were refunded.

Please head over to Fightback Forums for advice.

I only give advice based on my own experience, not what someone else has said on a computer forum.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

Wifey is going to speak to the store in the first instance and the parking company too. 40 minute wait to get in the store resulted in her 'overstaying'.

What was the outcome Dale?
Did Nic speak to them.?

 

[unclened]

I've had about about a dozen of these invoices over the last twenty years or so (staff driving my vehicles). Most I've ignored completely and never been contacted again, but of the few that I did pay the minimum charge (due to my ignorance at the time), once appealed were refunded.



I only give advice based on my own experience, not what someone else has said on a computer forum.

Sure, but rules have changed. You cannot simply ignore them as we might have done in the past and these companies have become increasingly litigious. Your experience of refunds is unfortunately not a common experience and neither is it reliable.

 

[Sky]

Fair enough - the only constant in life is change.

Thankfully, I have no employees collecting them for me now.

 

[Dale.]

What was the outcome Dale?
Did Nic speak to them.?

Yup, she appealed, so we'll see.

 

[Dale.]

Another update. The gumpf in the terms part of the appeal said it could be 28 days and there are delays due to Covid as well. The appeal is lodged and offical so it's up to them now. If it doesn't get cancelled, we'll be speaking to the store, hopefully, they'd rather our future custom than a share of a parking charge.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

Another update. The gumpf in the terms part of the appeal said it could be 28 days and there are delays due to Covid as well. The appeal is lodged and offical so it's up to them now. If it doesn't get cancelled, we'll be speaking to the store, hopefully, they'd rather our future custom than a share of a parking charge.

I'd have spoken to the store first tbh....they might have had the authority to cancel it....

 

[Dale.]

Said that to Nic Bob but she'd already done the online appeal by then. We'll wait and see now.

 

[billy nomates]

Depends on the parking firm, there are a few that play fair, but going to the appeal rather than the store weakens your chance of having it cancelled quickly.
Partly as the appeals company (IAS) are owned and controlled by the same people who run either the parking companies or the solicitors they engage to scare most people into paying.
As someone else already pointed out pepipoo.com is an excellent forum for advice on how to deal with these people.
Never just ignore things have changed, for both the better and worst - they cannot clamp you anymore but they can go after the person named on the V5.

 

[unclened]

Said that to Nic Bob but she'd already done the online appeal by then. We'll wait and see now.

Do you mind sharing which company the fine was issued by? If it was Civil Enforcement Ltd, then their online appeal process tricks you into incriminating yourself by asking who the driver was and once they know that, your legal position weakens. I appreciate this is after the fact now and nothing can be done but I hope you win the appeal. Hopefully this doesn't happen again but if it does, always send a letter in the post with proof of postage and get your case reviewed online at that forum I linked earlier.

 

[Dale.]

Do you mind sharing which company the fine was issued by? If it was Civil Enforcement Ltd, then their online appeal process tricks you into incriminating yourself by asking who the driver was and once they know that, your legal position weakens. I appreciate this is after the fact now and nothing can be done but I hope you win the appeal. Hopefully this doesn't happen again but if it does, always send a letter in the post with proof of postage and get your case reviewed online at that forum I linked earlier.

Thanks for that. I think it was Parking Eye. We're still waiting on news but I will double check with Wifey come the weekend. I don't see much of her during the week to have a catch up.

If it doesn't go our way, I will follow the suggestions here.

 

[Cobra]

A little story to warm your heart ..
A few years ago now, I was parked on a circular piece of hard standing that was surrounded by double yellows.
There was no, No Parking sign on the hard standing.
I was away from the car for 2 minutes or maybe even less ( I was working there) I came back to find a ticket ( council issued)
on the windscreen. Obviously it was hiding somewhere, to have been that fast.
I found him, and asked him to show me the no parking sign, he just turned his back on me..

On closer inspection of the ticket I saw that he, in his haste, had one digit wrong on the the ticket.
I waved it under his nose and said no bonus for you mate, not this time, and drove off.
I don't know if he eventually realised his error or not.

Made my day

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

A little story to warm your heart ..
A few years ago now, I was parked on a circular piece of hard standing that was surrounded by double yellows.
There was no, No Parking sign on the hard standing.
I was away from the car for 2 minutes or maybe even less ( I was working there) I came back to find a ticket ( council issued)
on the windscreen. Obviously it was hiding somewhere, to have been that fast.
I found him, and asked him to show me the no parking sign, he just turned his back on me..

On closer inspection of the ticket I saw that he, in his haste, had one digit wrong on the the ticket.
I waved it under his nose and said no bonus for you mate, not this time, and drove off.
I don't know if he eventually realised his error or not.

Made my day

I got off with a proper parking ticket because the traffic warden put the wrong date on it.
He put Sundays date, when there were no parking restrictions where I'd parked.....

 

[Nod]

Some years back, Mrs Nod had a rather leaky Daihatsu whose windscreen misted up within a couple of minutes of parking up on a cold day. The inevitable happened and a warden ticketed me because she couldn't see the ticket. As luck would have it, she was only a couple of cars away when I got back to the car so, guessing what the problem was, I approached her politely and asked her to come with me so I could show her the ticket. She did, and having seen that I did indeed have a valid ticket behind the misted screen, she made a note on the counterfoil of the ticket in her book and gave me the address to apply for a cancellation of the ticket. A week later, Mrs Nod got the notification that the ticket had indeed been cancelled.

 

[billy nomates]

A little story to warm your heart ..
A few years ago now, I was parked on a circular piece of hard standing that was surrounded by double yellows.
There was no, No Parking sign on the hard standing.
I was away from the car for 2 minutes or maybe even less ( I was working there) I came back to find a ticket ( council issued)
on the windscreen. Obviously it was hiding somewhere, to have been that fast.
I found him, and asked him to show me the no parking sign, he just turned his back on me..

On closer inspection of the ticket I saw that he, in his haste, had one digit wrong on the the ticket.
I waved it under his nose and said no bonus for you mate, not this time, and drove off.
I don't know if he eventually realised his error or not.

Made my day

Lucky to have him mess up like that as Double yellows create a no parking zone all the way across a carriageway up to any boundary, so for anyone else who sees a space behind some yellows don't take the chance. And if you drove over a kerb to get to the hardstand then thats another they can get you for.

I'm starting to sound like a Warden...... promise I'm not

 

[Cobra]

And if you drove over a kerb to get to the hardstand then thats another they can get you for.

It had a lowered Kerb

Double yellows create a no parking zone all the way across a carriageway up to any boundary,

Ah OK so the double yellows out front of houses means they can't park on their drive?
Because that was a similar scenario , where I was parked
Curious ..

As an aside I was working for the council whose land I was parked on, It would have got cancelled anyway.
I was just showing what a jobsworth he was being....

 

[Tigger.ufo]

It had a lowered Kerb

Ah OK so the double yellows out front of houses means they can't park on their drive?
Because that was a similar scenario , where I was parked
Curious ..

As an aside I was working for the council whose land I was parked on, It would have got cancelled anyway.
I was just showing what a jobsworth he was being....

Actually the double yellows apply building line to building line so pavement parking is out but driveway parking is fine.

You were lucky!

 

[Cobra]

Actually the double yellows apply building line to building line

I'l try and explain a bit better, I was no where near a pavement,
And this was a very large island over 100 yards long, with a circular road way around it. there are obviously double yellow lines all the way around, on the building side, and around the Island so people don't park for free
As there is a car park at the very far end.
In fact it was a bus station, the island is landscaped apart from the afore mentioned small hard standing, where the council park a couple of vans or a van
and a trailer, when they are "landscaping" the area, I was parked there as I was doing pest control in and around the bushes.

You were lucky!

As above I was working for the council, so it would have got cancelled anyway

 

[Nod]

I was doing pest control in and around the bushes.

Does that mean you could shoot Traffic Wardens?

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

My name is Andrew and I'm a supporter of traffic wardens.

...there, I've said it!

 

[Dale.]

Good news, good news. The charge has been cancelled, it seems common sense won the day. I think our future custom and the fact that my Wife wasn't taking the Michael and leaving the car there all day counted towards a sensible decision.