Fine for parking at motorway services

[SnailTrail]

Hi Guys,

Last weekend I went to help a friend with an engine swap. He's quite far away so I met him halfway, at a motorway service station (Bothwell on the M74), where I parked my car and we went in his car to his house.

I was dropped back off at my car and left the carpark 10:21 hours after arriving, which exceeds the "free parking period" according to the letter received today. Now the letter does not state how long this free parking period is, and I didn't see any signs to tell me that I can only park for a maximum amount of time. That's not to say there isn't - but if I had seen them i obviously wouldn't have parked there that length of time!

The letter is from a private company CP Plus who are demanding £90, or if paid witchin 14 days a "reduced" fee of £50. Do I actually have to pay this, being a private company, or do I just suck it up and pay? If not what's my best course of action?

Cheers,
Andrew

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hornetrider said:

I'd be filing that one in the round folder under the desk.

I'm tempted by this option to be honest - would they have any legal grounds to chase me for it/if they do would they bother?

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sjg said:

Looks like pretty clear signs to me:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=M74,+Larkhall+ML9...

Ok fair enough, as I said I never said there wasn't I just said had I seen a sign I wouldn't have been parked there for over 10 hours.

However, in my defence, if you do a 180 on that Google maps view of the sign you'll see the entrance to the car park. I've been to the place 3 times and each time had to slow right down and concentrate on trying to squeeze through the smallest car park entrance known to man without hitting my car off of the lovely concrete barriers, averting my attention somewhat form the sign.

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speedyguy said:

So you've missed the sign 3 times ??
http://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/select-a-store/...

If you actually go there, you'll see what I mean with regards to the tiny gap. And thank you for the link but I already use them, they must not be any good!

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Thanks guys,

From the helpful replies on here including the links to Money Saving Expert, and my own research I'm going to ignore them. They have no legal power in Scotland.

I don't really fancy funding a company which it would appear is actually turning a profit by extorting money from charges which they have no legal right to enforce.

I'll write from jail.

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mehball said:

Granted the entrance is small but come on. How on earth can you miss that!

It's all very good looking at it in Google (or equivalent) maps from a camera mounted about 10ft in the air not even following the route that I would've driven, but look at it from a driver's perspective in an unfamiliar place.

The day the charge has been issued for was only the 2nd time I had ever been to this place so I wasn't quite sure where I was going, so as I come round the corner I'm looking for where to go. I spot the big blue sign and the markings on the road. Great I've to go left.

"Oh wait, there's a stupidly tight entrance on a left hand bend". My attention is now diverted to negotiating that. Even at this point, the contract sign is now obscured by the speed limit and width limit signs. Coming up to the entrance, I'm slowing right down and trying to judge my distance from the sides, not looking up and to the right as I would need to be doing to see the sign.

Once I'm through the entrance I'm no longer trying to judge a silly gap so I'm looking ahead again, but now I'm almost adjacent to the sign so I don't take notice of it.

This is how I missed it.

But I'm sure this won't satisfy anybody because it's easy to see that I should definitely have noticed it, using Google maps as evidence of this, and that I am blind and a horrific driver for not seeing it.

Edited by SnailTrail on Tuesday 25th November 10:34

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mehball said:

Well even once you pass this 'obscured sign' there is another one as you enter the main car park which is not obscured and does not have a tight bent next to it.



And another as you walk into the services....



So yes, I think a trip to specsavers is in order

Maybe I need to use someone else other than specsavers because they're the cause of all this. But I have excuses for these two as well

The one as you come into the carpark: I was looking for my friends car, so I didn't see it. The one at the entrance to the building: I never went in to the building so I didn't see it.

Anyway who cares? if they want it they can take me to a small claims court and if they win (by some miracle) I will then pay the fee, at which point the matter will be forgotten about as you can't issue CCJs in Scotland, and so long as I pay the fee once ordered to in court it won't go against my credit rating. Although it is important to note they have only taken a very small number of cases like this to court and never won, in fact I think they dropped all of them before the actual hearing. Job Jobbed. Now we wait.

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megapixels83 said:

Shame clamping was stopped in my opinion. If you cannot read a sign and park in accordance with the landowners rules then tough luck. I fail to see an arguement. I am sure people would not like Joe Bloggs parking on their driveway because Joe Bloggs thought it was more convenient for them.

Oh please. I didn't abandon my car in the middle of a busy street or park on someone's driveway, I parked my car in the corner of a quiet car park at a motorway service station which I (foolishly, I will admit) didn't realise had a maximum stay limit. But does that really deserve my car to be clamped/towed? I will have caused minimal disruption to anybody, if even any at all.

Having said that, why should I pay people who have no legal standing to actually demand money from me in the first place? Maybe it's the "right thing to do", but in all honestly if I can avoid paying £50 where I don't have to (esepcially at this time of year) then I'll gladly take that option. £50 isn't exactly small change to me, unfortunately. It's not as if I've commited a serious criminal offence or anything here, killed someone or something.