A private parking question
Discussion
Hopefully this is a "do not pay", but wondering the best course of action...
Private car park serving a few shops.
Free car park but maximum stay 2 hours.
Parking Charge received through post (ANPR) for over staying.
Perp was in one of the shops the whole time, spending a few hundred pounds and doing various dress fittings (wedding dress shop).
No idea on signage and can't really go and check without a 2 hour round trip.
What's the best way to approach it? Letter to shop asking them to get the parking company to cancel?
Private car park serving a few shops.
Free car park but maximum stay 2 hours.
Parking Charge received through post (ANPR) for over staying.
Perp was in one of the shops the whole time, spending a few hundred pounds and doing various dress fittings (wedding dress shop).
No idea on signage and can't really go and check without a 2 hour round trip.
What's the best way to approach it? Letter to shop asking them to get the parking company to cancel?
Always a good first step but it assumes that the shop in question is the party which contracted with the PPC to manage the car park.
Where there are multiple retail premises involved it is usually the freeholder or their managing agent who has done so.
If so, the shop the OP visited may have very limited scope for intervention, so the OP needs to be prepared for potential disappointment.
A wedding dress shop is likely to have far less clout than a major retail organisation (e.g. supermarket/d-i-y store/burger chain).
Also, signage can be crucial, so if the OP is unable/unwilling to go back and check that won't assist his case.
Challenging a PPC PCN means spending some time finding out what methods work as well as those that don't.
This is not the best place for that. The OP should visit PePiPoo/MSE/BMPA/etc, where he will find those who can help.
Where there are multiple retail premises involved it is usually the freeholder or their managing agent who has done so.
If so, the shop the OP visited may have very limited scope for intervention, so the OP needs to be prepared for potential disappointment.
A wedding dress shop is likely to have far less clout than a major retail organisation (e.g. supermarket/d-i-y store/burger chain).
Also, signage can be crucial, so if the OP is unable/unwilling to go back and check that won't assist his case.
Challenging a PPC PCN means spending some time finding out what methods work as well as those that don't.
This is not the best place for that. The OP should visit PePiPoo/MSE/BMPA/etc, where he will find those who can help.
blank said:
Perp was in one of the shops the whole time, spending a few hundred pounds and doing various dress fittings (wedding dress shop).
You would think the retailer might warn their customers of the time limit if they are likely to be trying on dresses for two hours or more.As they don't I doubt they will be willing to assist in having the charge cancelled.
Considering the price of wedding dresses I'd be surprised if the shop didn't do everything it could to get it cancelled and pop outside to take a few photos of the signs on a mobile and forward them to the OP.
If it's normal for people to spend that amount of time trying on a few dresses and it wouldn't surprise me, then it was very remiss of the shop owner not to discuss the parking situation with the customer.
If it's normal for people to spend that amount of time trying on a few dresses and it wouldn't surprise me, then it was very remiss of the shop owner not to discuss the parking situation with the customer.
Edited by herewego on Thursday 9th February 11:41
Dagnir said:
What am I missing here?
Why wouldn't 'the perp' pay the fine if it's legit?
I've yet to find a single "fine" from a private parking company that is "legit" - and that's with processing around a few thousand a year for the last 3 years. So many of these are thrown out in court on a daily basis, and the vast majority of court wins for the private parking companies have been either default judgemnets, or a bad defence.Why wouldn't 'the perp' pay the fine if it's legit?
Even Beavis should have won against Parking Eye if he's taken to POPLA rather than the courts.
As above, contact the shop. They will have some form of access to the parking company, probably via the site managing agents. How would the staff leave their cars on site for the working day if there wasn't some form of white listing process.
Also - who was the parking company that issued the ticket?
Dagnir said:
What am I missing here?
Why wouldn't 'the perp' pay the fine if it's legit?
Possibly because its not a fine, its an invoice.Why wouldn't 'the perp' pay the fine if it's legit?
If I had a shop with a small sign near the door that said if you spend more then 10 minutes in my shop then I'll send you a bill, would you pay it?
I can understand the frustration of land owners when people take the piss, but somone spending hundreds of pounds in the local shops is not someone that should be getting a large bill for parking.
98elise said:
Dagnir said:
What am I missing here?
Why wouldn't 'the perp' pay the fine if it's legit?
Possibly because its not a fine, its an invoice.Why wouldn't 'the perp' pay the fine if it's legit?
If I had a shop with a small sign near the door that said if you spend more then 10 minutes in my shop then I'll send you a bill, would you pay it?
I can understand the frustration of land owners when people take the piss, but somone spending hundreds of pounds in the local shops is not someone that should be getting a large bill for parking.
I think it's more that a once only charge cancellation could be made for a genuine customer who has slipped up.
98elise said:
If I had a shop with a small sign near the door that said if you spend more then 10 minutes in my shop then I'll send you a bill, would you pay it?
I'd simply go somewhere else, unless I knew I was only going to be in there very briefly.If it said "two hours", then I'd be sure not to overstay that two hours.
If it looked likely that I would be longer, then I'd take it on myself to ask whether there was a way to extend that time...
TooMany2cvs said:
I'd simply go somewhere else, unless I knew I was only going to be in there very briefly.
If it said "two hours", then I'd be sure not to overstay that two hours.
If it looked likely that I would be longer, then I'd take it on myself to ask whether there was a way to extend that time...
See, that's where the problem lies. What you have explained is common sense, a feature lacking from the private parking industry. However one of the many reasons that these charges are not legit is due to the unique and interesting way the signage and terms are written. 2 hours free, no return within an hour, etc but there is no genuine offer to pay for extra time, unless you take them up on their "offer of parking for a £100 charge". If it said "two hours", then I'd be sure not to overstay that two hours.
If it looked likely that I would be longer, then I'd take it on myself to ask whether there was a way to extend that time...
Genuine question for you then - this is the sign at a retail park where I have recently won a court claim. If you had a legitimate cause to spend 3 hours at this location, and there was no alternative place to complete what you needed to do, what would you do in accordance with these terms?
S11Steve said:
If you had a legitimate cause to spend 3 hours at this location, and there was no alternative place to complete what you needed to do, what would you do in accordance with these terms?
That sign said:
If you require assistance, please... contact the helpline number below
TooMany2cvs said:
S11Steve said:
If you had a legitimate cause to spend 3 hours at this location, and there was no alternative place to complete what you needed to do, what would you do in accordance with these terms?
That sign said:
If you require assistance, please... contact the helpline number below
The first 5 options are for calling out a patrol, becoming a customer, appealing a charge or ordering a permit. Option 6 is for all other enquiries. Probably a sensible place to start?
"Your call is now first in line and will be answered by the next representative, thank you for your patience" - on loop, for 38 minutes before we hung up. The second time it was 32 minutes, the third time was 27 minutes.
01142 67 86 78 if you wish to try it yourself.
So now what would you do?
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