Motorway service parking fine.
Discussion
A friend has just posted on Bookface, that he was on the M25 recently, when the motorway was closed due to a lorry fire.
He stayed at the services until the motorway re-opened, (5 hours) and received a letter in the post stating that he was being fined £100 for overstaying.
Now, I have not seen the letter, so have no idea of the wording, and he has paid the fine.
Am I correct in saying that this is not enforcable?
He said that he did not want to the hassle of Police / Courts / Fines etc, so just paid up.
He stayed at the services until the motorway re-opened, (5 hours) and received a letter in the post stating that he was being fined £100 for overstaying.
Now, I have not seen the letter, so have no idea of the wording, and he has paid the fine.
Am I correct in saying that this is not enforcable?
He said that he did not want to the hassle of Police / Courts / Fines etc, so just paid up.
Edited by onyx39 on Friday 9th May 13:11
I am surprised the governemnt hasn't stepped in on these as you are told to take a break if your tired but dare fall asleep for more than 2 hours and you get hefty fine.
My understanding is the anpr of entering leaving does not prove you parked for the time and its private company so tell them to stick it.
Its free parking so there are no losses so the cannot prove the £75-£150 fine is a loss and therefore they will 99% lose out at court as they cant fine you for using a free carpark! A recent case in bristol proved this.
My understanding is the anpr of entering leaving does not prove you parked for the time and its private company so tell them to stick it.
Its free parking so there are no losses so the cannot prove the £75-£150 fine is a loss and therefore they will 99% lose out at court as they cant fine you for using a free carpark! A recent case in bristol proved this.
Edited by jbsportstech on Friday 9th May 13:09
The thing is, parking at motorway services isn't free, it's chargeable after 2 hours. There are signs placed around the car parks that state this. It doesn't make it any more tenable, but unfortunately, that's the way it is. I'm not sure you could get off the fine so easily, but maybe someone out there has done it before.
onyx39 said:
A friend has just posted on Bookface, that he was on the M25 recently, when the motorway was closed due to a lorry fire.
He stayed at the services until the motorway re-opened, (5 hours) and received a letter in the post stating that he was being fined £100 for overstaying.
Now, I have not seen the letter, so have no idea of the wording, and he has paid the fine.
Am I correct in saying that this is not enforcable?
He said that he did not want to the hassle of Police / Courts / Fines etc, so just paid up.
Some people just have too much money!He stayed at the services until the motorway re-opened, (5 hours) and received a letter in the post stating that he was being fined £100 for overstaying.
Now, I have not seen the letter, so have no idea of the wording, and he has paid the fine.
Am I correct in saying that this is not enforcable?
He said that he did not want to the hassle of Police / Courts / Fines etc, so just paid up.
Edited by onyx39 on Friday 9th May 13:11
Cliftonite said:
onyx39 said:
A friend has just posted on Bookface, that he was on the M25 recently, when the motorway was closed due to a lorry fire.
He stayed at the services until the motorway re-opened, (5 hours) and received a letter in the post stating that he was being fined £100 for overstaying.
Now, I have not seen the letter, so have no idea of the wording, and he has paid the fine.
Am I correct in saying that this is not enforcable?
He said that he did not want to the hassle of Police / Courts / Fines etc, so just paid up.
Some people just have too much money!He stayed at the services until the motorway re-opened, (5 hours) and received a letter in the post stating that he was being fined £100 for overstaying.
Now, I have not seen the letter, so have no idea of the wording, and he has paid the fine.
Am I correct in saying that this is not enforcable?
He said that he did not want to the hassle of Police / Courts / Fines etc, so just paid up.
Edited by onyx39 on Friday 9th May 13:11
It's not the first time that it has happened. In last years snow on the M23 Moto issued penalty charges to 50 motorists despite knowing that the Police would not let them out of the services back onto the road. Apparently Moto had to issue a "grovelling apology" and cancel the Penalty Notices.
"A spokesman for Moto Hospitality Ltd said the £12 charge for staying more than two hours should not have been levied and promised to cancel £80 penalty charges issued for failing to pay. He said: “We can only apologise unconditionally to drivers who were stranded at Pease Pottage because of the snow and were then asked to pay the £12 overnight parking fee. “Clearly this was an error and we will be investigating how it came about. “It is our policy not to charge drivers in these circumstances and on previous occasions we have waived charges, as we will do in this case.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-weather-sn...
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"A spokesman for Moto Hospitality Ltd said the £12 charge for staying more than two hours should not have been levied and promised to cancel £80 penalty charges issued for failing to pay. He said: “We can only apologise unconditionally to drivers who were stranded at Pease Pottage because of the snow and were then asked to pay the £12 overnight parking fee. “Clearly this was an error and we will be investigating how it came about. “It is our policy not to charge drivers in these circumstances and on previous occasions we have waived charges, as we will do in this case.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-weather-sn...
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jbsportstech said:
I am surprised the governemnt hasn't stepped in on these as you are told to take a break if your tired but dare fall asleep for more than 2 hours and you get hefty fine.
The Gov advice is 15mins every 2 hrs.The service areas pay for the "Tiredness kills, take a break" to drum up trade approx 2 miles from the services, I'm sure they would be sponsored by Kitkat if they were allowed to be.
How do you define tired vs bulls
t?I've seen that excuse used many times, the latest this week from someone less than 6 miles/10 minutes on the way from their home address claiming they had a 4hr sleep if I wasn't a cynic I would suggest it was a car share with someone.
jbsportstech said:
Its free parking so there are no losses so the cannot prove the £75-£150 fine is a loss and therefore they will 99% lose out at court as they cant fine you for using a free carpark! A recent case in bristol proved this.
Super Slo Mo said:
The thing is, parking at motorway services isn't free, it's chargeable after 2 hours. There are signs placed around the car parks that state this. It doesn't make it any more tenable, but unfortunately, that's the way it is. I'm not sure you could get off the fine so easily, but maybe someone out there has done it before.
What slo mo says, If challenged due to the circumstances I'm pretty sure it would be a favourable outcome.If you want the link to the official Gov policy have a root here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strateg...
Annex B, Table B1 page 17 to save you rooting through.
grumpy52 said:
I wonder how they got on at Fleet services on the M3 last week as the southbound exit was closed for several hours due to a lorry fire .
Those that were in the services at the time must have been trapped.
Most services have an escape road for staff. You'd like to think under those circumstances they would also let their customers escape.Those that were in the services at the time must have been trapped.
surveyor said:
grumpy52 said:
I wonder how they got on at Fleet services on the M3 last week as the southbound exit was closed for several hours due to a lorry fire .
Those that were in the services at the time must have been trapped.
Most services have an escape road for staff. You'd like to think under those circumstances they would also let their customers escape.Those that were in the services at the time must have been trapped.
Landshark said:
surveyor said:
grumpy52 said:
I wonder how they got on at Fleet services on the M3 last week as the southbound exit was closed for several hours due to a lorry fire .
Those that were in the services at the time must have been trapped.
Most services have an escape road for staff. You'd like to think under those circumstances they would also let their customers escape.Those that were in the services at the time must have been trapped.
onyx39 said:
SlackBladder said:
onyx39 said:
He's got even more now, he appealed, and got a refund!
So at 1132 he'd just posted that he'd been fined and paid the £100, and then within 3 hours he's appealed and got a refund 
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