Parking Charge Notices - advice

[NigelDay]

Originally Posted by Bill_56

I'd expect them to cancel (1) and (3) on appeal, can't imagine them getting away with it. But if I were to just ignore it, rather than explain and appeal, I reason it would weaken my position.

I'd emphatically encourage them in (2). My S60 is too big for a lot of marked spaces, so I don't park in these spaces. If I wanted to use smaller spaces, I'd have bought a smaller car.

Per (4), I have heard of people complaining about that one. But most car parks have a rule about 'no return within (say) 4 hours'. Before ANPR that was hard to enforce, and I wonder if it might be the real explanation for some of these complaints? Otherwise, an appeal should succeed.

I'm not supporting PPCs, as I regard them as sharks, but I'm also not convinced of the advice to ignore tickets, or that genuine appeals won't succeed.

I agree in a fair world that 1 and 3 would succeed on apple, but sadly they don't. This leaves the drivers in a position where for up to six years they can be chased. There are dozen of cases on the large Facebook group I referenced earlier. Number 4 is called 'double dipping'. It's often difficult to prove you did not stay for 8 hours, or whatever. Some folk have location services switched on for their mobile, so this provides good evidence, but it's all an uphill struggle to prove you were elsewhere during the intervening period. It's also a clear case (contrary to English legal principles) that you are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent.
Hospitals are another big issue. Forget the Welsh case recently which has wider issues to do with inadequate workplace parking. You have an appointment. You buy a ticket for 2 hours. Should be long enough, but you over-run. Penalty. So you then have to go through lots of hoops to try and get it overturned. Some hospitals have pay on exit (this is ideal), but many still don't.
On the issue of appeals, they do not accept mitigating circumstances, only the legal points. So excuses like "I over-ran because my child needed the toilet" are useless.

[TheLeeds]

This is one of the better websites for decent information, case law and legal analysis. http://www.parking-prankster.com/


Fight back, make the bastards wish they'd never heard of you.

Parking Awareness Services to pay £400 for DPA breach against motorist. DVLA confirm data cannot be passed to MIL Collections

[NigelDay]

Originally Posted by TheLeeds

This is one of the better websites for decent information, case law and legal analysis. http://www.parking-prankster.com/


Fight back, make the bastards wish they'd never heard of you.

Agreed. He is regularly quoted by the FB group I mentioned.

[green van man]

These private parking companies are allowed to operate by planing laws give your local councilors hell until they stop giving them planning permition.
Don't use them. It may be convenient but if you feel that strongly use another town, no one using them and local business will have a view upon them.
Use the pay and display facilities wherever possible and walk to the shops or the park and ride facilities at larger towns.

We have a couple locally outside retail parks. I never shop at any of the shops in that retail park.
If it has ANPR cameras I avoid parking there. The council run pay and display are my preferred parking as the town is too small for on street parking of visitors.
Hospitals never have enough parking and the bays are too small for a fiat 500 let alone a Volvo xc70 to kid the planners they have x parking places and the roads around any hospital become purgotary to live on as you cannot get in out or round them, again a planning issue so give your councilors hell to sort it out.

Paul.

[Grimble]

In my nearest big town a new multi storey was built for the railway station.
Over £10 a day. For a commuter its crippling. No discounts for train travellers.
A nearby road (very wide) had room for parking on both sides with plenty of room for two way traffic.

So what did the council do?

Reduce the charges to encourage public transport and use of their new car park?

Of course not. They just painted yellow lines everywhere. Treating the symptoms instead of addressing the problem. Its a council mantra.

No wonder town centres are dying.

[Marty Dolomite]

Originally Posted by green van man

These private parking companies are allowed to operate by planing laws give your local councilors hell until they stop giving them planning permition.

Paul.

They operate because the company who own the car park has asked them to for their services it is nothing to do with the council and no planning permission is needed for a parking company to operate.

[hennabm]

I was "done" at a hotel near Birmingham airport a few years ago for not parking in a marked bay.
The ticket was issued at 0115hrs!

I was parked in the bay and took pictures straight away and then wrote to them appealing.

After a month or so I was issued a letter saying I was going to be let off "on this occasion".

Never been back to the same hotel/car park since, if that's the way customers are treated.

The car park was run on behalf of the hotel by a private money grabbing company.

[Bill_56]

Originally Posted by Marty Dolomite

They operate because the company who own the car park has asked them to for their services it is nothing to do with the council and no planning permission is needed for a parking company to operate.

My own understanding is it is the other way around, the PPC asks the landowner for permission, and will usually pay the landowner for that permission, to operate. The landowner sees it as win/win, he gets paid by the PPC, and he also gets rid of some trespassing vehicles.

Either way, the message is the same... it is the landowner, being the supermarket, hospital, hotel, whatever that is to blame for bad PPCs. If they did not give(/sell) their permission, the PPCs would not be able to operate.

[Bill_56]

Originally Posted by hennabm

I was "done" at a hotel near Birmingham airport a few years ago for not parking in a marked bay.
The ticket was issued at 0115hrs!

I was parked in the bay and took pictures straight away and then wrote to them appealing.

I don't see how any pictures you took would have helped your case. How could pictures of a car inside the bay disprove the possibility that you moved the car before taking them?

I'd have been asking to see their own pictures showing the car overstepping the bay as without any pictures, I don't see how they could have proceeded.

Anyway, glad there was a vaguely satisfactory outcome. I fully support your decision to not return.

[Marty Dolomite]

Originally Posted by Bill_56

My own understanding is it is the other way around, the PPC asks the landowner for permission, and will usually pay the landowner for that permission, to operate. The landowner sees it as win/win, he gets paid by the PPC, and he also gets rid of some trespassing vehicles.

Either way, the message is the same... it is the landowner, being the supermarket, hospital, hotel, whatever that is to blame for bad PPCs. If they did not give(/sell) their permission, the PPCs would not be able to operate.

I don't know of any companies that pay them, they do it for 'free' making max profit but my point was they don't need planning permission and its nothing to do with the council, the reason they get used in normally because a shop etc has had problems with local residents or commuters using the car park as freebie parking all day. we have a local out of town Tesco that use a PPC but only see the attendants on a Sunday when the large car bot sale is on but at two hours parking limit that still enough time to walk across the road to visit the booty.
Personally I have no issue with it as I park within the bays (I don't want my car dented) and don't spend long shopping.