Dodgy parking tickets

[TigerTedd]

I have a selfish reason for starting this thread, but also I thought it's not a bad thing to have a discussion about dodgy places to park and unscrupulous fines, and any top tips to appeal or seek help.

My wife has recently had a fine for Siddals Road. That's a really dodgy car park where half is owned by one company, and half is owned by another. She wasn't sure which car park to pay, so she dropped my daughter off at a party at the Bouncy place and thought she'd clarify with one of their staff, so had to queue to wait to speak to someone. They actually gave her the wrong information. Then she spent a few minutes trying to download the app to pay, and finally managed to pay. It took her about 20 mins.

She got a fine because there is only a 10 minute grace period to buy a ticket.

She's been appealing the fine. But the appeal has gone on so long, that the 14 days to pay the discounted rate has passed. I always thought the clock stopped if you started an appeal. She has lost her appeal though, apparently the signage was sufficient, and said clearly there is a 10 minute grace period, so maybe that has an impact on not stopping the clock. (It is a bugger of a car park though, that's just begging to catch people in a web of confusion, I'm sure she's not the only one). At the very least we think they should refund the ticket she paid for, as she might as well have not bothered if she was just going to be fined anyway, but they're not buying that.

Either way, the fine is now £100 and the discounted rate was £60. But I've just read that, as of 2023, all fines were capped at £50, with a discounted rate of £25 if paid within 14 days.

Can anyone confirm if this is true? And if it is, is there some way she can appeal this, or flag this up with someone (she's already done the official appeal through POPLA). Unsurprisingly, no one picks up at Excel Parking.

She only earns £500 a month. Imagine if you were fined 20% of your salary for dropping your kid off at a party!

Of course I'm likely to have biased righteous indignation, but at this point she's prepared to accept and pay some sort of fine. But ideally not if it's beyond the official cap, something seems really off there.

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by TigerTedd

[Comrade 86]

2 hours ago, TigerTedd said:

I have a selfish reason for starting this thread, but also I thought it's not a bad thing to have a discussion about dodgy places to park and unscrupulous fines, and any top tips to appeal or seek help.

My wife has recently had a fine for Siddals Road. That's a really dodgy car park where half is owned by one company, and half is owned by another. She wasn't sure which car park to pay, so she dropped my daughter off at a party at the Bouncy place and thought she'd clarify with one of their staff, so had to queue to wait to speak to someone. They actually gave her the wrong information. Then she spent a few minutes trying to download the app to pay, and finally managed to pay. It took her about 20 mins.

She got a fine because there is only a 10 minute grace period to buy a ticket.

She's been appealing the fine. But the appeal has gone on so long, that the 14 days to pay the discounted rate has passed. I always thought the clock stopped if you started an appeal. She has lost her appeal though, apparently the signage was sufficient, and said clearly there is a 10 minute grace period, so maybe that has an impact on not stopping the clock. (It is a bugger of a car park though, that's just begging to catch people in a web of confusion, I'm sure she's not the only one). At the very least we think they should refund the ticket she paid for, as she might as well have not bothered if she was just going to be fined anyway, but they're not buying that.

Either way, the fine is now £100 and the discounted rate was £60. But I've just read that, as of 2023, all fines were capped at £50, with a discounted rate of £25 if paid within 14 days.

Can anyone confirm if this is true? And if it is, is there some way she can appeal this, or flag this up with someone (she's already done the official appeal through POPLA). Unsurprisingly, no one picks up at Excel Parking.

She only earns £500 a month. Imagine if you were fined 20% of your salary for dropping your kid off at a party!

Of course I'm likely to have biased righteous indignation, but at this point she's prepared to accept and pay some sort of fine. But ideally not if it's beyond the official cap, something seems really off there.

 

I had a year of one outfit issuing £100 tickets weekly as I refused to pay to 'join the scheme'. This despite me informing them that I owned the property and, therefore, the space allocated (each property has 1/2 underground spaces).

It dragged on and on with them stating they were entitled to monitor my spaces despite not being contracted to do so, until eventually I went legal. Suffice to say they ended up paying me and not vice versa. Some of these firms are f****** thieves.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-clamps-down-on-rogue-parking-firms-with-new-code-of-practice

[GboroRam]

7 hours ago, TigerTedd said:

I have a selfish reason for starting this thread, but also I thought it's not a bad thing to have a discussion about dodgy places to park and unscrupulous fines, and any top tips to appeal or seek help.

My wife has recently had a fine for Siddals Road. That's a really dodgy car park where half is owned by one company, and half is owned by another. She wasn't sure which car park to pay, so she dropped my daughter off at a party at the Bouncy place and thought she'd clarify with one of their staff, so had to queue to wait to speak to someone. They actually gave her the wrong information. Then she spent a few minutes trying to download the app to pay, and finally managed to pay. It took her about 20 mins.

She got a fine because there is only a 10 minute grace period to buy a ticket.

She's been appealing the fine. But the appeal has gone on so long, that the 14 days to pay the discounted rate has passed. I always thought the clock stopped if you started an appeal. She has lost her appeal though, apparently the signage was sufficient, and said clearly there is a 10 minute grace period, so maybe that has an impact on not stopping the clock. (It is a bugger of a car park though, that's just begging to catch people in a web of confusion, I'm sure she's not the only one). At the very least we think they should refund the ticket she paid for, as she might as well have not bothered if she was just going to be fined anyway, but they're not buying that.

Either way, the fine is now £100 and the discounted rate was £60. But I've just read that, as of 2023, all fines were capped at £50, with a discounted rate of £25 if paid within 14 days.

Can anyone confirm if this is true? And if it is, is there some way she can appeal this, or flag this up with someone (she's already done the official appeal through POPLA). Unsurprisingly, no one picks up at Excel Parking.

She only earns £500 a month. Imagine if you were fined 20% of your salary for dropping your kid off at a party!

Of course I'm likely to have biased righteous indignation, but at this point she's prepared to accept and pay some sort of fine. But ideally not if it's beyond the official cap, something seems really off there.

 

Have you tried contacting the party venue? They may be able to contact on your behalf, as the last thing they want is irate customers unhappy with their service, particularly if it was not their fault. They might try to help. 

[Ewe Ram]

I had one from a different place, with a time stamp on the photo that was a day when I was at work. I argued that they can’t use ‘evidence’ that clearly isn’t correct. I lost and had to pay. Makes my blood boil. 
only one I’ve ever won was Toy R Us, they got it cancelled. 

[TigerTedd]

14 minutes ago, GboroRam said:

Have you tried contacting the party venue? They may be able to contact on your behalf, as the last thing they want is irate customers unhappy with their service, particularly if it was not their fault. They might try to help. 

We have spoke to them. Nothing to do with them apparently. But you have given me the idea that we could speak to whoever owns the car park land. I’ll look into that. 

[Tamworthram]

A bit further afield but, about 4 years ago we were in Domme in the Dordogne. It took a few minutes to figure out the machine and get a ticket. We didn’t realise we’d been issued with a fine by the local authority for the period between parking and getting back to the car until we received a debit through the car hire company. I tried appealing to the authority but didn’t even get a reply.

[Ram-Alf]

9 hours ago, TigerTedd said:

I have a selfish reason for starting this thread, but also I thought it's not a bad thing to have a discussion about dodgy places to park and unscrupulous fines, and any top tips to appeal or seek help.

My wife has recently had a fine for Siddals Road. That's a really dodgy car park where half is owned by one company, and half is owned by another. She wasn't sure which car park to pay, so she dropped my daughter off at a party at the Bouncy place and thought she'd clarify with one of their staff, so had to queue to wait to speak to someone. They actually gave her the wrong information. Then she spent a few minutes trying to download the app to pay, and finally managed to pay. It took her about 20 mins.

She got a fine because there is only a 10 minute grace period to buy a ticket.

She's been appealing the fine. But the appeal has gone on so long, that the 14 days to pay the discounted rate has passed. I always thought the clock stopped if you started an appeal. She has lost her appeal though, apparently the signage was sufficient, and said clearly there is a 10 minute grace period, so maybe that has an impact on not stopping the clock. (It is a bugger of a car park though, that's just begging to catch people in a web of confusion, I'm sure she's not the only one). At the very least we think they should refund the ticket she paid for, as she might as well have not bothered if she was just going to be fined anyway, but they're not buying that.

Either way, the fine is now £100 and the discounted rate was £60. But I've just read that, as of 2023, all fines were capped at £50, with a discounted rate of £25 if paid within 14 days.

Can anyone confirm if this is true? And if it is, is there some way she can appeal this, or flag this up with someone (she's already done the official appeal through POPLA). Unsurprisingly, no one picks up at Excel Parking.

She only earns £500 a month. Imagine if you were fined 20% of your salary for dropping your kid off at a party!

Of course I'm likely to have biased righteous indignation, but at this point she's prepared to accept and pay some sort of fine. But ideally not if it's beyond the official cap, something seems really off there.

 

Is this your partner?

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/mum-hit-100-fine-taking-8444586

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/flood-complaints-siddals-road-car-8470668

If you're in a Union or your partner/family member is then get legal advice it's free, Dick Turpin would be proud of these thieves 🙄

 

[BaaLocks]

This is a good forum to use for information and, if needed, support.

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/motoring-parking/1582911-parking-tickets-read-this-first

 

[PistoldPete]

These parking apps are the biggest scandal of its kind since PPI. For a start now we have contactless paying why can you not just wave your card and hey presto  you have paid. But no you have to download a frigging app. A different app everywhere you go so you end up with umpteen apps on your phone. Why? I suspect they want your data. Well dodgy if you ask me. 

[Ram-Alf]

13 minutes ago, PistoldPete said:

These parking apps are the biggest scandal of its kind since PPI. For a start now we have contactless paying why can you not just wave your card and hey presto  you have paid. But no you have to download a frigging app. A different app everywhere you go so you end up with umpteen apps on your phone. Why? I suspect they want your data. Well dodgy if you ask me. 

The DVLA/Government charge these car parking companies a fee for our information, Surely there must be a Law 😂 concerning giving up personnel Data to a third party.

The Government can stop this with a swipe of a pen...but choose not to👎

[Stive Pesley]

@TigerTedd have you tried posting on the Pepipoo forums?

http://forums.pepipoo.com/

I had a similar hassle with some parking in Norfolk on holiday a couple of years ago. There was a thread for the carpark in question as so many other people had the same issue as me.

Got lots of good advice and successfully got the parking company to drop it after I sent them a big long letter with all the legalities and loopholes explained and asking them for piles of evidence.

I think most of these companies are only after those who will meekly payup. If they get wind of someone willing to argue with them at length and putting lots of actions on them - then it quickly becomes a waste of their time and would cost them more in wages than it would in the fine you owe

Good luck! As you say - if you'd just been a chancer and were trying to get away without buying a ticket then you'd suck it up, but like you - i was trying to pay for the parking but it was impossible. Then they fined me for not achieving the impossible!

[TigerTedd]

4 hours ago, Tamworthram said:

A bit further afield but, about 4 years ago we were in Domme in the Dordogne. It took a few minutes to figure out the machine and get a ticket. We didn’t realise we’d been issued with a fine by the local authority for the period between parking and getting back to the car until we received a debit through the car hire company. I tried appealing to the authority but didn’t even get a reply.

This is what pisses me off. They give you a grace period, but there’s a million reasons why you might be delayed in buying your ticket. But as king as you’ve paid for the time you spent there, it should be all good. Siddals road is 12 hrs. So what does it matter if I pay now or in 20 mins, I’m still covered for the 12 hrs. A lot of car parks are pay in exit now, why can’t they all be like that, that would make life a lot easier, then you’ve got all the time in the world to work it all out. I dread to think how 80 year old Dorris and her blue hair manages to work it out. 

[TigerTedd]

3 hours ago, The Last Post said:

Is this your partner?

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/mum-hit-100-fine-taking-8444586

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/flood-complaints-siddals-road-car-8470668

If you're in a Union or your partner/family member is then get legal advice it's free, Dick Turpin would be proud of these thieves 🙄

 

That’s not my wife, as far as I know, but that is exactly her story, same car park. I’d say it’s a massive coincidence, but I’m not hugely surprised. Might be worth getting in touch with the paper if there’s a pattern. 

[Skin em Ted]

Infuriating! We got done as well same place the other week, same scenario.

Disgraceful how our system supports these faceless fleecers, leeching away from the festering armpits of capitalism, really is lower than a snake's b******.

Honest hard work or talent should be the way to be rewarded... not owning a patch of asphalt and scheming to bully decent folks. Often the local businesses despise these parasites as much as anyone... helpless to act as their reputation and return custom suffers.

[TigerTedd]

4 hours ago, Skin em Ted said:

Infuriating! We got done as well same place the other week, same scenario.

Disgraceful how our system supports these faceless fleecers, leeching away from the festering armpits of capitalism, really is lower than a snake's b******.

Honest hard work or talent should be the way to be rewarded... not owning a patch of asphalt and scheming to bully decent folks. Often the local businesses despise these parasites as much as anyone... helpless to act as their reputation and return custom suffers.

I got scammed by an advertising agency recently. They claimed to be the exclusive provider for various things to thousands of schools across the north of the country. For a small fee I could buy exclusivity to supply first aid courses to their schools. I’d go on their procurement website, and the schools have to buy from this website.

Alarm bells should have rang when they did no vetting. And did the old ‘I’m spoken to 3 people this morning who are interested, first come first served.’

my point is, after I’d already paid half, and then did my due diligence and found all the forums talking about their scam, I thought: ‘if you actually out the graft in, and genuinely formed relationships with these schools and properly vetted suppliers, I can see how schools would appreciate that service, and suppliers would pay you, and you’d be providing a good and decent service and making loads of money.’

it must be quite hard work to run these scams and deal with so many disgruntled people, why not just put in the extra yard and turn your scam into an actual useful service.

Like people need to park. I don’t begrudge anyone owning a car park. But the business model should be about making money from the tickets, not from harassing poor people who were 10 mins late paying for their ticket. Surely that should be a last resort for anyone genuinely taking the piss, but it seems like the whole point of their existence. 

[Ram-Alf]

4 hours ago, TigerTedd said:

 

Like people need to park. I don’t begrudge anyone owning a car park. But the business model should be about making money from the tickets, not from harassing poor people who were 10 mins late paying for their ticket. Surely that should be a last resort for anyone genuinely taking the piss, but it seems like the whole point of their existence. 

It is the whole point of their existence, Example, A car park has 100 spaces owned by 2 different companies, The car park rules for both are a little confusing, One paying machine is broken there's a queue, But you didn't know there was a time limit on paying.

5 of those cars in the car park spaces were sent letters of breaking their rules and there could be a fine on the way, But if you choose to pay now it will be reduced.

I'd wager all 5 will pay the reduced cost...why because we can't be arsed as they've heard about these companies where they'd lose an appeal, They've not only taken the fee for parking put taken a whopping fee for breaking their rules.

It's legalised theft, They know it, We know it and the Government knows it, Next time you go in a private car park...remove your number plates 😉

[cstand]

For a second I thought the tread was about dogging parking tickets. 😂

[GboroRam]

On the other hand, you have to admire the guy who rocked up at the overflow parking for Bristol zoo, all official looking in a Hi-vis vest, and charged everyone parking there. 

He charged £3 per car for 20 odd years, and pocketed every penny. It wasn't paid parking. 

Edited June 4, 2023 by GboroRam
Pressed the wrong button

[PistoldPete]

4 hours ago, GboroRam said:

On the other hand, you have to admire the guy who rocked up at the overflow parking for Bristol zoo, all official looking in a Hi-vis vest, and charged everyone parking there. 

He charged £3 per car for 20 odd years, and pocketed every penny. It wasn't paid parking. 

And Bristol Zoo is shut now isn't it? Now that is a scam.

[Archied]

Broken Britain where nothing works apart from the collection of parking fines , speeding fines , congestion charges and tolls 🤷🏻‍♂️