ASDA parking fines

rileyboy · 4 October 2011 at 7:44PM

I just wondered if anyone had, had a similar issue with Town & City Parking and what the advice would be.

I have received in total 6 "fines" of £30 which double in 28 days and then come with an additional £10 admin fee.

Basically what I have done is enter an ASDA supermarket which has 2 different entrances/exits twice on the same day. Once in a morning and on an evening afterwork. TCP are claiming I have been there all day thus overstaying the permitted 2 hours. The contravene is over free time. All the exits have cameras and TCP have sent me six letters showing me entering the car park at approx 8am and leaving at approx 5pm. I have told them to check their cameras a few minutes after each entry and they will see me exiting the car park. TCP have written back saying they cameras have logged only one entry and one exit for the vehicle on the date in question. This is wrong and they have either not checked the cameras, not checked them properly or are just being awkward. I have quite cleary not been parked there all day like they have stated but they are insisting the Parking Charge Notices still stand. I don't see why I should pay when I haven't done anything wrong. This doesn't seem to have appeared on the forum before I just wondered if anyone had, had a similar issue or could offer any advise. Anything would be welcome. Thanks

Inflatable_Armadillo · 4 October 2011 at 8:04PM

Firstly, welcome!

Secondly, don't worry!

Thirdly, from now on just ignore Town & City Parking. Do not engage with them at all any more. Just Ignore them.

This is yet another PPC scam and is a common one played by this and quite a few other PPC's with ANPR cameras, so yes, we have had this one quite a few times before! It is really low isn't it... but PPC's are low companies who just want your cash!

So, first thing you must now realise is that you are not dealing with a reasonable company, they have no moral compass and all they are interested in is getting you to pay them your hard earned cash. There is no appeal process and despite you entering and leaving the FREE Asda Car Park they don't care about you or your legitimate entering and leaving the car park.

So, take a look at the 'threat-o-grams' that you will receive from T&C Parking and watch the BBC Watchdog clip in the above stickies and just put them in draw and ignore them.

YOU DO NOT OWE THEM A PENNY!

I would however write to the Asda Store manager (don't bother with Asda House in Leeds), his name will be on their board in store and tell him exactly what T&C are claiming you have done (lying basically) and that you will be no longer shopping at Asda and taking your custom elsewhere from now on while ever the employ a PPC to manage their car park. I would also suggest you write to the local paper on this one and tell the store manager that is what you are going to do!

rileyboy · 4 October 2011 at 8:11PM

Thank you for your response.

I was thinking of writing to the store manager but didn't know if it would make any difference. To be honest since these incidents I have stoppped shopping there!!

Sirdan · 4 October 2011 at 8:16PM

A familiar scam used by Private Parking Companies.

TCP have "form" for this , in fact they made the front page of my local paper when they installed their cameras at our local ASDA ...not surprisingly they couldn't cancel the charges quick enough once they realised they had been sussed.

IGNORE them ...they won't dare take you anywhere near a court ..even though they may threaten it .

What they are doing is nothing less than a scam ..given that they have made front page of a paper for similar I would go as far as to suggest they know fine well of the glitch in the camera system ..but they still issue their charges ..er is that not fraud your honour ???

Inflatable_Armadillo · 4 October 2011 at 8:28PM

rileyboy wrote: »

Thank you for your response.

I was thinking of writing to the store manager but didn't know if it would make any difference. To be honest since these incidents I have stoppped shopping there!!

Firstly, it doesn't matter whether it makes a difference to the fake charge notices you are being sent and I wouldn't go into any specific detail about them anyway if you write to him. You can just ignore those because they are unenforceable.

However, the fact that you have actually stopped shopping there since, as a result, should be of interest to the store manager and also, like I said, the local paper!!!

Which Asda is it?

rileyboy · 4 October 2011 at 8:32PM

It is the ASDA Shipley in West Yorkshire

robredz · 4 October 2011 at 9:42PM

Observices got done by Trading Standards for just this very scam in Wolverhampton, and Parking Eye are being investigated for this in Aberystwyth by Trading standards there. Parking Eye have also tried this in Llandudno where multiple visits have been counted as one to manufacture an overstay, and there is a Facebook page up about it.

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/03/31/26000-fine-for-parking-firm/

Perhaps in your complaint to the Store Manager, rileyboy, you could quote this article, and maybe also this:

http://www.everythingaberystwyth.co.uk/parking-eye-investigated/

best policy is to ignore, there is NO APPEAL, it is an invoice, a mere invitation to give them some money, then give them some more when they say you paid too late.

Inflatable_Armadillo · 4 October 2011 at 9:47PM

rileyboy wrote: »

It is the ASDA Shipley in West Yorkshire

So, is the Telegraph and Argus is your local rag? Write them a letter and see if they print it and tell the store manager that is what you are doing!

rileyboy · 4 October 2011 at 9:55PM

Thank you everyone for your responses. I will write to the store manager. local paper and ignore the letters!

scabbyfiver · 6 October 2011 at 2:47AM

I first became interested in this whole subject because my dad got a ticket from TCP in an asda.
I was worried at first but after all the advice and pointers to certain laws from forums like this I can't wait for the second letter now..the one that says our "fine" has doubled!

TCP are a joke. After hearing about my dads ticket I went to the nearest asda I could find to check out the tactics they use. It was chesser in Edinburgh and you are met with a big green sign as you drive in saying "maximum stay two hours" with "please see signs" below it in smaller, barely visible writing due to the colour contrast.
I parked my car and walked to the store entrance and the big asda one at the front was the only one telling me anything about any time limit. The only signs I could see were ones above the disabled bays...none of which had any information about time limit on them. All they had was some flim-flam about £60 parking charges.

I can't stand the mis-use disabled or parent/child bays but I'd rather they employed local neds to take a key to the side of the car than let one of these companies deal with it. All of this "money goes to charity" in places like Burnley is BS. Nice publicity...but where does everyone elses money go?

ASDA and TCP have been half-ersed in their whole operation in this car park. All they rely on is people being frightened of their letters.
Between them they don't have the decency to even warn people properly of the fake "fine".

It's actually quite insulting.

RENEGADE_2 · 6 October 2011 at 8:19PM

TCP are clever enough to advertise themselves on the envelopes of their threatograms. This means you can send them back marked "refused" without even opening them, as I did last week for an incident in late August.

PPCs operating on private land have no power and definitely no right to demand the amount sought on the document they issue.

ASDA parking fines

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