Civil Penalty Charge - ASDA Supermarket

grumpyoldgit_2

Have a look at this earlier thread - same problem discussed:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=115690

Good Luck
GoG

Cardew

webhamster wrote:

As I stated if the coppers had a car doing it then it is legal in my eyes , I merely did what the cop car had done and they were on CHEVS.

What strange logic!

Policemen speed/jump lights on occasion; so speeding/jumping lights is legal?

If your car had been clamped, and you had to pay for it to be released, you would be even more upset.

The Government have(rightly) curbed the antics of the cowboy clampers - who were in the business of extortion. How then can companies enforce parking restrictions on their property? Or are you suggesting that breaking the rules should be down to your discretion?

Of course you can rip up the 'ticket' and they probably won't/couldn't take you to court; and I am not avocating you should pay. But please don't sound as if you are striking a blow for freedom by parking inconsiderately!

SallyD

Well said Cardew.

I am fed up with inconsiderate drivers dumping their cars to suit themselves. If you do not park in the designated areas on private land you ie.supermarket car parks you stand to get a ticket. A local retail park clamps vehicles left for more than 3 hours in their car park. Huge signs are on posts at eye level advising drivers of the risk but still they leave their cars, go across the road to the train station, come back at the end of a day out and throw their hands up in horror because their vehicle is clamped.

Haringey Council are now enforcing cars parked on private land, handy when I want to park in MY DRIVE but can't because some stranger has decided to use my driveway - not park across it, actually in it!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

grumpyoldgit_2

Equally - why should the "cowboys" be allowed to branch out and take advantage of yet another grey area of the law?
Reasonable is negotiable BUT only if they consult you!!
These prats (the self styled parking control companies) are imposing THEIR interpretation of the law on the majority who are law abiding and generally naieve of the fine detail - therefore they are taking advantage.
I'm all for property rights BUT at the end of the day how can you keep pace with the double standards? Supermarkets INVITE you to shop there and then penalise you if you infringe some vague rule imposed by someone THEY sub-contract to enforce.
Where's the morality in that?
That is why people get wound up about this bare-faced robbery disguised in semi-legal jargon.
THIS IS JUST THE LATEST VERSION OF WHEEL-CLAMPING
When YOU get a ticket see how you feel having been deprived of your rights by a PRIVATE company which is just about making profit - no discretion allowed!
Once again I refer you to earlier posts

GoG

Bossyboots

grumpyoldgit wrote:

BUT at the end of the day how can you keep pace with the double standards? Supermarkets INVITE you to shop there and then penalise you if you infringe some vague rule imposed by someone THEY sub-contract to enforce.

Thats right, supermarkets do invite you to shop THERE. Not park there and go over the road to the shopping centre or catch the train to shop in town, leaving no spaces for genuine customers.

As for private parking in general, if people weren't so arrogant and think they could park anywhere (not referring to the OP here), even other people's property, this problem would never have arisen and clampers would never have been needed.

The people who own our staff car park have had to buy a security lock for the gate, just to ensure those of us paying for spaces can actually use them ourselves. Drivers who nip in when the gate is open then moan about being locked in and expect someone to jump to immediately to let them out. The current "lock-in" record now stands at nearly four hours. Not such a quick nip into town in the lunch hour for that driver.

Tim_L

Personally what I would do is this. Firstly bite the bullet and pay the £20. It's not really worth the hassle of arguing this out unless you feel strongly enough about the issue to test it in court - I must admit I agree that this is a sharp practice very similar to clamping and I think you could expect the company involved to follow through, adding inflated costs at each stage.

Then send off a very stiff (but polite) letter to the Asda store manager explaining how you spend thousands of pounds in his store annually and do not expect to be mugged by some overzealous and rapacious parking contractor for £20 during the extremely busy Christmas period when you were obstructing no-one and there for 15 minutes only: remind him that there are other supermarkets. Request that the £20 paid is repaid.

I would be astonished if you didn't get a refund from the store, and they might well start putting some pressure on their contractor to behave in a more sensible way.

I agree to an extent that inconsiderate parking is, well, inconsiderate and probably deserving of some sort of penalty. But unfortunately the companies running this sort of scheme (and this includes those overseeing street parking in many urban areas now) are using it to generate cash, not improve access, and the slightest technical contravention will attract a ticket (as it used to attract a clamp). They do not apply common sense and discretion, because every ticket issued makes money for them. A friend of mine was loading in a loading zone and received a ticket for being parked despite being able to show she was loading, because the person issuing the ticket knew that it would be her word against his.

vansboy

Might be worth looking at the similar (ish) problem here - & the comments made by Dwight Van Driver - he knows his stuff!!

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=37528

You could post on there & ask, too!!

VB