MSE news: The £95 parking ticket for taking too long to spend

AndyInYorks

I would suggest anyone who gets a "fine" in such stupid circumstances reports it here. Maybe Martin could keep an up to date list of which retailers have this level of contempt for their customers, so we'd know where to avoid.

I once got one of these "fines". I had been to B&Q in the morning to get some paint etc to decorate a friend's flat. That afternoon I had to go back, to buy another pot of paint. A week later I got a letter saying I'd been parked there between 9:05 (the time I entered for the first visit) and 16:38 (the time I left after my second visit).

I wrote a letter explaining, inviting them to take me to court and saying that the person who's flat I was decorating was willing to give evidence that my car was parked outside his flat for most of the day.

I never heard another word from them, but perhaps I should "fine" them for wasting half an hour of my time composing a letter? After all it would be just as enforceable as their fines!

I also wrote a separate letter to B&Q, who replied with the usual "nothing to do with us..." line. So I'm boycotting B&Q and now Homebase. Hope I don't need any more paint any time soon!

The best system for retailers to adopt is the one where you get a ticket at the till, and use it to exit the car park. But I guess that's not as profitable as sticking up a camera and charging £30 a time.

HappyIdiotTalk

roddydogs wrote: »

He spent 2 Hrs 22Mins to buy a table and chairs

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yeh pull the other one!

I dont see why not - Homebase isn't just tables and chairs is it. I'd have a problem if he spent the entire day in there, but 2 and a half hours is completely reasonable.

the_dreaded_lurgy

I got a £95 ticket off G24 as well for using my local swimming pool in Norwich; I was 24 minutes over the allowed time. Wrote to the swimming pool but they were not at all interested.

So a big thanks there to leisure connection and Norwich City Council for helping to make public amenities less accessible!

sarahg1969

the_dreaded_lurgy wrote: »

I got a £95 ticket off G24 as well for using my local swimming pool in Norwich; I was 24 minutes over the allowed time. Wrote to the swimming pool but they were not at all interested.

So a big thanks there to leisure connection and Norwich City Council for helping to make public amenities less accessible!

How have they? You simply have an unenforceable ticket that you don't need to pay. nothing to worry about.

bhebbes

The answer to parking is: Be Prepared!

In a bag in your vehicle keep:

• disposable overalls from Poundland
• one or two tools
• an official-looking piece of paper
• a postcard saying "working inside"

2 or 3 'borrowed' traffic cones also help

NB. The advice to get away with speeding by using a police car is withdrawn.
But the best way to be reassuring with a machine-gun in a crowded departure lounge remains a black uniform.

roddydogs

HappyIdiotTalk wrote: »

I dont see why not - Homebase isn't just tables and chairs is it. I'd have a problem if he spent the entire day in there, but 2 and a half hours is completely reasonable.

He used the parking to go shopping elsewhere thats obvious, why shuld any business provide free parking if you not shopping in that store.....would you if you owned a business?

truCido

I also received one of these tickets and simply ignored it and the following 3 threatening letters, threatening court action etc and the letters from there "debt recovery" company. And funnily enough nothing ever arose from it.

The problem is that its easy enough to say to people to ignore it but for some people it is actually quite intimidating and even I was rather scared that more action was going to be taken however I stuck with it and came out on top.

I can see how these companies make there money, my mother or nan would have paid the fine instantly because they would have been scared. They need to be stopped.

superfred

At our local Savacentre there is a display board showing the index mark of the vehicles as they enter the car park and stating when you have to leave the car park. I normally get round this by driving close to the car in front so that the camera cannot get a good view of the number plate on my car. Even if I am only going to be in the store for a few minutes I feel that I am striking a blow against the parking fascists.

mickym

during the bad snow earlier in the year, my father and mother in law visited a Hobbycraft shop. Due to the bad conditions in the car park, and that the mother in law had recently had a operation, they tried to park in a space as close as they could to the shop.

When they came out they had a ticket. Baffled to know why, they then realised they had parked in a disabled bay, but as the car park was covered in snow they couldnt see the signage on the floor.

They would never do that normally, as they would never take up a disabled spot.

However the ticketer seemed uninterested, and shop staff seemed powerless to do anything.

They spent a fortune in the shop too!

MoneySaverNeil

I had the same situation with G24 in Aldi carpark, Macclesfield. On this occasion I'd apparantly stayed 92 minutes in a 90 minute zone. This ignored the fact I'd waited several minutes for a space to come free when I first entered the carpark, and had actually been parked less than 90 minutes.

I exchanged letters with G24 and with Aldi. Eventually I had a call from a german, ?Mr Aldi, who refused to intervene saying it was G24 responsibility.

Since it was Aldi's carpark, or Homebase, or whichever other retailers use G24, then the retailer must be held responsible.

I eventually paid, rather than face further aggravation, but have taken every opportunity to warn anyone using Aldi, to use another supermarket instead. I would never spend a single penny with Aldi again, and urge others to take the same attitude. This incident happened 6 months ago, and I would have spent £'00s with Aldi, which has instead been spent with their competitors.

From this story of Homebase, it seems that anyone reading this thread should take the same attitude with them. In fact, any retailer using G24 or similar company should be boycotted by potential customers.