Private Parking Industry Hits back blog discussion

Coblcris

"unfair' charges ? What about the unlawful enforceable charges issued with no legal right and pursued with papers that break multiple statutes and regulations ?
'Unfair' does not describe it and is irrelevant.

We have no evidence at all on the forum of ANY Private Parking company following the BPA Code.
We have numerous examples of multiple broken regulations and statutes. From, but not limited to, business and e-trading regulations through various Consumer statutes through to outright Fraud.

These are the de facto methods that span this industry.

It is an overwhelming preponderance of evidence. A brief search will reveal other sites that also carry an overwhelming preponderance of the same evidence often including copies of the papers used by these companies.

The standard methods of the industry are undeniable inexcusable and indefensible.

mouse12mat

Are clamping companies really allowed to clamp your private car? Is this not classed as tresspass, and criminal tresspass at that?

cit27

Members of the BPA are bound by their Code of Conduct:

Members of the British Parking Association (BPA) will undertake to:

1. Conduct their business lawfully and comply with all relevant legislation.
2. Manage their affairs professionally so that their operations are conducted efficiently and effectively and in accordance with good business practice including:

• Trading fairly and responsibly and only employing contractors that are competent to the task in hand.
• Undertaking their activities honestly and with integrity and not knowingly misrepresenting themselves or misleading others.
• Ensuring that they operate to the highest possible standards thereby protecting the interests of their shareholders and customers.

To contravene these is actually unlawful under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 Section 5 Part 3 (b) (i):

Misleading Actions:

(3) A commercial practice satisfies the conditions of this paragraph if—
(b)it concerns any failure by a trader to comply with a commitment contained in a code of conduct which the trader has undertaken to comply with, if—
(i)the trader indicates in a commercial practice that he is bound by that code of conduct, and
(ii)the commitment is firm and capable of being verified and is not aspirational,
and it causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise, taking account of its factual context and of all its features and circumstances.

I have yet to come across a set of paperwork from a BPA member, which does not breach these laws.

The BPA is a organisation whose only contact with the public is for the purpose of propaganda.

Paul_Herring

mouse12mat wrote: »

Are clamping companies really allowed to clamp your private car? Is this not classed as tresspass, and criminal tresspass at that?

It usually happens when your car is on someone else's private property, and the premise is that you're the one trespassing.

Of course whether the signage warning you of what might happen at said private property is adequate/even in existence or whether the 'fines' are proportionate is another matter.

thelawnet

Paul_Herring wrote: »

It usually happens when your car is on someone else's private property, and the premise is that you're the one trespassing.

Of course whether the signage warning you of what might happen at said private property is adequate/even in existence or whether the 'fines' are proportionate is another matter.

The 'fines' have to be high, otherwise they will fail to deter people.

Paul_Herring

thelawnet wrote: »

The 'fines' have to be high, otherwise they will fail to deter people.

Silly me.

There I was thinking they have to be disproportionate to earn a high profit for the companies concerned :rolleyes:

Coblcris

cit27 wrote: »

Members of the BPA are bound by their Code of Conduct:

Members of the British Parking Association (BPA) will undertake to:

1. Conduct their business lawfully and comply with all relevant legislation.
2. Manage their affairs professionally so that their operations are conducted efficiently and effectively and in accordance with good business practice including:

• Trading fairly and responsibly and only employing contractors that are competent to the task in hand.
• Undertaking their activities honestly and with integrity and not knowingly misrepresenting themselves or misleading others.
• Ensuring that they operate to the highest possible standards thereby protecting the interests of their shareholders and customers.

To contravene these is actually unlawful under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 Section 5 Part 3 (b) (i):



I have yet to come across a set of paperwork from a BPA member, which does not breach these laws.

The BPA is a organisation whose only contact with the public is for the purpose of propaganda.

A full analysis of those regulations will reveal multiple violations committed by a multitude of Private Parking Companies. I point out to readers that there are de facto criminal offences involved in those regulations.

dfh

At last,people are going to fight unfair parking charges.Good.

Coblcris

People have been fighting these for some time. the problem is that the authorities refuse to move.

Perhaps everyone who fights should also write to their MP and MEP and demand action to ensure your vote and to prevent not voting tactically against them.

nothingwitty

While I accept that people parking unreasonably MAY deserve some form of punishment, charging people hundreds of pounds to release something which they actually own is wrong. I do not drive and therefore have no vested interest in this matter. However, over the past few months i have seen the clamping company responsible for the estate in which I live...

1) Clamping cars at 00:15 am, waking everyone in the area up. This was clearly an attempt to target people when they least expect it and was not in the interests of the neighbours.
2) Clamping a woman visiting next door who was delivering shopping as a charitable act to a disabled neighbour (I actually saw her arrive, take out the bags and go upstairs. She was no more than 5 minutes). I tried to explain to the clampers that I had seen her deliver the goods but was told it did not concern me.
3) Physically block a driver who tried to leave - they parked in front and behind his car - are they allowed to do this?

There are no public parking bays in my estate so I recently had to ask a disabled person visiting me to take a chance and park outside my front door. they would have been fined had the clampers been around. Therefore, people sometimes have NO OPTION but to park outside of the allocated bays.

Personally, I would like to see a set fine of say £60, of which £20 is invested back into the local community in the form of gardening, inproved security etc and £40 to the clamping company, as I am not opposed to what they do, merely the means by which they do it and the extortionate rates they charge those who break the rules. Clamping is clearly NOT a preventative measure as it currently stands - it is a profit making exercise. Until the motivation behind hiring clamping companies is actually clarified, this nightmare will continue for many innocent drivers who make a simple mistake!