Hotel Recepionist advised us parking was free, then we received a ticket.

Ivory_Tinkler

carlw wrote: »

Hi

I am sure some people will say we should have checked, but why would we check and not trust the receptionist, it is her job to give true and accurate advice to the guests. If she was not 100% sure of this i would have expected her to say so or to not tell guests to park there at all. Had she not advised us, we would have parked there, checked the board and paid. It was a direct result of her information that we received the ticket.

Should the hotel pay this fine. What should i do now the hotel are adamant they will not pay? I do have written confirmation that the receptionist did advise this.

Many thanks

Carl

If the car park in question did not belong to the hotel then you can't really expect the receptionist to give accurate information. It may have been free once but recently changed and she didn't know. As you went to the car park to park your car you should, dare I say it, have checked while you were there. It wasn't her fault you got a ticket, she didn't park your car there but you did and therefore you are responsible for costs incurred. It is unfortunate that you were given duff information but I can't see how you can expect the hotel to pay your fine. Sorry if it sounds harsh.

Hopefully if it isn't a council ticket but a private ticket you can ignore it anyway;)

carlw

Ivory_Tinkler wrote: »

If the car park in question did not belong to the hotel then you can't really expect the receptionist to give accurate information.

Cant I? I seem to be alone in thinking that a hotel receptionist has a responsibility to give guests correct information. She should either give accurate infomation or say she doesnt know. The hotel must be accountable surely. The hotel has a small car park, so they know guests will have to park somewhere else, so they know one question they will almost certainly be asked is where can i park. She didnt have to say "park there, you dont have to pay today from 1.00 or at all tomorrow". She could have just said "you can park there", then we would have checked.

It is a council car park. Im really annoyed because i would always pay for a ticket, i trusted someone who i thought should know the facts, i had no reason to question the accuracy of the receptionists infomation. As its part of her job in my opinion.

4743hudsonj

carlw wrote: »

Ivory_Tinkler wrote: »

If the car park in question did not belong to the hotel then you can't really expect the receptionist to give accurate information.

Cant I? I seem to be alone in thinking that a hotel receptionist has a responsibility to give guests correct information. She should either give accurate infomation or say she doesnt know. The hotel must be accountable surely. The hotel has a small car park, so they know guests will have to park somewhere else, so they know one question they will almost certainly be asked is where can i park. She didnt have to say "park there, you dont have to pay today from 1.00 or at all tomorrow". She could have just said "you can park there", then we would have checked.

It is a council car park. Im really annoyed because i would always pay for a ticket, i trusted someone who i thought should know the facts, i had no reason to question the accuracy of the receptionists infomation. As its part of her job in my opinion.

if she told you to walk off a cliff because there was a giant bouncy castle at the bottom to save you would you do so without checking?

ok an over exaggeration but similar logic applies


she made a mistake but it wa your car, your responsibility whether or not your choices were based upon the opinion of somebody else.

as others said, sorry to sound harsh but ultimately the driver is responsible for the vehicle.

tbw

Thats all very well - but surely the Hotel staff have a responsibility towards their guests! I'd be spitting feathers if this had happened to me and I can understand how the OP feels. The hotel appears to have admitted that the Receptionist made a mistake which surely helps the OP's case? Personally I would continue to argue this one - preferably with the most senior person I could locate. If its a chain they must have an MD or similar.

Companies frequently fob you off and its not until they've had several letters of complaint from you that they take it seriously. You may not get anywhere but its worth fighting on for a bit longer.

Ivory_Tinkler

OP the receptionist may actually have been right about parking times but maybe there was a no overnight parking restriction? Sorry, but I really do not think that the hotel is accountable for your parking fine.

Have you checked with the council to find out what restriction you breached?

carlw

The receptionist got it wrong, as it was a Friday and she must have thought it was a Saturday, as the rules on a Saturday are you do not have to pay from 1.00pm onwards, and the car park is free of charge on a Sunday. I know this now as i have checked the ticket machine. The ticket is quite clear i was parked without at ticket at 8.00am on Saturday morning when the ticket inspector checked the car park.

Thanks for the poster who can see my point. i am spitting feathers as i can not see what i would change next time. I expect a receptionist to know what she is talking about, when it comes to parking. I don't feel the need to check if somebody whose job it is to give such advice tells me that a car park is free. I have several staff who do things for me at work, if i felt the need to check everything they gave me, id get nothing done, and i may as well not employ them. Unfortunately you have to trust someone's advice when its their area. Of course i would not walk off a cliff, to the person who suggested that was similar, nor would i stick my head in an oven!!! But i will make a judgement and think if they should know then i can trust them. If i were the hotel manager i would apologise and pay the fine, then give my receptionist a talking to and advise her not to give any such advise again.

tbw

carlw wrote: »

The receptionist got it wrong, as it was a Friday and she must have thought it was a Saturday, as the rules on a Saturday are you do not have to pay from 1.00pm onwards, and the car park is free of charge on a Sunday. I know this now as i have checked the ticket machine. The ticket is quite clear i was parked without at ticket at 8.00am on Saturday morning when the ticket inspector checked the car park.

Thanks for the poster who can see my point. i am spitting feathers as i can not see what i would change next time. I expect a receptionist to know what she is talking about, when it comes to parking. I don't feel the need to check if somebody whose job it is to give such advice tells me that a car park is free. I have several staff who do things for me at work, if i felt the need to check everything they gave me, id get nothing done, and i may as well not employ them. Unfortunately you have to trust someone's advice when its their area. Of course i would not walk off a cliff, to the person who suggested that was similar, nor would i stick my head in an oven!!! But i will make a judgement and think if they should know then i can trust them. If i were the hotel manager i would apologise and pay the fine, then give my receptionist a talking to and advise her not to give any such advise again.

Exactly right in my book! Argue the toss a bit further up the line - you've nothing to lose.

lalapaulie

Can I just say I know exactly how the OP feels.

Last Thursday I used "parkatmyhouse" to rent a car park space in Camden for the day, which cost me £10.00. When I arrived I even checked with the house owner that I was parked in the right place.
I returned to my car to find a ticket - turns out where I had parked does not belong to the house owner and was council land. I have written to the council and also spoken to "parkatmyhouse" who have said that they will assist me if I can't get the ticket cancelled.
So in answer to the original question, I think carlw had every right to believe the receptionist and expect the hotel to take some liability for payment of the ticket.

lalapaulie

Forgot to mention that not only have I paid £10.00 for the privilege of a space which isn't even the owners to rent, I have also landed a £120 parking ticket!

biscit

bryanb wrote: »

Never heard of pay and display private ones

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1628325