Motorway Service areas

trisontana

edgex wrote: »

so they are allowed to 'charge'

therefore they should display the charging tariff, & allow users to pay the charge for the period of time they wish to park.
just like a car park

I did query that point with the guy who runs the above motorway services website. He said that that you can pay, but you have to do it via a mobile phone and you have to pay an extra couple of pounds when you use a credit card. I must say I have never seen this "facility" on any service area I've been to lately.

BonandDom

Did anyone else see this in the news?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1184594/DAVID-JONES-An-80-fine-just-sleeping-car-So-THATs-CCTV-cameras-really-.html

peter_the_piper

And did you see the gem in the comments section?

""The fines are a civil debt, enforceable and the company is entitled to recover any monies through civil proceedings. You are deemed to enter a contract with them bu going on their land. Furthermore they are providing a 'service'. If you go on the property (land) knowing or being reasonably expected to know payment is required and you deliberately flout your responsibility in this by refusing to pay at the time then you commit the criminal offence of 'making off without payment', a theft offence and can be arrested as such. Having said that the carpark must be well signed with the tarif, terms and conditions.""

trisontana

I wonder if that was Perky, or one of his associates, writing that?

computershack

edgex wrote: »

so they are allowed to 'charge'

therefore they should display the charging tariff, & allow users to pay the charge for the period of time they wish to park.
just like a car park

They do. It is clearly stated on the signs that you have up to 2hrs and after that, a charge is levied. You can usually pay for parkingt at the restaurant till or round near the HGV park there's usually a man pottering about or sat in a little hut.

Sorry, but the signs stating they charge after 2hrs and what the fee is are clearly displayed. The only reason you don't think they are is because of your own lack of observation.

trisontana

computershack wrote: »

They do. It is clearly stated on the signs that you have up to 2hrs and after that, a charge is levied. You can usually pay for parkingt at the restaurant till or round near the HGV park there's usually a man pottering about or sat in a little hut.

Sorry, but the signs stating they charge after 2hrs and what the fee is are clearly displayed. The only reason you don't think they are is because of your own lack of observation.

I stand corrected, but it still doesn't excuse the fact that these parking companies are demanding illegal penalty fees that bear no relationship to the actual loss they suffer if you do not pay for that extra parking.

peter_the_piper

If they really want people to pay for the time over 2 hours, why not do it as some councils do by having a pay and display machine available instead of making it so unclear?

edgex

computershack wrote: »

They do. It is clearly stated on the signs that you have up to 2hrs and after that, a charge is levied. You can usually pay for parkingt at the restaurant till or round near the HGV park there's usually a man pottering about or sat in a little hut.

Sorry, but the signs stating they charge after 2hrs and what the fee is are clearly displayed. The only reason you don't think they are is because of your own lack of observation.

er, i didnt say anything like that at all


so, you can go to a motorway services, know that youll be staying for 3 hours, & buy a parking ticket for the extra hour, when you arrive?
& they have a clearly displayed set of signs setting out their parking tariff, ie. the amount per hour you would have to pay?
& the charges will be what anyone would consider reasonable, something like the average of the parking charges charged by the council within the area?

Coblcris

It would depend on who made the offer of parking and whether or not the Private Parking Company had landowner or agency rights. Very often they do not.

computershack

edgex wrote: »

so, you can go to a motorway services, know that youll be staying for 3 hours, & buy a parking ticket for the extra hour, when you arrive?

Correct although it is a flat fee, not an hourly charge, that allows you to stay up to 24hrs.

& they have a clearly displayed set of signs setting out their parking tariff, ie. the amount per hour you would have to pay?

Yes.

& the charges will be what anyone would consider reasonable, something like the average of the parking charges charged by the council within the area?

The parking charges are what they have chosen them to be but yes, comparable to 24hrs parking at most places. If you park over 2hrs, you are charged for a period up to 24hrs. For HGVs this is around £18 which is similar to truckstops.

You'll find all the information clearly posted on the signs you appear not to have seen despite them being all over the place at a MSA and also having a flipping great one at least 4x2ft on the way from the carpark to the entrance of the building.