Why?

taffy056

The average ppc person working in a retail park is just doing a job, I personally know 2 people working in one, they get paid an average salary and beleive they are doing right with it. Okay its not a glamour job, but it pays the bills. The clampers on the other hand are mostly the kind of people who can't be employed elsewhere because they are a few olives short of pizza, I should imagine that they work on the doors of clubs at the weekend, and are happy bullying people.

trisontana

I have just been looking at prices for barriers and bollards. For less than £1,000 you can get a lockable "swing barrier", and individual lockable bollard's come out about £200. So nothing like the £25,000 quoted above, and I imagine there is minimum maintenance costs involved. Probably nothing more than a tin of WD40.

anewman

I've seen one or two PPC's trying to behave more like a Police officer, rather than just dishing out their unenforceable invoices. They must get a "kick" from behaving like that.

Someone said they'd do any legal job, I would say this job barely meets the definition of legal when it involves harassment and extortion - which is what you're doing as soon as you stick something on someone's screen and take their details.

Oopsadaisy

BillTrac wrote: »

It certainly wouldn't cost £100k for barriers...:eek: And it certainly wouldn't cost £25k a year to maintain them.

here's an idea...engage your brain before operating your mouth(or in this case your keyboard.

The main whinge people have about clampers is the way they go about things. We have all heard the horror stories about people doing 3-point turns, changing a flat tyre etc all being clamped.

So are you saying clamping is alright as long as it's done 'properly'???

Or are you just using these extreme scenarios as a way of decrying all clamping??

I suggest that if you ask Tesco what a set up costs to install and run...my figures will not be far off.

Having said that why should a landowner have to pay anything to keep muppets off their land...a simple sign should suffice.

trisontana

Private car-parks in Scotland seem to be able to manage without clampers. As for the likes of Tesco, most of their car-parks do not need a ticket to park, so they have no ticket machines to maintain.

In the old days (before supermarkets fell under the evil influence of the PPCs) many supermarkets used to control their own car-parks using the simple method of a barrier at the entrance and a manned cabin. As you drove out your proof of purchase was shown and you were let out. The person sitting in that cabin was employed directly by the supermarket and alternated this job with collecting shopping trolleys.

Oopsadaisy

trisontana wrote: »

Private car-parks in Scotland seem to be able to manage without clampers. As for the likes of Tesco, most of their car-parks do not need a ticket to park, so they have no ticket machines to maintain.

In the old days (before supermarkets fell under the evil influence of the PPCs) many supermarkets used to control their own car-parks using the simple method of a barrier at the entrance and a manned cabin. As you drove out your proof of purchase was shown and you were let out. The person sitting in that cabin was employed directly by the supermarket and alternated this job with collecting shopping trolleys.

In order.....clamping is outlawed in Scotland, so the private car parks have no choice - even if their life is shi7 and customers can't get a space there's nothing they can do; ie you're sitting in wherever you are with no idea of the the reality of private parking issues in Scotland [unless you do have genuine insight, in which case I apologise].

How much did the little man in the hut cost... about £25k a year by todays costs.

So I'll ask again...

what is a landowner to do to stop the muppets??

Do you approve of clamping in any way shape or form, under any circumstances??

Eg, a muppet [who knows the parking 'invoices' are unenforceable]parks in ambulance bay at hospital, what do you suggest the hospital do??

trisontana

But the man in the hut was already doing other work for the supermarket. The car-parking duties was just one of many. He would not have been earning £25k. He would have been on minimum wage.

As for private landowners. Are you talking about large supermarkets, or a small concern with a couple of spaces at the back of their shop? The latter is easily controlled by a barrier or a couple of lockable bollards, for less than a couple of thousand pounds. They would just have to bear it as another expense of their business. Just as they have to have burglar alarms and window security barriers.

As for clamping. The sceniero you mentioned above about the ambulance bay is not solved by clamping. The car will still be there, but immobilised. Still preventing the ambulance from using that bay.

Oopsadaisy

T

What someone earns and what it costs to employ them are two different things; the cost to tesco of an employee will not be far short of £25k.

So you believe it's OK for muppets to park on other people's land when specifically asked not to??

Ambulance - you are indeed factually correct, in that the car is still there; but you are ignoring the deterrent effect of clamping, particularly since once clamped, twice shy. OOOH maybe you're saying that towing away is the best solution??

Or alternatively what do you suggest??

trisontana

Oopsadaisy wrote: »

T



So you believe it's OK for muppets to park on other people's land when specifically asked not to??

As has been stated on here by me and other posters, use barriers and bollards. It's that simple.

To quote Coupon-mad:-

The Supermarket question is easy, just impose a minimum spend and they'd make more money. Any Store Manager should realise that people who have parked there for the station are a 'captive audience' in terms of being potentially 'captive customers' EVERY DAY if you insist they have to shop there.

A supermarket near here has a min spend policy, there are unmanned (but very robust) barriers at the exit of the car park and if you've arrived by car you can only get out if you've had your entry ticket verified at the Supermarket till. Not rocket science is it?

And bollards or a gate/fence ARE the simple answer elsewhere. Ask landowners in Scotland who are coping very well without brainless tattooed clamping knuckle-draggers carrying out their protection racket on their land any more.

ripped_off_driver

Which PPC do you work for, oopsadaisy? The "what is a landowner supposed to do?" argument is a very tired and familiar one. When you are told of all the alternative methods that do not involve extortion or mail scams you appear not to hear. The mail scams or blackmail attempts have nothing to do with regulation of parking and anyone who believes that they they do is very naive.