change in parking fees 29 November 2010 at 7:35PM in Parking tickets, fines & parking 5 replies 640 views

flea72

my local car park charges 50p to park all day on sunday. however when i used the car park this weekend, there was a change in the fee structure and you now have to pay £3.60 to park on a sunday

i duly paid the new fee, but having by chance read the public notices in the local newspaper last night it seems the new pricing scheme doesnt come in until 10th January. so why are the machines already set up to only accept £3.60, and all the signage details the new prices too?

i contacted the local council and they said to get the 50p rate, i should have pressed an 'offer' button, and its my fault. however, there is nowhere on the signs that mentions you need to press a button, it just says sunday rates are the same as weekdays

am i entitled to my money back, seeing as they shouldnt even be charging the new rates, until they have passed the allotted public notification times anyway? so even if i hadnt pressed the 'offer button, i should still have been charged the old sunday rate of 50p

it just seems underhand to charge 50p for parking to those who know you need to use the 'offer' button, whereas most people would just read the sign and pay the standard hourly rate. there were alot of people at the carpark this weekend who were caught off-guard by the new fees, as most people only had minimal small change on them, and didnt know how many hours they planned to stay, and pay accordingly - if we'd all known we could use the 'offer' button then im sure we would have

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torontoboy45

this seems to be the form for most councils. parking in my area is free after 6pm but there's nothing to tell the motorist at any of the parks; the info is online and the machines will still take yr money 24/7.

you're £3.10 down. pursue it if you will, but I'd be tempted to chalk it up to experience, regardless of the unfairness.

Coblcris

Try to get the local press interested.
From your post this sounds like sheer profiteering through deliberately misleading the public.

Any coverage will warn others.

Try putting a laminated sign up to tell future victims of this shameless state of affairs.

flea72

but my main gripe isnt the fact they arent advertising the 'offer' button, its the fact the price increase isnt even legal until 21 days after the notice is put in the local press, yet the Council seem to have ignored this and put the signs already, and changed the computer on the ticket machine, to only accept the new pricing structure. when the notice in the paper, says this will all come into affect on 10th January

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DaveF327

If a car park near me charged on a Sunday, I'd just park on the street where it's usually free*.

*Always check the signage and pay and display meters for hours of operation.

Coupon-mad

I'd park in the nearest private car park where it's free (you even get free bog roll).:D

But seriously I would write to the local paper about it, quoting the advert. That may just embarrass the council to respond & refund you, and it would warn others.