Parking Eye charge notice - blue badge holder

lyndseybruce

Hi. I was wondering if anyone knows whether having a disabled blue badge displayed is grounds for appeal against a parking charge notice?

I have just received one in the post from Parking Eye for parking more than the 3 hours allowed on their signs in Foster Square Retail Park in Bradford.

My friend had just finished her chemotherapy and radiotherapy for breast cancer and I thought it would be nice to take her out shopping for the afternoon. There are signs in the car park, but I didn't even notice them. Anyway, we spent a lot of time shopping there (just over 4 hours). I was parked in a disabled bay and was displaying my blue badge.

I have receipts from at least 5 stores we visited that afternoon. And we only visited half of the stores there! I can't beleive that these retailers don't want people to stay more than 3 hours!!

Anyway, I know it says on here to ignore these notices, but I get very nervous when I get letters like this and my blood pressure is already too high, so I don't want the stress of it all.

But I just wondered if it was their policy to charge disabled badge holders? If it is then I will just pay it, but if not, I may try the appeal process.

Any advice would be gratefully received! Thank you!

peter_the_piper

There is only one piece of advice to give and that is to ignore them. Don't contact, reply, acknowledge them in any way as it confuses them. There are (generally) no rules in England regarding the use of disabled bays only that shops must provide them. You have broken no law only a made up offence by a private parking company.

Orford

lyndseybruce wrote: »

Anyway, I know it says on here to ignore these notices, but I get very nervous when I get letters like this and my blood pressure is already too high, so I don't want the stress of it all.

All Parking Eye ever do is send letters with lots of empty threats, they never go to court. Nothing further will happen, I've had 2 tickets from PE and ignored everything.

But I just wondered if it was their policy to charge disabled badge holders?
Their policy is to charge anybody and everybody they can for whatever infringement of their petty rules. Their business is not to control parking but to make as much money out of the gullible public as they possibly can

If it is then I will just pay it, but if not, I may try the appeal process.

Please don't pay (waste of money) or appeal (waste of time)

AlexisV

Hi. I was wondering if anyone knows whether having a disabled blue badge displayed is grounds for appeal against a parking charge notice?

The charge is unenforceable, so there is no 'grounds for appeal'.

Simply ignore them and their threatening letters. Parking Eye are well known and easy to ignore.

taffy056

What damned right do parking cry have of limiting you shopping at a retail or anywhere ? The answer is no right at all, they are just a bunch of scumbags trying to fleece you out of cash, don't fall for the generic scam they and others operate.

They don't even know who was driving, and you have no legal reason to inform them who parked there , so just ignore them and don't let yourself stress over something akin to a Nigerian 419 scam.

McKneff

Hello there, please have a read of this. I have copied and posted it from elsewhere
PRIVATE PARKING TICKETS - DON'T PAY!
IT IS NOT A FINE! YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING ILLEGAL!

This is an information page for the thousands of people who receive "tickets" from private companies in the UK ever day at supermarkets, retail parks, and in any other privately-owned carpark.

We are NOT encouraging anybody to openly flout parking restrictions on private land, or to refuse to pay reasonable charges for parking. Landowners have a right to make reasonable charges for the use of their land.

For advice specific to your case, you should visit the forums at http://forums.pepipoo.com or http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...affic-offences.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...play.php?f=163

1. What you should know about these companies

It is important to remember that private parking companies (or PPCs as they are often called) have NO OFFICIAL POWERS - that's right, none at all! They give out their "tickets" on the basis that you have seen the signs in their car park and that you have therefore agreed to a contract obliging you to pay a certain sum of money.


2. What happens to people who don't pay?

In 99.9% of cases, absolutely NOTHING! The company pays the DVLA £2.50 to get your address, and then sends lots of threatening letters. In the main, these letters can be safely IGNORED. The only way the company can actually force you to pay is by taking you to the small claims court, which costs them even more money. And they are by no means guaranteed to win! And they practically never do.

The two main reasons for this (among others) are the following:

- Only the person DRIVING the car could ever have agreed to any such parking contract. The company can only get the Registered Keeper's address from the DVLA: you don't have to tell them who was driving.

-Many of these charges are so extortionately high that they constitute a penalty, which is unenforceable in a consumer contract.


3. Can they affect my credit rating?

NO! The only way your credit rating could be affected by ignoring private parking companies is if you were taken to court, lost, and then still refused to pay. But they will not take you to court.


IN SHORT

The vast majority of the time, you can safely IGNORE tickets from private parking companies, they are not official fines.

The vast majority of the time, you can safely IGNORE the threatening letters, including those from debt collection agencies.

You DO NOT have to pay a penny of your hard-earned money to these companies. Remember that the chances of being taken to court are very slim indeed.

DO NOT IGNORE COURT PAPERS!
If you receive real court papers from a private parking company (very rare) then you should go to http://forums.pepipoo.com or http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...affic-offences for help defending the claim. Do not be afraid to sign up and ask questions regarding any paperwork you are not sure about.



Don’t believe the above? Watch a solicitor on Watchdog advising you what to do with the scam invoices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAIcdi9niHA

THEY ARE NOT FINES

Only the Police, Courts or Council’s can fine you. NOT a private company, please remember that.

Kite2010

Ignore parking spy but do send a lovely letter to the local media outlet & the management of the retail centre at your disgust of a cancer patient getting a parking invoice for staying longer than the 3 hours and that you shall no longer be shopping there again.

Coupon-mad

Agreed, ignore Parking Spy completely but COMPLAIN to the retail Store manager(s) in writing, about them allowing their agents to harass disabled people which is in breach of the Equality Act (previously the DDA). Attach a printout of this article to the complaint and see what the retailers' response is:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8488737.stm

QUOTE
The UK's big supermarkets are breaking disability laws by having strict time limits in about two-thirds of their car parks, charities have told the BBC.
Private firms run some of the parking areas for Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons and customers face penalty charges for overstaying.
But under the Disability Discrimination Act, businesses need to make extra allowances for disabled people.
The supermarkets say they will review their policies on disabled parking.
QUOTE

Seeing as that article was from over a year ago, demand to know from the retail management WHY they are allowing their disabled customers to be harassed in this illegal way and why they are not making the 'reasonable adjustment' of extra time for disabled people that the Equality Act requires?!

lyndseybruce, are you serious when you say 'if it's their policy to charge disabled badge holders then I will pay it?' Sorry - but you surely cannot be so easily hoodwinked by pseudo authority that you would pay if it's their 'policy'? And you really believe there's an 'appeals process' because they pretend there is?

I do hope not after reading all the links we have given you! They are breaking the Law, COMPLAIN!

Fergie76

Coupon-mad wrote: »

QUOTE
The UK's big supermarkets are breaking disability laws by having strict time limits in about two-thirds of their car parks, charities have told the BBC.

I bet one of those charities wasn't Mobilise! :rotfl:

lyndseybruce

Hi. I would just like to thank you all for taking the time to help me with this! :-)

I feel much more confident now about it and you will all be pleased to know that I am not going to pay them. I am also writing to Foster Square to tell them what I think of it! The 2 of us must have spent the best part of £300 there that day and it's not right that genuine shoppers could be hit with a parking ticket for the pleasure of spending all that money with them!

Once again thanks for all of your advice and help!

Coupon-mad

lyndseybruce wrote: »

Hi. I would just like to thank you all for taking the time to help me with this! :-)

I feel much more confident now about it and you will all be pleased to know that I am not going to pay them. I am also writing to Foster Square to tell them what I think of it! The 2 of us must have spent the best part of £300 there that day and it's not right that genuine shoppers could be hit with a parking ticket for the pleasure of spending all that money with them!

Once again thanks for all of your advice and help!

Good! :T

Make sure you tell them they are breaking the Equality Act and enclose a copy of that link I provided to the BBC news article. They have no excuse for harassing you and could be facing a large REAL fine if you decided to take it further...ensure they know that.