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Blitz on Disabled Parking Cheats by Supermarkets

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Comments

  • sarahg1969
    sarahg1969 Posts: 6,694 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You've misunderstood the thread, supermarkets are private land, they don't .. .. at the moment have a national agreement to enforce BB rules.

    Or any authority to impose BB rules.
  • Brassedoff
    Brassedoff Posts: 1,217 Forumite
    Morledge142; Sorry, but like Richie-from-the-boro. I would report you. I am sorry you are having to wait for your appeal, but there is a reason why you and others applications take longer. As for using the spaces, but not wanting to claim due to pride. I cannot square that circle. You can do one, but not the other? Thanks for your honesty again.

    Richie, your post yesterday with the new information about the BB's was great. It cannot come too soon for me. Last week I tried to park in a certain spot that would allow me to go to Starbucks, have a coffee and meet some friend who I knew were out shopping. I could not get there as all the spaces were filled.

    One thing that in my mind might sticks out that the badge is not the owner of the cars is the pack. I might be wrong, but you see the little folders, or them stuck to the visor with elastic bands. The clock and the badge together. The amount of times I see a badge minus the clock is unreal. I know the clocks are easy to get hold of. The other month I asked on here, someone pointed me back to the County Council, a replacement was in the post inside four days.

    Back to enforcement. A lot of supermarket car parks in small towns have been adopted by the council, ours is. Following this thread, I phoned the LA and have a number of the parking enforcement team. they work mon-sat 7am-11pm and I have been told to report any car in a BB space not displaying one. That attitude is refreshing from a LA and I say well done to Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council who recognise the problem and are willing to deal with it.
  • Brassedoff
    Brassedoff Posts: 1,217 Forumite
    I'm not interested why you are currently exempt a photograph, unless you are classed as terminal, or perhaps you live in a very ' countryfied ' area where it's done via email, but its not because you don't get DLA, I've no idea why. The proposal to have the BB showing a vehicle registration number is one I subscribe to, in fact essential to weed out the fiddlers. Most of the BB holders are DLA recipients, and have a fixed motability or otherwise vehicle, but not all. Some, a minority of BB holders do not own no fixed vehicle, and the law already exists under the three strike rule ' to weed the offenders out and revoke & fine the BB holder. If you have two vehicles maybe after September[ish] you will need two badges - the spare one for your motorised caravan. There is no reason why one disabled ' mobility ' person should not have more than one vehicle, many of the non-BB general community do .. .. that's the raison d'être behind the legislation. Their straight cucumbers rule was a stupid rule, this BB freedom of movement rule was a gud~n !

    I do believe a photo on the badge removes the chances of fraud. After all, I could not pass myself off as my grand father if it did have his or my photo on the badge, so unless there are exceptional circumstance, they should have photos on.

    As for car registrations. I support that proposal too, providing you can have a second for another car you use in the same household. They only issue with that is for instance as we all know. DLA is not an out of work benefit and neither is the BB. I have had to go to meetings in London where I cannot drive that far. I have gone in a colleagues car and we used my badge to enable us to park closer to the meeting, or in one case right outside the office. Restricting the badges to a Reg number will remove that ability, thus, the only option left is to have a big photo.
  • jetta_wales
    jetta_wales Posts: 2,168 Forumite
    I would be happy to have the photo shown (more so now I've come to terms with the cane and care less about 'looking' disabled. It would also prevent people's assumptions that because I am young I am clearly just fraudulently using the badge of an older family member (I don't use my cane if I haven't far to go I just hold my OH's hand like other couples do).

    As for the registration number, that would not go down well with many who have to rely on just whoever is available to take them somewhere not on the same one or two people all the time.
    "Life is what you make of it, whoever got anywhere without some passion and ambition?
  • moose1982
    moose1982 Posts: 258 Forumite
    I think that more parking wardens should be looking at BB's, I've never had mine checked, yet could easily pass my spare crutches to a friend I guess.

    I only got mine after going into hospital in 2009 and they were slightly suprised I didn't have one because I really struggle with walking. They got a social worker to see me and ask why I didn't have one, she wasn't impressed when I told her that on enquiring with my local council (West Sussex), I was told that at 26, I was 'too young'. She phoned on my behalf and an application form was sitting on the doormat so she must've said something. Of course I later found out that you can have one from the age of 3. I was going to struggle getting a photo for it and so I called them up and was told that a photo taken indoors and printed out on paper would be fine as long as it was fairly close to a passport, ie blank background, no smiles etc etc. The actual form was only a tick box from my doctor to say that I will never recover as I have a chronic disability and I should have one for life. My council agreed and issued me one.

    My point is that if you try and apply for one, they aren't hard to get if you qualify and they shouldn't take ages to get either. The worst you can get is 'no'.
  • lyniced
    lyniced Posts: 1,880 Forumite
    I often find there are no disabled spaces because of selfish individuals, who are 'just popping into the shop' can't be bothered to walk a few extra steps! How would they like my disability?????? Maybe this new scheme will make people think of others more?
    Me transmitte sursum, caledoni
  • This thread has exposed the difficulties and immense complexity of administering BB regulation in general and supermarkets [ private land ] in particular. Accepting the anomalies between the many different groups wishing to use BB benefits in general and wide parking places in particular, its going to come down to costs in the end. Its an inarguable truth that either the general taxpayer or the private sector is going to have to pick up the tab for the September round of improvements to fraud regulation.

    As a lifetime taxpayer and a defender of the disabled my preference would be for a full on, immediate, nationally administered scheme administering the law and the bye-laws to the same national standard regardless of where you are geographically and where you think you should be as a user group. Additionally nothing less than full fines and prosecution in the courts, full badge suspension / revocation, will stop people misusing the BB. I see no reason whatsoever why this needs to be underwritten by the taxpayer, and existing and successful working model exists in the private sector.

    Give it to greedy nasty immoral clampers and we will see action in months instead of decades - offended by the phrase "" greedy nasty immoral "" are we ? - we shouldn't be - that's just the description for those who currently misuse their BB or the non BB holder who misuse BB spaces / facilities !.

    Personally I'd like legislation to set up a registered charity of nasty clampers using the BBFI model, with a large % of what will be big early years profits going to the benefit of the BB scheme.

    A caveat - any system must be nationwide, any private company who wants to cherry pick big cites [ like BBFI ] and ignore the sticks should not be awarded a national contract. Local authorities for example all over the nation could sub as they are already doing to a chosen preferred contractor providing full national cover & standards. If national government doesn't grasp the nettle now and standardise it nationally we will within a few short years have the same fragmented duck-shoot we have now with council appointed clampers.

    moose1982, yes the PPD in all LA's should have been checking badges, the Hackney Office Police in every LA should be doing so along with every traffic warden and policeman, and should have been doing so from day one.
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
  • bifold
    bifold Posts: 195 Forumite
    I'm not interested why you are currently exempt a photograph, unless you are classed as terminal, or perhaps you live in a very ' countryfied ' area where it's done via email, but its not because you don't get DLA, I've no idea why. The proposal to have the BB showing a vehicle registration number is one I subscribe to, in fact essential to weed out the fiddlers. Most of the BB holders are DLA recipients, and have a fixed motability or otherwise vehicle, but not all. Some, a minority of BB holders do not own no fixed vehicle, and the law already exists under the three strike rule ' to weed the offenders out and revoke & fine the BB holder. If you have two vehicles maybe after September[ish] you will need two badges - the spare one for your motorised caravan. There is no reason why one disabled ' mobility ' person should not have more than one vehicle, many of the non-BB general community do .. .. that's the raison d'être behind the legislation. Their straight cucumbers rule was a stupid rule, this BB freedom of movement rule was a gud~n !

    I am undergoing chemo and weekly blood transfusions,Its a hair thing:oshould the photo be pre-treatment with own hair,bald or with wig?
    I have applied for DLA( two months ago)Having a badge per vehicle is silly open to far more abuse,I use my automatic mercedes driving to a London hospital(stop/start crawling traffic) If I am unwell not fit to drive,my wife takes me in her car,And on the odd day I can work I use my van to park outside the job.
  • bifold wrote: »
    I am undergoing chemo and weekly blood transfusions,Its a hair thing:oshould the photo be pre-treatment with own hair,bald or with wig?
    I have applied for DLA( two months ago)Having a badge per vehicle is silly open to far more abuse,I use my automatic mercedes driving to a London hospital(stop/start crawling traffic) If I am unwell not fit to drive,my wife takes me in her car,And on the odd day I can work I use my van to park outside the job.

    I agree with you bifold, I think a ' face fits ' rule is the easiest. It wouldn't matter if there were 6 BB holders in a household and 6 different cars in the same household. If the face on the badge is in the vehicle concerned .. .. sorted.

    That's the beauty in the design of the new system, if the registered owner of the badge is in the vehicle your ok, if not ' take the pill ' and pay the [ fine ] bill, get caught 3 times and the registered BB holder loses his / her badge.

    Much more transferable / cross department / instantly available information is held, the photo is just one very important cost saving element as it would be instant proof in 99% of the cases, hence no need to spend time and money on checking processes, if the face fits its ok.

    Own hair,bald or with wig is an interesting one, at a guess that profile would fit most skinheads / short haired / baldy individuals of any age or gender. :)

    NB. three year renewable, not sure about the whole business of little kids photo's.
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
  • bifold
    bifold Posts: 195 Forumite
    thinking about it I not to sure I want my photo on the front of the BB,I dont want my car to be targeted because of the colour of my skin.:(
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