Warning about Morrisons car park rip off and restricted length shopping time

Equaliser123

ska_lover wrote: »

op the council here charge you if you are too long in a pay and display car park. I got a £30 ticket once for being 20 min late back to car

Council imposed fines and 'penalty charges' on private property are totally different.

custardy

DCFC79 wrote: »

How can anyone spend that long in a supermarket, jeez when ever i go in morrisons i just want to get what i want and be out asap, the store seems squashed in compared to sainsburys or tesco. Then theres the cafe, not been there for years as whats the point when i can get a drink at home for free or eat food ive bought.

same for me
though i suppose some could argue that a store that has a cafe as part of their business should welcome people staying longer
though the idea of spending longer than i need to in a supermarket is not for me

DCFC79

custardy wrote: »

same for me
though i suppose some could argue that a store that has a cafe as part of their business should welcome people staying longer
though the idea of spending longer than i need to in a supermarket is not for me

true, i think the tesco and sainsbury's have a maximum of 3 hours which is more than enough for shopping and going to the cafe

Driver8

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/forum/parking-traffic-offences.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.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/forum/parking-traffic-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.

DCFC79

THe OP isnt paying anyway driver8 as he stated on his other thread

biggaz26

ikati5 wrote: »

What were you doing in Morrisons for 2 hours and 15 minutes!!!

You have clearly never been shopping with my Mrs...

Mind you we dont have a morrisons near us and Tescos give us 4 hours and if she knew that she probably keep me there that long.

G

ska_lover

biggaz26 wrote: »

You have clearly never been shopping with my Mrs...

Mind you we dont have a morrisons near us and Tescos give us 4 hours and if she knew that she probably keep me there that long.

G

Sounds like your missus is the same as me - I can easy pass 2 hours in Morrisons no problem at all

hcb42

I've not spent 2hrs 15 minutes in a Morrisons all year.

Not all supermarkets have these time restrictions, it obviously depends how near city centre or office block they are, but if they do have a restriction, then the best advice is to not chat and block up the aisle, and not spend 15 minutes going back around the shelves cross checking pricing, and avoid the greasy spoon cafe bit at the end (and the lottery ticket queue), and you should be fine