Is tailgating out of a car park illegal???

esmerobbo

Well they do pay his wages the same as I do and you do, they are part of GMP so not employed by the airport but stationed there.
Extra duties are always charged for, like following security vans and controlling football matches. No doubt as Manchester airport is a commercial enterprise then they will be charged for policing.

If you obtained services and never paid if a complaint was made to the police then they may decide to investigate whether an offence has been committed.

If you used the car park knowing a fee was due for doing so, and deliberately avoided paying it, then you may well have committed an offence. Regardless that you think they are ripping you off or not.

A cup of coffee in the terminal is a rip off but would you drink it and walk away without paying and expect not to receive interest from the BIB?

mikey_the_sheep

well i'm happy to goto court over it, i believe its a civil matter & there is no offence but the court can decide.
police priorities yet again wrong

4consumerrights

mikey_the_sheep wrote: »

well i'm happy to goto court over it, i believe its a civil matter & there is no offence but the court can decide.
police priorities yet again wrong

Mikey - I see that you are quite confident should this go to court - however in your case I'm afraid I do not share the same confidence.

Manchester Airport Group which own and run Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth Airports are actually wholly owned by a number of councils (apart from a minority share by an individual (probably in lieu of land) - shareholders here:

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/04330721

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/04330721/THE-MANCHESTER-AIRPORT-GROUP-PLC/group-structure#shareholders



Manchester council have the majority shareholding of 55% and like with any councils, the police are paid via council tax and other reserves collected by the councils - therefore Manchester police will be paid by the MAG in this case.


You would be far better off in this case paying the £2.80 asked plus the £20 fine and hope that no further action is taken against you.

Stroma

They could give you a Fixed Penalty Notice for this, which is either pay or defend it in the magistrates courts, that could cost you hundreds and you could (I think?) land up with a criminal record if found guilty. And believe me you would not win as your defence of I don't agree with the amount charged is not a defence at all.

esmerobbo

mikey_the_sheep wrote: »

well i'm happy to goto court over it, i believe its a civil matter & there is no offence but the court can decide.
police priorities yet again wrong

The police if a complaint is made have a duty to investigate like it or not, they can then decide what to do with it.
Given that they have already spent time on it seems to indicate they are interested.

You have twice declined their invitation to attend to explain the circumstances, you may find the next invitation will be a few officers in a van!

Have a read of the fraud act 2006 section 11. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/11

We don't know the full circumstances of how you got around the barrier, but if it was a determined act by you to circumnavigate payment, or knowingly avoided payment, and you have an arsey attitude to plod, then it may well be the magistrates who decide who is right and who is wrong! Is it worth a "criminal conviction" if you think it is take a gamble.

It is the same charge for 28p as it is for £28m, the sentence may be different, but your CRB record will show the same. Think about it is it worth it?

PS: you say your a taxi driver, don't you charge the customer any parking/dropping off fee that needs to be paid?

pustit

The barrier was not operating..So it is not a case of tailgating.
Perhaps starting a new thread might be more appropriate ?

"1) the barrier was stuck up & everyone was going through- but because i was a taxi i'm easy to trace - and of course they thought a phone call or two & i would buckle."

4consumerrights

pustit wrote: »

The barrier was not operating..So it is not a case of tailgating.
Perhaps starting a new thread might be more appropriate ?

"1) the barrier was stuck up & everyone was going through- but because i was a taxi i'm easy to trace - and of course they thought a phone call or two & i would buckle."

We only have Mikey the Sheep's word that the barrier was stuck up and not operating and he has not responded since receiving some answers he did not like.

As no-one on the forum were present we cannot assume if this was true or not. Of course he could be a little conservative with his statement as the barriers do rise when some-one pays!

Manachester Airport Group do allow a limited free time to drop off and pick up passengers and this taxi driver may have overstayed this permitted time as he was being asked for £2.80 by the police - and possibly the charge. Considering Mikey the Sheep's profession as a taxi driver (and possibly the frequent trips he does to Manchester airport) he is a fool to not pay and risk court action.

esmerobbo

Most of these car parks have a full day policy with lost tickets. Mikey the Sheep says the parking company phoned him and asked for £25 so he thought it was a rip off.
He drove out without entering his ticket, so no paid for time was entered. In my opinion the whole day tariff would be justified. He was then offered the chance by the police to pay £2.80 but refused because the "airport paid the police officers wagers"!

For whatever the reason for the barrier being stuck up, he knew the services he used needed paying for.

If a worse for wear customer left a pavement pizza in the back of his cab, would he still charge the meter fare, or add on for cleaning?

As I asked previously I bet the passenger paid extra for the parking fees, I think he is most upset at being caught!

Actually if you look at the tariffs at £25 they were doing him a favour!

Multi-storey

Up to 30 minutes £2.80
Up to 1 hour £5.00
Up to 2 hours £8.50
Up to 4 hours £16.00
Up to 24 hours and for each 24 hours thereafter (or part thereof) £36.00
Lost token minimum charge £35.00


Longstay
Up to 24 hours £28.00
Up to 2 days £45.00
Up to 3 days £55.00
Up to 4 days £65.00
Up to 5 days £75.00
Up to 6 days £85.00
Up to 7 days £95.00

pvt

The quite hilarious aspect of Mikey the Sheep's view that this is not a criminal matter is that he is a taxi driver.

If one of his passengers hopped out and walked off while he was stopped at a red light, I am guessing he would be on the phone to Old Bill pretty swiftly...

Guest101

keithdc wrote: »

Yep... would probably come under theft act 1978, s3.

Same offence as leaving a restaurant without paying or running away from a taxi without paying. Offence covers the dishonest appropriation of services.

Debatable in my opinions, it's a service which you may disagree with, thereby you dispute the charge and leave your details, the aggrieved party may then seek recompense.

Clearly in this instance they aren't leaving their details though