Car Park Barriers

TKA25

Local private car park controlled by a PPC:-

Prior to 1st January, any vehicles not displaying a valid ticket, parked outside a marked bay, not displaying a disabled badge or exceeding their allowed time was given a PCN. However, the company found that too many people ignored their £80 invoices, so they adopted a different approach.

Prior to the 1st October, any vehicles not displaying a valid ticket, parked outside a marked bay, not displaying a disabled badge or exceeding their allowed time was clamped. The release fee was £100 and could only be paid in cash.

They have now introduced a barrier system. When you drive in, your VRN is captured on ANPR and the barrier lifts. Just before the barrier is a large sign stating "by entering this car park, you agree to pay a £90 charge prior to exiting if you do any of the following" and then lists the infringements. You then park up and purchase a ticket from a new machine for the length of time you require. If you don't display your ticket, park outside a marked bay, don't display a disabled badge or exceed your allowed time, the parking attendant issues your vehicle with a PCN (invoice) for £90 payable immediately and records you're VRN on the ANPR system.

If you have been issued with a PCN, then the barrier will not raise as you attempt to leave the car park because you're VPN has been 'black listed' on their ANPR system. You can either pay the £90 PCN at the machine with cash or debit card, or you can telephone a number on the ticket and pay the charge on your debit card.

Once it is paid, you're VRN is no longer 'black listed' and the barrier will raise.

From the PPC's point of view:
> No need to register with BPA
> No need to pay DVLA for vehicle keeper details
> All invoices are paid because otherwise the vehicle can't leave

Is this legal? How does the law stand on barrier controlled car parks? An alternative option for them would be to issue a ticket from the barrier on entry, and you then insert the ticket into the barrier when you leave and pay for the time you've spent parked...except that it's 0-2 hours = free...2+ hours = £90?

Did the legislation consider this?

RENEGADE_2

Of course it is not legal - refusing to allow your car to exit the car park until you have paid £90??

The barrier may be programmed not to raise if a ticket is not inserted, this would induce people buy tickets but the £90 demand is as all others, and even their short-lived clamping policy was illegal - it was never acceptable in public car parks for non-purchase of tickets.

RENEGADE_2

Who exactly is the PPC and which is the car park in question?

taffy056

It's not legal it's blocking in, and you have no option to appeal this outrageous invoice, can you tell us where this taking place ? And who is involved with this ?

Sirdan

Have to disagree. The POFA specifically and unconditionally exempts the use of barriers from the offence of "unauthorised immobilization of a vehicle".

Therefore it seems that with adequate signage the PPC / landowner can (ab)use the barrier system in this way using the same argument that clampers used i.e. "volenti non fit injuria" which simply means " to a willing person, no injury is done".

This is clearly not what the legislators intended and is a massive loophole that needs closing quickly but as it stands it seems to me that the situation is EXACTLY as clamping was.

i.e. whether or not you agree with the charge the only way to release the car is to pay.
You would then have to sue the parking company just as clampers were sucessfully sued previously on the basis of no contract etc etc

PS For BPA members there is an issue of not allowing an appeal to the PPC or POPLA but a non BPA member has no such issues and using this method they don't exactly need the keeper details do they ?

bazster

Sooner or later someone's gonna drive up to the barrier, find they can't get out, and walk off leaving their car blocking the exit. The PPC might not think themselves so clever then.

Aretnap

Sirdan's correct, this is not an offence, or at least not one under the PoFA. Barrier controlled car parks are specifically exempt

But, where the restriction of the movement of the vehicle is by means of a fixed barrier and the barrier was present (whether or not lowered into place or otherwise restricting movement) when the vehicle was parked, any express or implied consent (whether or not legally binding) of the driver of the vehicle to the restriction is, for the purposes of subsection (1), lawful authority for the restriction.

It was, I believe, intended to allow barrier controlled pay on exit car parks to keep operating, but has been phrased in such a way as to be open to this type of abuse.

The £90 is clearly a penalty charge and as such likely unenforceable in contract law, but that does not in itself make the blocking in a criminal offence ("whether or not legally binding") and it would be down to the driver to attempt to reclaim it through the civil courts under contract or tort law.

Possibly the business model could be an aggressive commercial practice under CPUTR, which would be a criminal offence. I suspect that if the release fee was exorbitant then it might, but if it was then the same would likely have been true of clamping in general, and AFAIK no prosecutions were ever brought for it under those regulations.

[Deleted User]

TKA25 wrote: »

Is this legal?

This certainly isn't:-

don't display a disabled badge

It's a breach of the DDA.

bargepole

bazster wrote: »

Sooner or later someone's gonna drive up to the barrier, find they can't get out, and walk off leaving their car blocking the exit. The PPC might not think themselves so clever then.

Time to take out the boltcutters from the boot of my car, and replace them with my petrol-driven chainsaw, I think.

jkdd77

I reckon that:
1) the amount demanded is clearly a penalty, and therefore unenforceable and void;
2) trapping the vehicle to enforce immediate payment of an alleged past debt [the invoice slapped on the car] is an aggressive commercial practice, and therefore a criminal offence, regardless of whether the police insist 'it's a civil matter';
3) a person could sit in their car in front of the barrier, preventing anyone else from getting out either, which could lead to an 'interesting' and doubtless escalating situation;
4) under all the circumstances, if a person was able to physically lift the barrier without damage, or carefully 'tailgate' another motorist out of the car park, I would say that this is justifiable under these particular circumstances, since:
i) a penal amount demanded is wholly void;
ii) since PPCs routinely ignore CCJs; and
iii) since there is no dishonesty on the part of the motorist in escaping from a criminal aggressive commercial practice.

forgotmyname

Phone on the machine when you exit, because i have no credit and cannot dial out.
And the 20 cars behind me are now furious. Cars back up a few feet, person behind uses his ticket and 2 cars exit at speed.

Done this when my genuine ticket failed to register when the machine ate it.

Soon after someone else must have had a similar issue and just crashed through. Bits of barrier littered the carpark.