Parking Eye...PCN...a possible solution with a happy ending.

TheGentleman

Hi,

I'll keep this brief. One way to avoid the hassle of this odious company's antics is to do what I did. I received a PCN this Monday relating to an overstay of 10 minutes in a 30 minute free car park at the rear of a branch of Maplins. I was browsing for a new Wi-Fi router which naturally took some time and resulted in me leaving without a purchase. The signage relating to PE was not obvious to me on entry and I had parked there many times before without any problems. I checked out all the info here and on the Citizen's Advice website and decided to photograph the signs and then take the following course of action.

I went to the store during a quiet period and asked to speak to the store manager. I introduced myself, shaking his hand and was polite and calm throughout. I explained from the start that my beef was not with him or even Maplins necessarily, but PE and his landlord. I described the events as they happened, explained that I thought it was poor customer relations and would probably result in me going elsewhere. He explained his side of things and I agreed with him that the abuse of the limited spaces available was unacceptable, but 30 minutes was too short a time for browsing, seeking advice and making a purchase, especially for technical equipment .

He told me that the system had been in place since March of this year but agreed that the signs could be more prominently displayed at driver eye level and not on a pole 10ft in the air or the same height up a wall as they were at the entrance. He then informed me that the staff can act to avoid parking charges if approached on the day. I told him that, on the day, a member of staff had asked me if I was parked in their car park, as it was time sensitive, however, I replied to them that I was just leaving and did so, not aware that I had "overstayed".

The store manager then asked me if I had the PCN with me, which I did. He took it from me and returned some 3 minutes later with a copy of his Charge Cancellation document. He had emailed the cancellation to PE as an attachment and given me hard copy of this and the covering email too. Job done.:j

The bottom line, be polite, approach the stores and ask for a cancellation as a gesture of goodwill in return for years of loyal custom.

Good luck

The Gentleman :wave:

Coupon-mad

:T

Good one; you got a result and have also made him think again about that 30 minute maximum stay. I do agree that the first port of call should be the shop or hotel or cinema complex, if a fake PCN is issued in a customer/retail car park.

Guys_Dad

Good result and when you have a reasonable person to deal with, you get a decent result.

Now try the same tactic with the owner of the Range.

Stroma

Nice result, and you've spoken to the right person at the right time. But unfortunately we see so often here that store managers are dismissive of people, and very often nothing is done.

If you look at Aldi's Facebook page you'll see customers making complaints about the aggressive way Parking Eye are ticketing people. Think customers have had enough of being ripped off.

Can I just say to keep your paperwork from Maplin safe, when or if Parking Eye write to you with confirmation of cancellation keep both in a safe place in case they come back in a couple of years with a claim.

smudger1946

I sent an email to the CEO, they cancelled my £60 fine too,
Good customer relations.

Coupon-mad

smudger1946 wrote: »

I sent an email to the CEO, they cancelled my £60 fine too,
Good customer relations.

Not really 'GOOD customer relations', it has to be said, to issue fake fines to customers and then cancel a few for cannier people who shout the loudest.

Don't get me wrong, I think we should all complain to the top about this scam but I am mindful of the uninformed, the scared and the stupid who just pay.

The_Slithy_Tove

Would be interesting to know if the planning permission for that car park allows for such a short maximum period of parking. Would be worth trying to dig out the planning consent for that land from the local council (if within the last few years, may well be available on-line).