Outrageous car parking charge Capital Shopping Centre Cardiff

eus57

I went into Cardiff City Centre yesterday (Saturday, 28th) to do the last of the shopping for my son's wedding on Friday 4th October. I parked in the Capital Shopping Centre car park at 9:17am and returned at 3:15pm. A long time I know but had loads of last minute items to collect/buy before the big day. At the pay machine I was astonished to see the fee was £18.50! I kept re-inserting the card but the charge didn't change. Even the attendant whistled in surprise at the cost when I explained what had happened over the intercom.

To cut a long story short (and after a lot of discussion with the attendants) I had to pay the £18.50 as I was in the car park before 10am for the shoppers promotion! There was nothing to explain the fees until you were actually in the car park and, as I had also spent so long re-inserting my ticket and waiting for assistance, I had slipped further into the 24hour charge!

Help! Can this be right! £18.50 ????????

eus57

Stroma

No nothing can be done unless you've been overcharged, please read the tariffs to see if you have been charged correctly. Out of interest is this a council run car park?

Thanks

nigelbb

Only £18.50! Pah!! It's cheaper than it is to park in the centre of Cambridge where parking wherever the hell you like & getting a parking ticket is less expensive than paying for a whole day in the car park http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-22905334

halibut2209

According to their website the charges are as follows

Up to 1 hr £2.00
Up to 2 hrs £4.00
Up to 4 hrs £5.00
Up to 5 hrs £8.50
Up to 6 hrs £10.00
7-24 hrs £18.00

So you possibly have a case for an £8 refund if the machine wasn't working properly. But will be hard to prove

halibut2209

They also say this

Weekend Parking 18.00 Friday - 10.00 Sunday for £15 (Contact security on arrival via pay station)

So as it was a Saturday I'd have though the maximum would be £15!

Umkomaas

Car parks can charge what they like, the same as any commercial enterprise, and influenced by 'the market' - if the demand is there and supply is limited, up go the prices. I take it you won't return there. I agree, it's a hefty charge.

One would expect the charging scale to be displayed near the entrance, if it isn't then maybe you should fire off a letter of complaint to the car park operators explaining your situation, especially your problem trying to make payment which took you into the 24-hour band, maybe a bit of a refund?

Apart from that I don't know what else you might do. Others will be along with other points possibly.

Sorry not to be a great help on this occasion - however, if you ever get a private parking charge notice, I'm much better at that .

Good luck

halibut2209

The website info is incomplete though, as it doesn't tell you the charge for 6-7 hours

HO87

Sorry to be unsympathetic but at £3 an hour it still isn't beyond the pale even if you slipped into the next band. The penalty of choosing to park in a city centre shopping mall I'm afraid. The NCP a couple of hundred yards away off Fitzalan Place is cheaper.

halibut2209

Or park at the red dragon centre by the bay and get the train up. You can get your ticket validated for free by buying a cup of coffee

HO87

halibut2209 wrote: »

Or park at the red dragon centre by the bay and get the train up. You can get your ticket validated for free by buying a cup of coffee

Absolutely and barely a hop and skip from Queen Street station into the Capitol Centre. Might be a bit of pain with all that "last minute shopping" - a week before the event!