Parking Eye - Home Bargains Selby

SadieJ

Hi All, looking for some advice please.

I have read a number of forums on parking charges enforced by ParkingEye.

On Wednesday 23 Oct I visited a relatively new, large Home Bargains store which has been opened on an old (fairly remote) Focus Do It All site. There is only this store served by the car park. There has never been a parking restriction on the site previously.

I have now received a Parking Charge Notice from ParkingEye as I allegedly overstayed the maximum free stay by 18 mins. The letter is pretty standard I am assuming from other posts with ANPR footage showing me arriving and leaving.

The letter states:-

'The signage which is clearly displayed at the entrance to and throughout the car park, states that this is private land, the car park is managed by ParkingEye Ltd, that the maximum free stay authorised is 1 hours 30 minutes, along with other terms and conditions of the car park by which those who park in the car park agree to be bound.

By remaining at the car park for longer than the stay authorised or without authorisation, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the signage, the Parking Charge is now payable to ParkingEye Ltd (as the Creditor).'

I did not notice the sign at the entrance to the car park and parked in the first bay which is on the entry road to the main car park just before the store and did not enter the main car parking area. At no point did I see any further notices while walking from my car to the store entrance (nor did I see any parking meters from which to purchase tickets).

I was shopping with my elderly parents (aged 75 and 77) and we had a good, leisurely look round the rather large store obviously not realising we were under any time constraints. In my (humble) opinion 1.5 hours is a short amount of time - most supermarkets allow 2-3 hours free. Also when we got to checkout there was only one cashier lane open which further extended the duration of our stay. Also if such parking restrictions are in force surely the store should have a moral obligation to its customers to display it at point of entry to the store?

Please could you give me some pointers on what to do next and how to appeal. The letter states that the parking charge amount due is £85 payable before 23/11/2013 but if I pay before 09/11/2013 this will be reduced to £50.00.

Unfortunately I cannot at this time locate my store receipt and I paid cash so this will not show up on my bank statement. Do I need to return to the store to view the signage?

I have searched for contact details of the Home Bargains store to lodge a complaint with them and there is an address and telephone number but no email although there are contact details for the parent company T J Morris. Should I contact them or the Selby store direct? Do I ask them if they have authorised ParkingEye to collected parking charges or just vent my dissatisfaction?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thank you in advance.

Coupon-mad

Appeal like you said above, but I have amended it to remove implying who the driver was. You are appealing to PE online as the registered keeper (not the driver):

I am the registered keeper of the above vehicle. The driver was shopping with their elderly parents (aged 75 and 77) and they had a good, leisurely look round the rather large store obviously not aware of any time constraints. In my opinion 1.5 hours is a short amount of time - most supermarkets allow 2-3 hours free. Elderly customers need longer to get around of course. I have also complained by email to the CEO of Home Bargains because this sort of harassment hardly leads to future repeat business for them.

Also when they got to the checkout there was only one cashier lane open which further extended the duration of the stay. Please note the receipt is mislaid and they paid cash - they had no idea the registered keeper of the car would be hounded later by a notorious third party spy camera outfit like ParkingEye. You have made no loss whatsoever as a result of this visit.

Also if such parking restrictions are in force surely the store should have a moral obligation to its customers to display it at point of entry to the store? No signs were seen at all because I realise after researching your scam that you always place your signs far too high and out of a customer's eye-line when they arrive by car.

Cancel the charge or send me my POPLA code so I can win my appeal based on 'no genuine pre-estimate of loss' and expose your contract with the landowner to POPLA assessor scrutiny.

And here's how to complain - examples galore in post #1 of successes against the pariah that is Parking Eye. And also post #3 gives the contact details of the 'usual guilty retailers' who allow PE on site, including the email addy of the CEO of TJ Morris:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4766249

I also added in post #3 a template of a strong and stroppy complaint email about Parking Eye. Adapt that or write your own version, again not saying who was driving. Puts you in the strongest position if it goes to POPLA stage, as long as you follow our advice re that appeal.

HTH

esmerobbo

It would seem Home and Bargain dont give a toss about their customers being ripped off, we seem to be seeing a few of these popping up recently.

Seems Tommy Morris may have forgotten how he got where he is, and where he came from!

Guys_Dad

You should also check with the council planning department to see if they (a) would require an application from the landowners to bring in a time limit and (b) ask if any such application was approved.

This is in addition to a soft appeal to Parking Eye. You could use c-m assertive recommendation or cover the points made in a more placatory tone to see if PE would accept your points..

SadieJ

Can I ask why it is important to not admit to being the driver? Thank you.

Coupon-mad

Simply because your appeal position later on at POPLA is a fair bit stronger as a registered keeper. The PPC have to jump through more hoops to get 'registered keeper liability'.

SadieJ

Just a quick update, I went into Home Bargains this morning and spoke to the Assistant Store Manager. I appealed to his better nature and he agreed to cancel my parking charge on this occasion but advised me to keep my receipts in future in case it happened again to prove I was a legitimate customer (I assured him that now I knew there was a parking restriction it would not happen again!). I did point out to him that if you parked where I did then there were no parking signs in your eye line between there and the store entrance although to be fair upon returning to the car park there are numerous signs around the main car park and one to the left of the entrance. Unfortunately I entered from the right and we rushed in as it was raining. He did also tell me that they are trying to negotiate a longer stay time than 1.5 hours as they do appreciate it is a short time for such a store but apparently the landlord has leased the car park to ParkingEye? Anyway I have just checked online that my charge has been cancelled on the ParkingEye website and to date it hasn't so I need to keep an eye on this as I need to appeal by 09/11/2013. I tried to phone them but you can't speak to anyone as the lines are all automated and there is no email address!

bod1467

SadieJ wrote: »

(I assured him that now I knew there was a parking restriction it would not happen again!)

Did you also assure him (After he cancelled the charge) that the REASON it won't happen again is because you'll never shop there again, and neither will anyone else you know once you've told them?

SadieJ

Ha ha, I did consider that but was saving that one for if he refused to help! Also I did have in the back of my mind that I may need to enlist his help again if PE do not cancel the charge.

I asked him if I would get anything in writing to confirm it had been cancelled but he said that no, I would just not hear anything else about it. I am a bit concerned about this and am currently trying to find some kind of contact for PE to double check that it has been cancelled as it is still showing as due on their system. Unfortunately they only provide a postal address and an automated telephone payment line number. Even the appeals section does not work atm! How useful when I only have 3 days to appeal if necessary!

nigelbb

SadieJ wrote: »

He did also tell me that they are trying to negotiate a longer stay time than 1.5 hours as they do appreciate it is a short time for such a store but apparently the landlord has leased the car park to ParkingEye?

The landlord has not leased the car park to PE. That is not how PE's business model works. If they leased the car park they would be responsible for potholes etc whereas all they do is attempt to deter unauthorised parking & only get paid if they fail in that task.

SadieJ

nigelbb wrote: »

The landlord has not leased the car park to PE. That is not how PE's business model works. If they leased the car park they would be responsible for potholes etc whereas all they do is attempt to deter unauthorised parking & only get paid if they fail in that task.

Yes I didn't think this quite sounded right! Should the Store not be able to stipulate how long they wished parking to be allowed for their store? He said they were trying to get the time increased.