How To Avoid Getting A "Parking Fine"

Dr._Shoe

Herzlos wrote: »

That's fair enough if the parking company are being honest, but there's no benefit to them in doing that.

Couldn't agree more.

Free, unrestricted parking has been the norm outside supermarkets and retail parks for at least at long as I can remember (20 years, give or take). The only ones you paid for were council ones or multi-storeys.

Yes, this is true. Even when I was a kid like 40 years ago or something but in those days councils didn't use parking to offset the council tax caps. This meant that parking was cheap enough for people not to try to find ways of parking for free so therefore supermarket carparks were never completely full because people only parked there to do their shopping.

Now a lot of them are sneaking up signs (7+ft off the ground and unreadable to anyone that doesn't go for a closer look) or changing the terms with the aim of entrapment. The majority of people we see on here getting tickets aren't chancers, just normal people who've been caught out by having an invoice issued for fabricated infractions, or people with mobility or medial issues causing them to go over time.

Yes I agree with that too.

I've seen loads of signs at car parks recently that are completely deficient going by the BPA and goverment standards. Normally all you can read is "customer parking only" or "1 hour free parking". But how is a customer defined, and what happens after an hour?

A customer is a person using the business immediately adjacent to the carpark I should imagine. And, I should imagine that parking longr than the 1 hour maximum is forbidden. I do agree though that there should be a user friendly way of being able to park there for more than the "free" parking period. Our local Asda gives a refund of the pay and display ticket prce equal to two hours free parking. If you want to park there for 8 hours you can, if you want to park there and shop elsewhere but not at Asda then you can do that too. There is a "normal" PAD nextdoor that charges the same price (but without the refund option).

The PPC's aren't there to manage parking or deter infringements, but are there to raise money from those infringements.

I agree with this too but why not deprive them of the chance by not parking there in the first place?

Also, what about the regular posters from people getting tickets for using their own parking space?

This is what the appeals process is for. It isn't there for people who deliberately abuse the system.

neil.net

I agree with this too but why not deprive them of the chance by not parking there in the first place?

I'm not saying drivers should deliberately aim to get a ticket to fight so as to p*** **f the PPCs, deciding not to park there would just be giving in my people who shouldn't have to! Face, spite, nose, cutting off?

Also, what about the regular posters from people getting tickets for using their own parking space?

This is what the appeals process is for. It isn't there for people who deliberately abuse the system.

No that's not what the appeals process is for, in this situation drivers using their own space shouldn't even be on the PPCs radar! The PPCs abuse their position because people are led to believe these charges are some sort of statutory fine.

Dr._Shoe

Herzlos wrote: »

Definitely the best way to win the game is not use PPC controlled car parks, or shops that employ PPCs, and tell the shops why.

Unfortunately, that doesn't leave you many options for buying food.

Until they start to get the message of course.

Most of the food stores only use PPCs where there are other shopping destinations and/or pay carparks nearby. They resent providing free parking for their rivals and see the use of PPCs as a cost effective way (for them) of preventing the loss of genuine shoppers owing to the lack of parking spaces. This is my point.

I have seen instances where the carpark has been full but the supermarket empty.

morfio

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

"Yes, we can fight tickets but I'd personally rather pay £2.00 per hour (or part thereof) to park than have the hassle of having to write appeals, dealing with debt collectors and going to court. This is all going to cost me far, far more than the few quid I spend on parking.
".

I personally think if people are seeking legitimate advice to go through this 'hassle' they probably, rightly, believe they have been unfairly penalised. I would suspect those who do not would either ignore the ticket or pay it.

neil.net

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

Until they start to get the message of course.

But will they? Given that most major supermarket and out of town shopping complex car parks use a PPC, the consumer has become easy game due to having little choice. Where I live it's either park in town and pay or out of town park for free, subject to parking control. Very little bargaining power for customers, particularly when you consider the different nature of town centre vs. out of town shops.

Marktheshark

I have a very good policy.
I do not use any business that uses parking eye firstly as they are most litigious and certainly the nastiest of the mob .

Then UKPC are next I will avoid.

My money, my choice.

Dr._Shoe

ManxRed wrote: »

The reason that some people know full well that they can fight a ticket is because the PPCs set parking charges at levels which cannot ever be legally enforceable (although I may have to revise that sentence if the Beavis Appeal comes out all wrong). If PPCs charged £15 or £20, then they wouldn't be able to easily fight them, and they would probably think twice about doing it on a regular basis.

Don't lay all the blame on people who deliberately exploit a situation purely of the PPC's making.

Yes but they don't charge £15 or £20. The problem is then you'd find that they wouldn't find it cost effective to employ staff to plod round the carparks on a regular basis to find the few errant parkers and then they'd stop patrolling. Then what would happen is that people might take the risk thinking that if they get caught once a year then it would be cheaper in the long run than using the now empty PADCP nextdoor.

In the ideal world I'd like to see parking enforcement carried out by the stores themselves. i.e. a manager or someone would come out every so often and patrol the carpark as a secondary duty. This would make enforcement more cost effective at £20-30.

Dr._Shoe

Marktheshark wrote: »

I have a very good policy.
I do not use any business that uses parking eye firstly as they are most litigious and certainly the nastiest of the mob .

Then UKPC are next I will avoid.

My money, my choice.

Yes, you've got the right idea.

Mike172

What about those of us that take satisfaction from costing the PPC money? Its minuscule sure, but I quite enjoy it and even have some residents in my flat complex doing the same. Ivenot had a ticket for a while either I am starting to wonder if Ive been white-listed which would be a shame.

In other private parking places I would still pay for the parking but leave the ticket deliberately turned upside down and I would never abuse disabled bays. I just take gratification in costing the PPC money.

Admittedly I shat myself when I first received the parking fines (whoops did I just say fines?!) and its a long drawn out process which seems at first to be futile - how could an upstanding firm employed by other upstanding firms to perform parking enforcement on their land be scammers??? I was skeptical.

Dr._Shoe

neil.net wrote: »

But will they? Given that most major supermarket and out of town shopping complex car parks use a PPC, the consumer has become easy game due to having little choice. Where I live it's either park in town and pay or out of town park for free, subject to parking control. Very little bargaining power for customers, particularly when you consider the different nature of town centre vs. out of town shops.

Yes but if you're actually using the out-of-town shopping complex, you're parking in the correct bay, you're not abusing the disabled or parent and child bays then IF you get a ticket then the appeals process is for you isn't it? However, if you're just using the carpark because it's cheaper to park there and go into towm by bus then I think this is abusing the system. Having said that though, our local Sainsbury's has a huge carpark and people do exactly that (no PPC) but often drop in to get a few bits of shopping on the way back to their car!