ANPR systems , paying car parks and trading Stds

enfield_freddy

just looking at this story http://www.winsfordguardian.co.uk/news/12942804.Beware_ASDA_parking_fines/?ref=ar , the typical smart parking / pay at meter car park.


now there are complaints that the camera on arrival "clocks your time" (and same on exit) HOWEVER the customer may drive round for 10 mins before finding a parking place , buying a ticket (with time stamp) and displaying it , they might also find trouble exiting the site (delays etc)


so Smart are the operator , ticket provider , and the people that are charging people to park , then issuing tickets when someone goes over the time on the ANPR setup NOT the stamped tickets


is this a case for trading standards , ie: only receiving 4.9l of fuel when you paid for 5l , or a bag of sugar was 100g short

bargepole

If you can find a Council's Trading Standards officer prepared to take action on that, you'll be having better luck than most who have tried in the past.


Most TS departments only seem to be interested in market traders selling fake branded watches, or cowboy builders ripping off pensioners, the sort of thing that gets featured regularly in the Rogue Traders slot on Watchdog.

System

Why is somebody from the Bromsgrove area writing to a Cheshire newspaper about a Worcester parking problem?

The_Deep

It most certainly is a matter for Trading Standards, but unless you put it in writing, they are unlikely to be too concerned.

HO87

!!!!!! wrote: »

Why is somebody from the Bromsgrove area writing to a Cheshire newspaper about a Worcester parking problem?

Apart from the fact that the letter is reproduced in the Winsford Guardian what other evidence is there that the letter didn't actually go to a far more local rag. The WG is one of the many Newsquest titles along with the Worcester News. This smells of simple c0ck-up and just shows how "local" most of the "local" newspapers actually are.

As if to confirm that the same letter appears under the Worcester News banner here - http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/letters/read/12942804.Beware_ASDA_parking_fines/

System

Defeats the purpose of a local rag when they 'import' letters from a different region

Dr._Shoe

It's a three hour limit. That should be ample time to find a space, shop at Asda, return to your car, queue up to exit.

The last time I went to my local Asda (2 hour limit) I was in and out within 55 minutes and that included a coffee in the in-store cafe.

The problem here is that the store is in the town centre and people go elsewhere to shop, many of them not even setting foot in the store that so generously provides them with free parking. That is why it is difficult to find a parking space and you have to queue to get out. Imagine how hard it would be if people were able to leave their cars there when they go to work!

Marktheshark

These parking firms have officials of all types right in their top pockets.
Even Court Judges are prepared to change case law to give them the nod and wink.

bazster

!!!!!! wrote: »

Defeats the purpose of a local rag when they 'import' letters from a different region

They haven't. There is no way this letter was printed in the paper edition of the Winsford Guardian, it's just that all the newspapers in the group share the same website, with variable branding.

bazster

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

It's a three hour limit. That should be ample time to find a space, shop at Asda, return to your car, queue up to exit.

The last time I went to my local Asda (2 hour limit) I was in and out within 55 minutes and that included a coffee in the in-store cafe.

Bully for you. What if you wanted to do your weekly shop, have a meal (rather than just a coffee) in the caff, go through something complex in the in-store pharmacy (if there is one, there often is), visit the customer services desk about something (where they invariably make you wait for ages), and choose/buy a big-ticket item such as a telly?

They put all these services at your disposal, and then have the bloody cheek to try to charge you for taking too long using them. Crooks, pure and simple.

Redx

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

The problem here is that the store is in the town centre and people go elsewhere to shop, many of them not even setting foot in the store that so generously provides them with free parking. That is why it is difficult to find a parking space and you have to queue to get out.

apart from what the replies say above

suppose that when they received planning permission (like my local morrissons did for their store and car park that was built partly on the old council free car park and some old buildings that were demolished) ; the planning permission actually stated that free parking had to be provided for the people to shop and go about their business etc in the town centre ?

this means that people can park and stay AS LONG AS THEY LIKE, even if as you say they "go to work" (like they did when it was a free council car park)

many have this caveat in the planning permissions where town centres may be involved, then some PPC comes in and rides roughshod over this planning permission by introducing silly rules on parking times or "leaving the premises" , sometimes not even getting planning permission for the signage and anpr cameras (aka PE and The RANGE at Barrow etc)

you are not party to knowing the facts in this case as regards the planning permission, so dont assume that your version fits all private car parks, it doesnt and never has

I know when my wife and sister go shopping on retail parks they would regularly "go over" the limits set by a PPC, have done in fact, due to visiting say 7 shops and a restaurant for lunch on a 30+ retailer complex like Crown Point North where PE have a 4 hour limit yet its easy to spend more time on there due to the high number of shops and businesses

this was appealed and cancelled at the initial appeal stage as I reported on here over 18 months ago

I agree that some of what you said could be correct in SOME car parks, but as bazster clearly pointed out, these shops offer many extras now like restaurant , pharmacy , eye care (opticians) , George clothing , gardening centre , petrol station , click and collect for bulky items etc , and dont always sort out the queues at the tills either

if it is co-located with other retailers then the problem is exacerbated

so I think you have taken a very simplistic view of just "nipping in" for a small basket of items and assumed this is "normal" in this 21st century

try doing ALL OF THE ABOVE yourself and then time yourself and see how long it actually takes , bearing in mind the ANPR cameras look at "time on site" and not "parking" so dont get caught queuing for a space and exiting the car park at rush hour when the main road is choked with traffic

if they want the business, its the price they have to pay !

but they also need to stay within the planning permissions too