Grace Period.

Lincs_Owl

And Parking Eye's reply. Ironic that it ends 'Know your parking rights'.

Good morning Mr xxxxxxxxxxx



Thank you for your emails below.



As previously advised ParkingEye are not in breach of the Code of Practice. It is not currently a requirement that the parking operator advertise the grace period, therefore we cannot advise there to have been a breach of the AOS Code.





Yours sincerely

Jan Wilkins

Operational Services Co-Ordinator

British Parking Association

Email: aos@britishparking.co.uk

Web: https://www.britishparking.co.uk

cid:image001.jpg@01CC52C5.F7D86250 AOS JPEG logo SPS JPEG landscape cid:image032.jpg@01D13CC3.9DE93250 KYPR-rgb

Lincs_Owl

Sorry. That is from British Parking Assn, not Parking Eye. Show's whose side the BPA is on though. Not had reply from Parking Eye yet but I assume they will say the same thing.
On BPA email, they show a badge stating 'Know your Parking Rights'. What a laugh.

Motorist has a right to periods of grace. Eric Pickles, then Communities secretary decreed so for council car parks, and the private sector supposedly followed suit.

I've emailed this to Parking Prankster site. I think it's shameful. PE have lost previous court cases over the grace period.

Guys_Dad

Lincs_Owl wrote: »

I've emailed this to Parking Prankster site. I think it's shameful. PE have lost previous court cases over the grace period.

Maybe, but each and every one costs them money,

Lincs_Owl

Good news for me. Got an email today from Parking Eye stating they are discontinuing the action. We were supposed to go to court next week. Maybe an email I sent to them last week did the trick. I'd like to thank everyone who has helped and encouraged me to stand firm against the PE bullies. Especially Northlakes who went to the trouble of photographing the parking signs at Whitehaven for me.
I've let (text removed by MSE Forum Team), who seems to work for Parking Prankster, know in case there's anything here that will help other motorists.

Here is a copy of the email sent to PE last week..............



WITHOUT PREJUDICE SAVE AS TO COSTS.

Thank you for your kind offer to relieve us of £50 for an alleged parking overstay at Home Bargains, Whitehaven, though I fear we must decline. You don't make it clear what this overstay is. 10 minutes? 16 seconds? 10 minutes 16 seconds? Or 2 hours 10m 16s seeing as you insinuated we did not shop on site?


When the cameras are merely trained on a car entering and leaving, then the camera will have photographed the car 2 or 3 minutes prior to commencement of the contract. (See 13.2 and 18.5 in the Code of Practice as reproduced below).



Parking Eye's camera's do not photograph a car at the moment that the motorist has read the terms and conditions. See your own documentation- the t&c's are not displayed at the entrance. Your cameras photograph the car well before the motorist has read the sign with the terms and conditions. The two hour customer stay only commences when the contract begins. Also see our Document P. Time spent looking for a parking space does NOT form part of the parking contract. You cannot have one case decided one way and another case differently- the precedent is set. At the end of the contract, the grace period for leaving must currently be a minimum ten minutes as per 13.4 in your Code of practice.



In other words, a motorist photographed exiting 2 hours 10 minutes 16 seconds after entering, could only have been entered into the contract for 2 hours 8 minutes maximum it is reasonable to assume, especially given that the terms and conditions are almost illegible at Home Bargains, Whitehaven. I refer you to your own documentation for evidence.... Page 27 – you would need a stepladder or binoculars to read them- maybe both.





18.5 If a driver is parking with your permission, they must have the chance to read the terms and conditions before they enter into the contract with you. If, having had that opportunity, they decide not to park but choose to leave the car park, you must provide them with a reasonable grace period to leave, as they will not be bound by your parking contract.


That is pretty explicit and puts the motorist well within the permitted times. Please remember that private car parks are meant to be following the same guidelines as local authority run car parks. You do not have to follow the BPA COP but it is a pre-requisite of your entitlement to obtain registered keeper details from the DVLA. Without that you cannot function as a business.


As regards the ten minutes of grace at the end of the parking period, you clearly have not bothered to read our defence. At the time of the parking event, the BPA Code of Practice merely stated 'a reasonable time'. Quite happy to let the judge decide on what is reasonable, but given that the parking event happened in the Lake District in summer, and the car park adjoins a busy road, we would have thought 15 minutes would be reasonable. The photos in your own documentation will be used to prove it is difficult to find a parking spot. Certainly ten minutes absolute minimum, especially in view of the Eric Pickles directive to local authorities and the keenness of the BPA to keep PPC's in line.


In any case, even if you did get over this hurdle, my wife was incapable of leaving the car park as our documents show. Of course we cannot 100% prove that she suffered an asthma attack but who is the judge more likely to believe? An asthmatic lady pensioner with a witness, or a money grabbing private parking company?


Also check this link out.....


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dclg-single-departmental-plan-2015-to-2020/single-departmental-plan-2015-to-2020



We will help tackle aggressive parking enforcement and excessive parking charges, and take steps to tackle rogue and unfair practices by private parking operators



What is more aggressive than enforcing an alleged 16 second overstay?



Seems your days of living off the Beavis case are numbered.


If these 16 seconds are of such fundamental importance to your case, why are they omitted from your Parking Charge Notice of 11-7-2015. This states 'Time in Car Park 2 hours 10 minutes'.


Clearly either your machinery isn't accurate to the second, or you couldn't be bothered to work the seconds out. Either way it reflects badly on your flimsy case.


Referring to your previous argument that the onus is on us to prove we shopped at Home Bargains for two hours. You could also claim we might have parked with a tyre on a white line, infringing another of your terms and conditions. We assume it is likewise our responsibility to prove otherwise?


We can visualise the headlines already in the Whitehaven News and the Carlisle News & Star....

'Parking company charge asthmatic lady pensioner £160 for alleged 16 second overstay'.


Don't forget to bring to court your proof of posting for the PCN which you claim that you sent on 2/7/2015 and which was never received. Without it we might not even get to discuss the grace periods we are entitled to.


We reject your offer of £50 to settle out of court.


Instead we counter-offer with a generous THREE POUNDS (£3).


This would save you the embarrassment of another court defeat and £200+ in solicitors fees. Not to mention a ravaging from my wife's sharp tongue. Plus we would drop any complaints we have considered making against you to the BPA and DVLA.


It would save us approx £3 in fuel to the court which is the only reason we can think of to make such a generous offer, apart from adhering to the PD in trying to settle out of court.


Please do not come back with any other counter offers. If your email arguments are anything to go by, you do not have a case which would stand up in court.

Redx

welll done sir

the Lincs Owl is a wise owl possibly even a night owl , KTF !!

one in the eye for Parking Eye

be good if prankster blogs it

Lincs_Owl

No Redx, he's just a Sheffield Wednesday fan (nickname the Owls) on hols in The Lakes who overstayed a few minutes in a car park because his wife was a bit unwell. :-)

Yes- would be good if Prankster runs the story. Looks like Parking Eye aren't even taking the three quid I offered! Result!! Thanks, again, to everyone for your help. And especially to (text removed by MSE Forum Team) Parking Prankster who suggested a few things to put in my emails.

catfunt

Brilliant, well done!

If only everyone would stand up to these bullies, then there wouldn't be so much abuse of motorists and contract law.

With reference to the swear filter earlier in this thread, perhaps it should be changed so that S!!!!horpe becomes "SParking Eyehorpe"

Coupon-mad

Well done!

See you next Tuesday, Wednesday!

dazster

That's a beautiful letter! Well done!

peter_the_piper

""Not to mention a ravaging from my wife's sharp tongue""

That's what did it, well done.