Derbyshire pub fights back in tripadvisor backlash over "parking fines"

steve1500

beamerguy wrote: »

566 voters ?? now that is a lot of regulars, must be the most popular pub in the UK ?

With that many regulars no need for parking this companies.


Land lady just woken up & realised she too has been well & truly scammed - costs us money to cancel the invoice

Carthesis

daytona0 wrote: »

I doubt you'd very critical of the poll if "no" had been voted for by 67% of the people

Funny how you ridicule the poll and the people who voted on it, purely because the outcome did not agree with your opinion.

I think you'd likely find - if you bothered to ask the question in the right way without being antagonistic - that *EVERY SINGLE REGULAR POSTER* in this section of the forum would agree the pub has a right to manage their car parking spaces, provided on their own land, for their own customers benefit. I doubt anyone would disagree that people parking in the "free" car park then wandering off for a walk for a few hours shouldn't be using the pub car park - to some extent even if those people plan to utilise the pub afterwards. Especially as there is a cheap pay and display just down the road.

What is at issue here is the way they go about it. It would be trivial to put up an exit barrier that requires a code to raise that you can only get from the bar staff. It would also be trivial to put in a pay and display machine that issues a ticket that you simply have 'authenticated' in the pub such that genuine customers don't pay a penny.

Instead, they've got in a PPC who uses the same underhand tactics as most of the industry to charge people who may or may not be unwitting. You'll notice the article only puts up the "entrance" sign (which appears to be about A3 sized at a guesstimate) that refers in relatively small text to "T&Cs applying", and doesn't show either the text, format, size or placement of the "dozen or so" other signs that are apparently in the car park.

For reference, here is the sign in context on Streetview:

Derbyshire Arms, Baslow

How trivial would it have been for the pub to have "CUSTOMER PARKING ONLY" white-lined onto the tarmac on the drive? Or to put up a larger sign? Or to implement a different system?

Answer - not very difficult at all.

Odds are, they're being paid a regular stipend by the PPC for the privilege of the PPC being able to chuck out "fines". If that's the case, the PPC has no interest in fair car park management, and simply wants to maximise the number of "fines" so they can recoup their costs and make a profit.

The_Deep

Having read some to the TripAdviser reviews, and having studied the situation on the ground with Street View, I would suggest that employing a PPC is a sure fire way to reduce business.


A few rogue parkers surely cannot cost the Landlord anything near as much as a PPC, even if they split t6he "fines 50/50.

Carthesis

Also - TEN SODDING QUID FOR 2 PINTS OF PERONI??

The robbing b*****ds! No wonder they need the income supplement!

beamerguy

I think we will see more and more pubs do this.

PPC's must create new customers so probably there is a high powered salesperson (from the double glazing industry) selling pubs a pup with the dangling carrot of commission.
A great trap for pubs whose profits are poor.

A local pub to me now has pay and display. The small car park was always full but drove past at lunch time yesterday and there was one car ?

Any landlord or landlady employing a PPC will be trashed in the media, customers will not be scammed

Carthesis

The Weatherspoons near the hospital near me has a pay and display car park. Two quid for four hours parking i think it is, but if you're a pub patron you go into the pub and they knock the money off your bill.

Quite a sensible idea if you ask me.

Half_way

This pub is in the Peak district national park, where you can't so much as put plant pots up, or plant flowers without permission, the question is do any of the signs have permission? Likewise the change of use on the land?

beamerguy

Carthesis wrote: »

The Weatherspoons near the hospital near me has a pay and display car park. Two quid for four hours parking i think it is, but if you're a pub patron you go into the pub and they knock the money off your bill.

Quite a sensible idea if you ask me.

That works for me

Carthesis

Half_way wrote: »

Likewise the change of use on the land?

The land hasn't changed use. It was always a car park.

pogofish

There seems to be no mention of PPC issues amongst the reviews on Booking .com - This probably needs rectified!