Double-edged success from complaint

Bardot

After complaining about two parking fines by Smart Parking of initially £90 each, I got an unacceptable remedy offer from Travelodge – to pay the fines, send proof of payment and then the card that was used to make the bookings would be reimbursed. There are many traps and obstacles inherent in this, including admission of guilt and a long time being out of pocket. Not to mention that the offer comes from customer service, rather than the CEO even though I had insisted that he deals with the problem. Judging from the numerous reviews on Trip adviser with similar parking fines stories, this is a long-standing deliberate scam with the techniques and details being perfected regularly.

In my case, nobody knows who the driver was, so I would have appealed to POPLA as the registered keeper, had I not missed the deadline being away on holiday when the PCN arrived and then wasting time in efforts to get the hotel to rectify their mistake. The parking is advertised as free, we were guests of the hotel, we had confirmed with reception that the car was parked in a suitable place – the receptionist said he watched us arrive on their CCTV and the car was all right. So the charge for OVER FREE TIME on the PCN was obviously a matter of error.

I tried to call the hotel, as I live in another town a big distance from it, but they did not answer their phones. So I sent a representative who lives in the borough to talk to them. They told him the procedure we should follow and promised that if we don’t get joy from it, the hotel would then intervene to quash the charge.

The wild goose chase ended nowhere, so I wrote an email to complain to the CEO resulting in the above dubious offer. From the customer service reply it transpired for the first time that the pretext Smart Parking is using for the charge is the car registration number not being entered on a tablet, in addition to us having informed the reception about it and it being entered on a paper sheet. In the Trip Adviser reviews one reads about people having entered the number on the tablet themselves with help from the receptionists and still getting PCNs. Those customers’ appeals then are rejected because they cannot prove that they have done the tablet entry. Mind you, we had not seen any written notices about the tablet requirement anywhere, nor had we even noticed the very brief notice board in the parking space warning that you had 30 minutes to inform the reception about your car registration number, but we did that anyway. The hotel advertises its own free onsite parking, without any restrictions, or conditions, or procedural requirements on its website, so customers are not warned to look for parking charge signs and have no reason to expect any.

Several more questions arise here, boiling down to: why is the fact that one was a guest of the hotel not enough proof that one is not liable to pay parking fees? Why should the onus be on the customer to prove the car registration validation when there are no means for them to do so? What are the guarantees against system malfunction or staff negligence? What about the duty of care on the part of the hotel to make sure that the customer rights and well-being are upheld? Why can’t or won’t the hotel instruct Smart Parking to quash the charge but is offering this round-about remedy? Doesn’t their offer prove that they deem the charge unwarranted? Why are they not advising the customer whom else they could turn to if the hotel doesn’t have the authority to resolve the issue in a straightforward way?

I am determined not to take the customer service offer. I am wondering if there are any further proactive steps I could consider or should I resign myself to waiting and seeing if they have the cheek to take me to court? Should the latter happen, could the customer service offer be used against me or could it reinforce my case? In any event, I cannot leave the customer service offer unanswered. What approach and tone would you recommend adopted – should I adapt the first appeal template from your newbies’ site? Whom else could I copy my response to? Smart Parking and the Travelodge CEO alone, warning that I would also complain to an MP, a consumer rights protection organisation, a regulatory body, a newspaper? I tried to establish who the parking landowner is, but that has proved to be a tough nut to crack. The Travelodge administration structure and complaints policy is largely kept a mystery. The Travelodge network seems to be split among several investors, as the latest buyer was saddled with unmanageable debts. Should I ask Customer service to reveal the contact details of the parking landowner?

I would be very grateful for your advice as my blood is boiling about this shameless mass daylight robbery practice and I would like to try doing something that could put a bigger spanner in their pirating wheels.

Quentin

Although unsatisfactory, their offer to pay by way of a credit to your card will save you lots of hassle.

You decide whether the time and effort you would have to put in makes it cost effective to simply accept their offer

The_Deep

If they pay the PCN they may well decide that having the PPC on site is not cost effective.

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week, hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. It has even been suggested that some of these companies have links with organised crime.

Watch the video of the Second Reading and committee stage in the House of Commons recently. MPs have a very low opinion of this industry.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-07-19/debates/2b90805c-bff8-4707-8bdc-b0bfae5a7ad5/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill(FirstSitting)

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by in the not too distant future..

elsien

I would suggest that the chances of the CEO dealing with individual complaints are vanishingly remote and not something you can insist on.

NeilCr

Quentin wrote: »

Although unsatisfactory, their offer to pay by way of a credit to your card will save you lots of hassle.

You decide whether the time and effort you would have to put in makes it cost effective to simply accept their offer

Pretty much what I was going to say.

I would make sure the offer from Travelodge was in writing and then pay. But, that's me and I would not want the ongoing issues of dealing with the ticket/Travelodge etc. You say your blood is boiling now - from what I read on here it's unlikely that this will go away easily so you'll have to consider how it would effect you if this took a long time. On the other hand there is a point of principle which I get.

As you say there is a question how a judge would view your turning down the offer. They would still have to decide the case "on the law" but, I suppose, it would be in the back of the mind

Be interesting to see how those regulars with legal training/background see this.

Johno100

Bardot wrote: »

After complaining about two parking fines by Smart Parking of initially £90 each, I got an unacceptable remedy offer from Travelodge – to pay the fines, send proof of payment and then the card that was used to make the bookings would be reimbursed.

I'd suggest to them It'd be much easier for all if Travelodge paid Smart Parking direct.

Bardot

"the chances of the CEO dealing with individual complaints are vanishingly remote"

True. But it was the only name and address I could find after extensive Internet searching. A complaint policy or relevant contact details for Travelodge don't seem to be readily available.

Bardot

Quentin wrote: »

Although unsatisfactory, their offer to pay by way of a credit to your card will save you lots of hassle.

You decide whether the time and effort you would have to put in makes it cost effective to simply accept their offer

The hotel booking was done long in advance and there are card logistical reasons why effecting this payment might not be quick and easy, or even possible. Plus I am not sure I can trust Smart Parking to provide me with a receipt. God knows what funny excuses they can come up with!

Nasqueron

Bardot wrote: »

"the chances of the CEO dealing with individual complaints are vanishingly remote"

True. But it was the only name and address I could find after extensive Internet searching. A complaint policy or relevant contact details for Travelodge don't seem to be readily available.

Took 10 seconds on google to get this


https://travelodgesdo.force.com/support/s/


https://www.travelodge.co.uk/about/terms-conditions/

Bardot

Johno100 wrote: »

I'd suggest to them It'd be much easier for all if Travelodge paid Smart Parking direct.

Sounds like an excellent idea! Thank you!

Bardot

Nasqueron wrote: »

Took 10 seconds on google to get this

Thanks for the links. There is an interesting statement under the terms for parking there:

If the car parking at a hotel is provided or managed by a third party provider and you decide to use this car parking you will enter into an agreement with the third party provider and not Travelodge. Information on the third party provider is displayed at the car parks and on the pay and display tickets. We strongly advise that you read the third party provider’s terms as displayed at the car park before parking your car.

Does that mean that Smart Parking is the third party provider? From what I have read on the forum here, they are usually agents, not landowners.

I have not seen a ticket machine or noticed any indication of who the third party is on signs there. And the parking section on the website of the concrete hotel in question says that the parking is "controlled" by Smart Parking. Here is the whole text:

Free parking onsite!
Limited free parking is available at this hotel on a first come first served basis. Parking is controlled by Smart Parking Ltd. Please ensure you provide your vehicle registration to reception on check in.

I have complied with these requirements in full. I will have to send somebody to take pictures of all the parking signs there and see if there is any additional requirements mentioned.