RingGo Parking Fine

11fernsroad

This afternoon I used RingGo to park my car at a station car park.I needed to use car park for about 6 hours.
App gave me two options 10 hours or 24 hours.I opted for 10 hours and paid for the same (at 2.48pm)

After 6 hours I came to pick up my car to find a PCN by the council,saying my parking time has expired at 6pm( ticket was issued at 6.17pm)
Apparently that 10 hour session I paid for finishes at 6pm!!.So even if we pay for 10 hour parking at 5.59pm it will finish in 1 min!!!
The council officer who issued me ticket too knew this loophole,judging by his timing of issing the ticket!!
I would have been much bette off paying by coins for exact amount of parking time I needed.

RingGo website says as a policy they would not involve with appeal process with council and council will not listen to me about the RingGo App story and options given to me by it.
What can I do now,as i feel really bad about this experience.
What are my options?

AdrianC

RingGo didn't issue you a penalty, the car park managers - the council - did.


I suspect that by "10hr" it means 8am-6pm, ie outside peak commuter hours. While it seems superficially counter-intuitive, I bet it's explained on the boards in the car park, and quite probably within the app.

Bigphil1474

OP, I suspect you are right about the council parking officer knowing the limit. I work for a council, and we had a car park we could use with a council permit. The permitted time was up to 5pm, then from 5pm it became a pay and display car park. We had a few of us getting tickets for parking in there after 5pm with a council permit and not a P&D ticket. As Adrian says, the signs will probably specify the rules. Curious as to how you would park there after 6pm though, unless the car park closes?

AdrianC

Bigphil1474 wrote: »

Curious as to how you would park there after 6pm though, unless the car park closes?

It's a station car park, probably on a commuter route. So, as with train tickets, there'll be cheaper off-peak rates for those who aren't using the car park at peak hours.

TadleyBaggie

Whenever I've used RingGo it's been clear at the time of purchase when the parking period expires. And on top of that they also remind you when it close to the expiry period via a SMS.

Bigphil1474

Adrian, good point. However, if he's paid for peak parking, doesn't make much sense if the cheaper rate parking isn't covered in that 10 hour period. Essentially he'd have paid for 10 hours peak parking even if some of those hours would be off peak. If you turned up at 5:30pm and paid for 10 hours (the shortest option), you'd be a bit miffed if you got a ticket after half an hour.

AdrianC

Which is why the exact wording is important. 8am to 6pm is 10hrs. You can park during those 10hrs for the reduced rate...

That's very different for paying for your parking between 8am and 6pm, and being able to park for 10hrs.

z1a

AdrianC wrote: »

Which is why the exact wording is important. 8am to 6pm is 10hrs. You can park during those 10hrs for the reduced rate...

That's very different for paying for your parking between 8am and 6pm, and being able to park for 10hrs.

Don't you mean 8pm to 6am for reduced rate?

AdrianC

z1a wrote: »

Don't you mean 8pm to 6am for reduced rate?

No...

Turn up after all the commuters are parked for the day. Leave before they get back. Those using the car park before 8am and after 6pm are your peak-rate cash-cows.