Reasonable private parking companies?

Langed01

This may sound ridiculous but please bear with me. I am a Parish Councillor and have been tasked with engaging the services of a private parking company to enforce our byelaws (we've tried everything else...)

Has anyone come across a 'reasonable' private parking company? Perhaps one that acted fairly when challenged? Showed compassion?

It's hard to know where to start and clearly this forum has come across most....!

Thanks in advance....

twhitehousescat

below is a list of sensible , reasonable parking Cos










PS you say BYLAWS , well in most cases bylaw land is not applicable to the protection of information 2012 act , and most companies will fail to start court action

self help is needed , posts , bollards , barrier etc or even hire an ATTENDANT , yup a guy that will assist with parking

Coupon-mad

I am a Parish Councillor and have been tasked with engaging the services of a private parking company to enforce our byelaws (we've tried everything else...)

Don't don't, don't, don't, and more don't even go there.

There are NO decent parking firms at all the entire industry stinks and is broken by greed. You will regret it and ordinary people's lives will be made an abject misery.

Do not reply if you get a private message on this very forum soon, suggesting a firm...you can bet who the pm would be from.

There will be scammers reading your thread here and dying to get their clutches on your consumer visitors' money.

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.

So, tell us what these byelaws are and what problems you've been having with parking.

fisherjim

Langed01 wrote: »

Has anyone come across a 'reasonable' private parking company? Perhaps one that acted fairly when challenged? Showed compassion?

No, no and.....no!


These companies exist to make money and that's it, they are very greedy, and extremely devious.


If the site is covered by Bye-laws you would be better employing a pensioner to to cover the car park on behalf of the council as suggested by TWHC above.

The_Deep

Do not do it, you are opening a can of worms, and might even find yourself at the wrong end of a court claim, read this.

It is the will of Parliament that these scammers, (very often former clampers), be put out of business.

Hopefully that will take place in the near future. The Bill has passed through the HOC without hitch, and goes to the Lords soon. In the meantime involve your MP, the poor dears are buckling under the weight of complaints about these scammers.

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. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially 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.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Third Reading in late November, and, with a fair wind, will become Law next year.

All three readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 6-7 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

and this


Pete Wishart (SNP, Perth):

"I am sick and tired of receiving emails from people complaining about the behaviour of parking companies, telling me that they will never again visit Perth city centre because of the negative experience they had when they had the misfortune to end up in a car park operated by one of these companies. I have received more complaints about one car park in the city of Perth than about any other issue. That car park is operated by the lone ranger of the parking cowboys: the hated and appalling Smart Parking—I see that many other Members are unfortunate enough to have Smart Parking operating in their constituencies. It has reached the stage where one member of my staff now spends a good part of each day just helping my constituents and visitors to my constituency to navigate the appeals process.
…
The BPA does not have the ability to regulate these companies and has shown no sign whatsoever that it is trying to get on top of some of the sharper practices. The BPA gives a veneer of legitimacy to some of the more outlandish rogue operators by including them in their membership, allowing them to continue to operate. The Bill will oblige operators such as Smart Parking to amend their practices."

Do you really want the hassle?

beamerguy

Has anyone come across a 'reasonable' private parking company? Perhaps one that acted fairly when challenged? Showed compassion?

Where there is muck, there is money.

The muck being private parking companies

There is no such thing as a fair parking company

But you run the risk of being exposed on this and other forums
just like what we see daily.

Parkingfines

Pm sent.....

Computersaysno

Google for the perfect oxymoron and there at the top of the list is "reasonable private parking company".

waamo

Given byelaws are in place any reputable company shouldn't touch it anyway. If a company agrees to ticket on Byelaws land they are, by definition, unreasonable.

Who is the prosecuting authority? It will say in the Byelaws themselves. They need to stick a warden on and do the job themselves. Yes it would be a bit of a faff setting it up but it would have genuine legal powers to discourage errant parking.

Fruitcake

This is what our MPs have said about unregulated private parking companies.

See how many reasonable private parking companies they mention.

''Rip-offs from car park Cowboys must stop''; unfair treatment; signage deliberately confusing to ensure a PCN is issued; ''years of abuse by rogue parking companies''; bloodsuckers; ''the current system of regulation is hopeless, like putting Dracula in charge of the blood-bank''; extortionate fines; rogue operators; ''sense of injustice''; unfair charges and notices; wilfully misleading; signage is a deliberate act to deceive or mislead; ''confusing signs are often deliberate, to trap innocent drivers''; unreasonable; a curse; harassing; operating in a disgusting way; appeals service is no guarantee of a fair hearing; loathed; outrageous scam; dodgy practice; outrageous abuse; unscrupulous practices; ''the British Parking Association is as much use as a multi-storey car park in the Gobi desert''; and finally, by way of unanimous conclusion: ''we need to crack down on these rogue companies. They are an absolute disgrace to this country. Ordinary motorists and ordinary residents should not have to put up with this''.

These are the exact words used, so you should contact Sir Greg Knight MP if you want further information about this scam.

Parkingfines

waamo wrote: »

Given byelaws are in place any reputable company shouldn't touch it anyway. If a company agrees to ticket on Byelaws land they are, by definition, unreasonable.

Who is the prosecuting authority? It will say in the Byelaws themselves. They need to stick a warden on and do the job themselves. Yes it would be a bit of a faff setting it up but it would have genuine legal powers to discourage errant parking.

Spot on. Most won't touch with with byelaws in place