Don't pay PCNs from Cardiff Gate Retail Park

TheRossSays

It looks like the car park management company has abandoned its attempt to make me pay the £100 they demanded from me after I parked at Cardiff Gate Retail Park for just over 4 hours.

It's easy to go over the limit if you're shopping at B&Q, gong to Pure Gym and getting a coffee in Costa. There's an Asda just over the road too, which some people go to without moving their car.

But the sign at the entrance notifying motorists of parking restrictions is in a ludicrous position: up an 8 foot pole behind a huge pillar. You'd have to be able to see through the roof of your car to see it. Parking management have failed in their duty to inform motorists that parking restrictions are in force at the car park so don't pay if they issue you with a PCN.

Redx

the PPC has 6 years to take you to court

which PPC issued your PCN ? is it SMART PARKING ?

Fruitcake

I agree with the "don't pay" sentiment, but nobody should ever ignore a PCN in England or Wales. As Redx says, the scammers have six years to take motorist's to court, so hang on to your paperwork and take pics of the site and signage asap in case it gets changed at a later date.

You should also edit your post to remove information about who did what. Only ever refer to The Driver and The Keeper as scammers read these fora and have been known to use information from this forum against motorists who have blabbed about the driver's identity.

TheRossSays

Good to know, thanks. It's SmartParking.

TheRossSays

@Fruitcake, good advice thanks. I took a load of photos and emailed them.to myself to date them. Something should be done about these companies.

Redx

it has been


the new Parking (code of practice bill) 2019 , PASSED into law last friday (the one by Sir Greg Knight)

Fruitcake

TheRossSays wrote: »

@Fruitcake, good advice thanks. I took a load of photos and emailed them.to myself to date them. Something should be done about these companies.

You still need to edit your first post where you tell the world the driver's identity.

As for doing something about these scammers, you should read up about Sir Gregg Knight's parking bill. All this info is already written up in the NEWBIES thread.

Umkomaas

TheRossSays wrote: »

Something should be done about these companies.

What do you think regulars do here every day. Around 100 threads a day with multiple inputs, more often than not helping the motorist to defeat the private parking industry.

The industry loves us. We never get a Christmas card though!

TheRossSays

I understand it's usually best not to immediately confirm who was driving the vehicle, but in my case I was driving my partner's car so I decided to identify myself in order to ensure they wouldn't go after her.

I know about the parking bill but it doesn't seem to me to go as far as what is necessary. These firms are clearly uninterested in whether motorists are using car parks for the legitimate purposes for which they were provided: they're just looking for opportunities to demand as many big cash payments as they can. There should be a campaign putting pressure on companies like B&Q who abandon their customers to the predations of these profiteers.

For clarity, I answered every letter they sent to me. I'm not sure why you think I was saying you should ignore PCNs. I'm saying don't pay if you overstay at Cardiff Gate Retail Park. It's incorrectly signed. That seems to me to be useful information for people who come to this forum.

D_P_Dance

Read what Pete Wishert, MP, said in the House of Commons recently about Smart Parking

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.

Coupon-mad

I understand it's usually best not to immediately confirm who was driving the vehicle, but in my case I was driving my partner's car so I decided to identify myself in order to ensure they wouldn't go after her.

Wrong move. Your partner could have had it cancelled with one email.

Smart Parking are the easiest to beat, along with APCOA.