Fighting back by reporting operator for BPA CoP breach

Nesjo

Your help is needed in supporting an initiative to get Parkingeye kicked out of the British Parking Association for failing to follow the BPA Code of Practice.

Parkingeye is very proud of its BPA membership and even boasts: "We work hard to raise standards within the industry and to promote compliance with both industry specific regulations and with all other relevant laws."

According to the BPA: "Instances of non-compliance with the BPA's Code of Practice are enforced and monitored through a Scheme of Sanctions and are issued dependent upon the severity of the non-compliance. If an operator reaches 12 points in any twelve month period, the operator may be referred to the BPA Council of Representatives for disciplinary action which may result in suspension or termination of membership from the AOS and the BPA."

I've asked the BPA to investigate Parkingeye for ignoring the BPA CoP related to the 10-minute grace period for a parking overstay, when the total time that the vehicle in question was in the car park - note, not "parked" - as 2h10m, and I'd paid for 2h.

The BPA CoP, as many of you know, states that BPA members should apply a minimum grace period of 10 minutes on both entry to and exit from the car park.

If you have also been hounded by Parkingeye for an overstay of 10 minutes or less, then you might want to contact the BPA's compliance office: aos@britishparking.co.uk

waamo

It's not going to happen. The BPA rely on ParkingEye. ISTR a few years ago the BPA accounts showed PE almost single handedly funded the BPA.

Personally I like the idea of complaining to the DVLA too as they have the real power.

Millerkev

I have one for less than 5 minutes overstay that SMART are claiming their terms clearly state time spent on site NOT parked
Unlucky for me was on a day out and I have no recollection of there terms

Umkomaas

I’ve helped many lost causes on this forum, but trying to oust the highest paying private parking benefactor from the BPA, taking with them their tens of thousands of pounds of funding is, I’m afraid, one step too far for me.

Just off now to resolve the Middle East crisis, the Venezuelan presidency and in my tea break, Brexit!

All facetiousness put aside, the BPA ain’t going to fire PE ..... ever. Sorry.

Coupon-mad

Your help is needed in supporting an initiative to get Parkingeye kicked out of the British Parking Association

Sadly that will never happen, P/Eye are their blue eyed boys. You will likely get a complete fob-off reply from Joanna or one of the others like her.

Why not also ask the BPA why they never implemented the minimum eleven minutes that they agreed to replace the grace period section with, in a meeting of the Professional Development & Standards Board:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/73604090#Comment_73604090

However, you are quite right to report them for breach of the CoP as they are clearly in breach by issuing PCNs for overstays that fall within the minimum ten minutes.

Coupon-mad

Millerkev wrote: »

I have one for less than 5 minutes overstay that SMART are claiming their terms clearly state time spent on site NOT parked
Unlucky for me was on a day out and I have no recollection of there terms

Lucky for you Smart ALWAYS roll over & cancel within a month of seeing the forum template appeal and they can't hold keepers liable, so you win.

Nesjo

Hi - it's a grain of sand on the beach maybe, but PE have given me a bunch of unnecessary hassle, so I'm paying them back.

Coupon-mad

Good, we support that!

Umkomaas

Nesjo wrote: »

Hi - it's a grain of sand on the beach maybe, but PE have given me a bunch of unnecessary hassle, so I'm paying them back.

Good luck. Let us know when they’ve been kicked out!

My best advice, given genuinely, is not to waste too much precious time, that you will never get back, chasing shadows.

If you’re going to cause the most ripples, I’d concentrate action via the DVLA, ultimately using Freedom of Information requests to force them away from mealy-mouthed fob offs to general letters of complaint.

The_Deep

I fear that you are urinating wind-wardly, they will not give a ratsarse. If you want to mildly discomfort them complain to your MP.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, and persistent offenders denied access. Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers.

Until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies. .

Coupon-mad

Another way to annoy them is to report them to the ICO for obtaining your data under false pretences, having no 'reasonable cause' to harvest VRNs where the car has left the site, dead on ten minutes past the free time.

Might be good to ask P/Eye first (use their data concerns/privacy form) for a SAR to show you all the raw images of the car including the times the VRN was captured (not just the first in/last out images).

I understand ANPR captures VRNs every few seconds (might be every 20 seconds or closer) so one car is likely to be shown in their data images more than once, in fact, then they select the image that suits them best!

You are entitled under the GDPR to all data, all images, if you ask.

It might flush out that you were stuck at the exit waiting to join the road for 30 seconds to a minute and that P/Eye have chosen the last image to try to get a few seconds over the 'line'. Then you can present that evidence to the ICO in an online complaint about how they've handled VRN data to massage it to be just a few seconds over, when in fact that's untrue and excessive to then issue a PCN over, given the BPA CoP grace period is a MINIMUM allowance, not a ceiling.