Requesting Use of Disabled Bays/ EA 2010/ EASS Response

Coupon-mad

Yes we have seen this before. 

As nosferatu1001 says - huge ambiguity in the contract then...!

This long drawn out saga (started Oct 2019) seems to be coming to a conclusion and details can be posted shortly when done and dusted if anyone is interested.

Yes please!

1505grandad

(Be aware  -  possible "gushy" alert!!)

SYNOPSIS

Sent same correspondence including supporting documents to Sainsbury and Tesco requesting permission to use disabled bays without Blue Badge and VRM put on white list.

Sainsbury replied within few days giving permission and included on white list.

Tesco never replied so had to chase. Refused permission saying only BB holders.

After repeated requests/denials referred matter to EASS who intimated a favourable outcome. Filled in complaint form from EASS sent to Tesco who again denied request. Referred back to EASS who reversed their previous positive outcome and sided with Tesco.

UPDATE

Wow. Until 2 weeks ago I was banging my head against a brick wall and was extremely frustrated. Tesco were basically ignoring me and never responded without being chased by me sending letters/emails to various departments. Only  then did the CEO's office, who I originally involved, respond. They kept referring me to the original rejection. There is an 

excessive amount of correspondence.

Although I would not have given in, I was resigned to this matter being resolved only via litigation after being ticketed - which I would have proceeded with.

Then out of the blue I received a letter from a very nice lady from an unusual Tesco department - considering it is only a parking matter. This was a complete reversal in both attitude/tone and, at last, their decision. 

I am pleased therefore that it was C-m who posted interest in the update (above) as I firmly believe that it was because of her "Tell It As It Is" remarks in her previous posts above, which I have used/quoted verbatim to my MP, that have caused this remarkable U - turn.

This saga has involved various departments of Tesco (BAD) - the EASS (GOOD/BAD) - the ICO (still in progress) - My MP (VERY GOOD) - a very nice lady from an unusual department of Tesco (VERY VERY GOOD) and production of four letters from hospital Consultants.

Regrettably, despite gentle cajoling, I was unable to persuade my MP to refer the ludicrous negative decision of the EASS to the appropriate Minister/ department for a definitive adjudication - lock-down in force possibly. I did not want to insist or go over her head as she has been very helpful to me and my family.

                                                                    HOWEVER.......

My MP had no problem in forwarding my submissions to a named individual at Tesco, who I had not heard of before. This included the negative decision from EASS and C-m's "TIAII" remarks, unaltered.

C-m's remarks were of course anonymous, I just introduced them to my MP as:-

"When I showed the above (EASS neg. decision) to a very knowledgeable person, for whom I and many others have the highest respect, their response was:-"   -   followed by C-m's "TIAII" remarks.

Of course the pandemic has delayed matters but these remarks, I am sure, eventually produced the U - turn response from the very nice lady from an unusual Tesco dept.

They certainly were not taking any notice of li'l ol' insignificant me.

By the way, none of the remarks by C-m were in any way denied/disputed/challenged, and there was no mention of the usual meaningless "gesture of goodwill" bullsheet in any U-turn correspondence.

During the correspondence with CEO's office etc. I mentioned a couple of times the prospect of Court proceedings. Also, after the first rejection, I stated in correspondence to all entities that Tesco "Had BANNED me............". It could be that someone with a bit of nous picked up on this and the "TIAII" remarks and had, as I did, the same or similar in the 

back of their mind re the following Court case:- 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/26/scouts-pay-42k-11-year-old-boy-discriminated-against-due-autism/

Just saying.

CONCLUSION

So I am now the proud owner of a permit, issued by Horizon Parking Ltd, which permits me to park in Tesco disabled bays without a BB. I would suggest that this, unless anyone knows differently or objects, is another first for the forum. 

I base this on a statement made by the very nice lady from the unusual dept. when she referred a query I had to her "car park operations manager". The statement says:-

"I am confident that you should not experience any issues using the permit, however we have not done this before so, if  you do encounter any problems, please come back to me."

THE PERMIT

I do not want to risk any come back, if any,  by posting a photo of the permit itself but will describe as best I can.

It is similar to the old car tax disc, with a light green background and a watermark of small continuous "Horizon Parking" in white all over it.

The writing in black letters says:-

           Horizon

           Parking

Horizon Parking (Tesco Only)

Disabled Parking

Expire 31/07/2023

Then a small hologram type icon with two each of very very small letters and numbers.

As you can see there is no name or VRM on the permit which in theory presumably means anyone can use it.

Of course I have no intention of abusing this hard won facility.

I would suggest that this is hastily designed and reinforces my claim that the permit I have is unique.

So, if OK I would like to claim this as another first for the forum and particularly another feather in the crowded "cap" of C-m. And, of course Redx who inspired me in the first place.

Oh, and the name of the very nice lady's unusual dept.?  -  it is called "Insurable Risk"

I still have no idea why they did not just put me on a white list like Sainsbury etc.

(Probably comes across as a bit "gushing" but I could not think of any other way than to "TIAII")

1505grandad

Once again the formatting has ruined the original post.

EDIT  -  now edited!

Fruitcake

Well done. I admire your tenacity and I'm glad you got a successful outcome in the end. As someone who does not have a BB but regularly drives a family member who does, and a disabled family member who does not, it is encouraging to say the least.

I have included a comment about permitted use of a disabled bay without a BB in the new CoP public consultation thread.

Umkomaas

Well done on your tenacity .... but don't let that permit fall off your dashboard or you'll be in danger of having a bit of 'nine times out of ten' BS template advice! 😩

Castle

1505grandad said:

THE PERMIT

I do not want to risk any come back, if any,  by posting a photo of the permit itself but will describe as best I can.

It is similar to the old car tax disc, with a light green background and a watermark of small continuous "Horizon 

Parking" in white all over it.

The writing in black letters says:-

           Horizon

           Parking

Horizon Parking (Tesco Only)

Disabled Parking

Does this only apply to Tesco Car parks managed by Horizon?

Le_Kirk

Well done, a fantastic outcome.

Coupon-mad

So I am now the proud owner of a permit, issued by Horizon Parking Ltd, which permits me to park in Tesco disabled  bays without a BB. I would suggest that this, unless anyone knows differently or objects, is another first for the forum. 

That IS a first for the forum - virtual t-shirt awarded to you!  Interesting and very well done!  I know of Tesco car parks operated by Highview and APCOA, so there are other firms who might not recognise your permit (shockingly) but you have created a precedent with this permit from Horizon.  

I am very impressed that Sainsburys knew ther duty to make a reasonable adjustment.  That's how easy it should have been.  Did they also give you a generic permit?

I am shocked that the EASS were so weak as to side with a clearly unjustified and illegal response from Tesco. 

Make sure you send the EASS a copy of your permit and a copy of the the reply from Tesco's Insurable Risk Dept and tell them that they were wrong, and need to take on board that both Sainsburys and Tesco have understood that the EA phrase requiring service providers to 'take every possible step' to avoid discrimination, means in the case of parking, issuing a special permit for people who qualify to use a disabled bay but don't have a Blue Badge. 

Also send the email to this Tesco clerk and tell them they were wrong, and were acting illegally by giving discriminative advice, and that this has now been put right by Tesco's Insurable Risk Dept.   As such, you suggest that he/she needs to alert his/her Manager to properly inform the front line 'Customer Service Specialists' at Dundee so they never again just swallow what their parking firm tells them and never make the same unlawful presumption on behalf of Tesco:

''As this is the Terms & Conditions we cannot authorise anyone to use the parking without following these. I am sorry this may response may disappoint you. [sic]

Kind regards,

XXXXXXXXXX

Customer Service Specialist

On behalf of the Executive’s Office

Tel: 0800 072 6685"

An alternative might have been to give you a permit to use a Parent & Child Bay. 
Either would have been reasonable and easy to grant.

Can you pm me the name and email address of the Tesco person who did this for you please?   I will of course only use it for similar cases in future and to demonstrate to other interested parties how this can and should be achieved.  

You are also entitled to more time than the arbitrarily fixed free parking period, of course.  As per the Norwich victory case where this was tested against two Local Authorities, because this was based upon the Equality Act 2010 provisions, it follows that the same applies to other service providers offering parking to the public:

https://www.wake-smith.co.uk/news/council-car-park-case-settled-a-victory-for-blue-badge-holders/

Again, on private land at least, the above is not just a precedent to point to as a 'victory for BB holders' it is a victory for common sense and the disabled population at large.    You (and not just BB holders on private land) are allowed reasonable adjustments, end of story! 

The unfair/illegal time limit issue was known TEN YEARS ago by Supermarkets:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8488737.stm

Acknowledged by some, but nothing was done.

1505grandad

Many thanks for your comments and will take on board all the suggestions etc.

@Castle -  yes  -  the accompanying letter says "This can be used to park in disabled bays solely Tesco,(sic) all other conditions
apply when parking in line with the terms and conditions on the signs"

@C-m -  Sainsbury only put my VRM on their white list  -  when change of vehicle they are to be advised of new VRM. I have PM'd you with the very nice lady's details.

1505grandad

Oh dear.

The reason I continued with this saga really was to obtain a definitive reversal of the negative EASS response to my complaint.

I was therefore slightly dismayed when my MP was unwilling to refer the matter to the relevant Minister/ dept. for  adjudication.

I also mentioned in my "Update" post that my MP had sent all representations to a gentleman whose name I had not encountered before. There were no details regarding employer, job title or department.

As I was about to email my thanks to my MP I thought I would Google the unknown name. When including "Tesco" with the name I found someone who looked promising. I included the name, job description and department and asked in the email if my thanks could be passed on, if appropriate. My MP has now confirmed that the person I included is correct.

So I now know why my MP contacted this person instead of forwarding to Minister/dept. with the risk that it might end up on the desk of another clueless clerk, just like the ones in the Tesco CEO's office.

@Coupon-mad -  would you like me to PM you with the details of this person for your records?. I believe he is even more relevant than the Insurable Risks person you already have. I also think that because of this persons position and department we can infer that the EASS are wrong as no comment has been made by him regarding your rebuttal. 

I can include the brief but to the point email exchange between MP and this person if required. 

(Should have known my MP would not let me down - hasn't yet - hence "Oh dear".)