Victory for Motorists: MHCLG Caps Parking Charges at £50 (£80 in London) with Mandatory 50% Discount

Umkomaas

Car park owners may now be forced to charge for previously free parking in order to cover their costs controlling abuse by a small number of selfish and irresponsible motorists.

If it's a small number, car park owners might just shrug their shoulders and put up with them so as not to upset the vast majority by imposing charges. Then there would be no need to have any parking firm involved, would there? 

But, hang on ..... this is a far cry from the previous BPA position.  They are now saying that it's just 'a small number'.  Where has carmageddon gone?  This is the peg on which they have hung every apology for having PPCs infest almost every car park in the country. So the cat really is out of the bag ..... there has never been a problem before or since. 

Misleading, or what?  There again, misleading a Government consultation has never been a problem for them previously (PoFA consultation).  Oh dear, now we know!

beamerguy

This is how it is now ..... BPA/PPC's v The Motorist
Not excluding the other load  of rubbish, the IPC and old Curly Wurley

Both are not fit for purposes, surely government can do better than these two

Coupon-mad

Half_way said:

Makes you wonder just how the world got by before the days of ANPR cameras, before supermarket car parks were infested by parasitic parking company's and so on

Yes, and we all remember that the BPA and ParkingEye lobbied Government six months ago, to try to get Local Authorities to be allowed to use ANPR for parking 'enforcement' again, to 'embrace the benefits' such as security surveillance (errrr...what?) and the 'rich data' - usual crap PPC phrase - jumping on the social distancing bandwagon by using COVID as an excuse to forget the Deregulation Act of 2015, that had banned ANPR.

Anyhoo the good news is, the Government have told them where to go on that as well, according to this article in the BPA's Parking News this month:

http://portfolio.cpl.co.uk/Parking-News/405/46/

And in the same edition, I read about SCS Law, blathering on about dispute resolution hearings, the short 30 minute hearings where DDJs who often have no idea about parking cases, try to get Defendants to settle.  Apparently about 50% of people are settling because the Judges are telling them (often wrongly) that they have no defence:

http://portfolio.cpl.co.uk/Parking-News/405/22/

Amusingly, SCS rant about boilerplate defences & forums, and bemoan (as if it's unfair) that the bar to blame Defendants for unreasonable conduct is so high that costs can't be claimed. 

How sad.   The World's smallest violin is being dusted off for the industry again...

Snakes_Belly

There is talk about many centres of large towns being car free. Large stores are closing and many people are ordering their groceries online. Buying habits have changed a lot in the last year. Car parks are never going to be as full as they were.

What has happened to the poster who was certain that clamping would return.?   

Umkomaas

Snakes_Belly said:

There is talk about many centres of large towns being car free. Large stores are closing and many people are ordering their groceries online. Buying habits have changed a lot in the last year. Car parks are never going to be as full as they were.

What has happened to the poster who was certain that clamping would return.?   

Perhaps @AnotherForumite might care to comment. To be fair, they have been reasoned and polite. Let's be hearing from them. 

AnotherForumite

@Umkomaas Not much to say on this subject ATM as nothing is certain yet, other than that a good business man/woman has the capacity to rise to any challenge, adapt and excel.

Indeed, we have faced and survived many challenges to date, be it the ban on wheel clamping, GPEOL etc,

Certainly interesting times ahead.

Coupon-mad

AnotherForumite said:
Not much to say on this subject ATM as nothing is certain yet, other than that a good business man/woman has the capacity to rise to any challenge, adapt and excel.

Interesting use of words.   

But PPCs don't Excel at anything except ripping off the public.  You will be doing so under Very Close Scrutiny now. 

What did you expect?  Did the industry think they could walk all over this legislation as they did with the POFA?

Half_way

As ive said before, the world coped perfectly well without PPCs , im sure i can remember going to a supermarket with my mum and getting a golden token at the checkout that you popped in the barrier to get out for "free" other places it was just a standard car park no anpr - nothing.

 Its also not much of an argument if you say more people are driving, out of town shopping centres and supermarkets have been with us since the 1960's with virtually all customers arriving by car

Snakes_Belly

"Its also not much of an argument if you say more people are driving, out of town shopping centres and supermarkets have been with us since the 1960's with virtually all customers arriving by car"

Climate change will change driving habits with more emphasis on better public transport.  With the current cost of an electric car I think that more multiple car families will perhaps cut down on car ownership and share cars between family members.

bargepole

Here is a summary of the position in pictorial form. All the dummies are on the inside: