Parking: The Big Con? - On Channel 5 tonight, 7pm

bargepole

This programme has been a long time in the making, and features both @Coupon-mad and me as contributors (mostly filmed pre-pandemic).

According to the programme blurb at https://www.channel5.com/show/parking-the-big-con/season-1/parking-the-big-con, ''Host Alexis Conran explores parking fines and shares how to avoid getting one and people that have fallen victim to particularly vindictive companies.''

Previous experience shows that this type of programme is never as hard-hitting as I and others would like, and they edit it in such a way as to suit the Production Company's agenda, not ours. Might be good, might be rubbish.

Umkomaas

Already programmed into our TV planner to ensure I don't miss it. Let's hope they keep the parts that hit hard, which might help undermine the dross presented to the select committee last month. 

Gove, are you watching? 🤓

Browntoa

Might be worth someone linking to it on 5 on demand when it's available 

95Rollers

I'll be watching this. Hopefully it will be watched by people who can bring about changes as that Select Committee seemed to be hoodwinked. 

bargepole

Bumping back to page 1. 

I suggest setting your Sky+ box to record it, then you can fast forward through all those adverts for pre=paid funeral plans.

Coupon-mad

My family are recording it but I didn't say anything ground-breaking.

MothballsWallet

bargepole said:

Bumping back to page 1. 

I suggest setting your Sky+ box to record it, then you can fast forward through all those adverts for pre=paid funeral plans.

Or your Virgin+/TiVo box.
Or your YouView box.

Sorry, just wanted to cover the bases for anyone not with Sky

zhonguonuren

Coupon-mad said:

My family are recording it but I didn't say anything ground-breaking.

FWIW I was in awe! What a great programme.

holderness

Was hoping a certain shyster law firm who publish their participation in a TV programme on the bottom of their letters as a veiled threat would be named. Not sure they would quite as readily be bragging about being on 'Parking the big con'  I did notice however that even the BPA logo was pixelated out on one of the threatening letters sent to the plasterer. Who is he by the way? 

95Rollers

The plasterer was Chris Crosby from the Britannia v Crosby IN THE SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY COURT No. F0DP806M ...

It was an OK watch. I was hoping there would input from people in the Parking/ Debt/ Legal/ ATAs being held to account over their practices and actions. I imagine the Cartel instructed its members to batten down the hatches and maintain radio silence!  But in layman's terms it exposed the practices and dispelled the lies on their letters and warned consumers of some scams like the one OPS subjected Neil Donohue to so ot had good points, but disappointed there was no shaming of scammers.

Umkomaas

Went OK, better than most. Deteriorated around the Blue Badge juncture, but, I think we should give Helen Dolphin plenty of work now with any Blue Badge case, seeing that she appeared to portray herself as the saviour of any BB holder hit by a PPC parking charge. 

For those not fully au fait with her organisation, check out DMUK and notice how many parking firms sport the DMUK logo on their websites, especially IPC members. There seems to be some kind of an alliance between DMUK and the IPC.  Others may remember the reported financial link up between them. 

Give DMUK some work going forward.