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Parking stories in the News/media
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Huddersfield nurse threatened with legal action for parking in wrong bays at Calderdale Royal Hospital
The nurse pays £20 a month for a permit but says staff are forced to abandon their cars to get to shifts on time
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/huddersfield-nurse-threatened-legal-action-27753424The nurse explained that the parking permit costs around £20 each month but doesn’t guarantee a space in the car park. “It’s so bad now that I’m getting letters from the bailiffs threatening to take me to court. I have not paid any of the tickets and I have written to the form numerous times to explain the above and I get nothing back from them."
She said she has received four parking tickets to date and that she is not the only member of staff at the hospital struggling with this issue. Due to this, she said that supervisors “don’t have a choice but to sympathise”.
A spokesperson for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust said:
“I can confirm that the Trust is not responsible for issuing parking fines. Permit parking at the Trust does not guarantee a space, and fines may be issued where cars have been parked inappropriately. There is also an appeals process in place.”
Car Parking Partnership and the BPA - you must be so proud of this marvellous 'parking management'.
PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
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An article about how over-zealous parking enforcement kills the high street:
https://wokingham.today/town-centres-future-is-hanging-by-a-thread/
It is about Local Authority parking rules and fees but the point it makes is the same as the effect on businesses of aggressive private parking firms.A business owner has written to the leader of Wokingham Borough Council to highlight what he has described as the “sobering reality” of the future of retail in the town centre.
Phil Edgecombe, owner of Phil’s Good Food in Broad Street, is demanding urgent action, suggesting the fate of the town’s market and independent retailers is “hanging by a thread.”
In the letter to Stephen Conway, he wrote:
“From my own experience and from talking to stall-holders and other shopkeepers, I firmly believe that within five years there will be no independent shops or market in Wokingham unless the Borough Council takes steps to encourage visitors to the town. The current policies regarding parking and enforcement of the parking rules are hostile to residents and visitors to the town, and local businesses are suffering.
The vibrancy of our town’s nightlife, and its potential to attract residents and visitors alike, are being stifled by these policies, and it is disheartening to see the negative impact on our community.”
He called for a reduction in parking fees. The reintroduction of free parking after 6pm and the removal of the civil enforcement officers, which he said is “killing the town.”
PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
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Another article based on a consumer letter, this time about NCP apparently "making a mistake":
A WARNING to motorists parking in the NCP car park in Terrace Road, Bournemouth:
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23808394.letter-a-warning-motorists-parking-ncp-car-park/
"I paid to park but three weeks later received a parking charge notice from NCP with a £60 fine (or £100 if not paid within 14 days). This included photographic evidence.
I knew I had paid but of course no longer had the small receipt from the car park machine. I was about to pay this when a friend suggested that I might have paid with a card and have proof on a bank statement. Luckily I did, so was able to submit this to NCP.
In reply I received a brief letter informing me that there had been an error.
Had I panicked and paid the charge, or been unable to provide proof of payment, or indeed paid in cash, NCP would have received an additional £60 from me in addition to the cost of parking. I wonder how many other unfortunate souls have been caught like this?PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
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Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD2 -
Customer fury over penalty charges at Tesco superstore car park
https://www.advertiserandtimes.co.uk/news/boycott-calls-amid-complaints-over-penalty-charges-at-new-mi-9331588/CUSTOMERS of a New Milton supermarket have been vowing not to return after complaining they were wrongly penalised for using the car park. Dozens of motorists reported receiving parking charge notices in recent weeks after visiting the Tesco superstore, off Caird Avenue, which, like many other branches, employs Horizon Parking.
Melanie Holman told the A&T she ended up paying a £70 penalty charge after feeling pressured when it increased from an initial £40. She was fined after using a parent and child parking space in July. Ms Holman had her two children with her at the time, including her eight-year-old daughter who is autistic and has other special needs.
Also six months pregnant, she said she was forced to partially park over a chevron due to a car having parked over the line in a neighbouring bay. But she claimed no reason was stated for her penalty. It was £40 to start with but, being busy, in and out of hospital with my daughter and working on my own new business, I hadn’t had time to do anything about it,” she said.
I just felt stressed and anxious about the pressure of the increased fine and not having a reason why. I was completely innocent. Innocent people are being fined – innocent parents during a cost of living crisis.”
Ms Holman highlighted the plight of a friend with two young children, who had also been fined for using the car park.
“They’ve had their fine go up to £145. They can’t afford it, and they’ve been threatened with bailiffs,” she continued. "They were on the local news about using food banks, so they really are hard-up and in no position to pay it.
They’re just wrecking other people’s lives.”
She added: “I worry about it now every time I go to Tesco. I’ve lived in New Milton my whole life and have just never known anything like it before.”
__________________________________________________________________
A local community Facebook page was inundated with posts from furious motorists.
Another mother told how she could not understand why she had been penalised for using a parent and child space with two children aged eight and 15. " I won’t be shopping in Tesco no more,” she wrote.
Another motorist reported successfully appealing against a penalty charge after visiting the store twice in over 12 hours and a camera failed to record her leaving the first time.
One Facebook user wrote: “Take direct action and avoid shopping there!
BPA and Horizon, you must be so proud.
Driving people away from the High Streets.
Good work...
PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
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Not responsible??Coupon-mad said:Huddersfield nurse threatened with legal action for parking in wrong bays at Calderdale Royal Hospital
A spokesperson for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust said:
“I can confirm that the Trust is not responsible...”
Obviously Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust need reminding about the NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts...
where we, and they, are told quite clearly...Contracted-out car parking
NHS organisations are responsible for the actions of private contractors who run car parks on their behalf.4 -
County Meath is in the Republic, not Northern Ireland.Coupon-mad said:And now to Northern Ireland for this novel article about APCOA wrongly clamping a paying patron's car:Determined mum took clampers to court over fine and won
'I would say to motorists everywhere stand up to the clamping bullies.'
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/determined-mum-took-clampers-court-27766941A determined mum who went to court to challenge a clamping fine, has admitted she was afraid when she first took on the case. But Maria O'Connor, 40, from Navan, Co Meath emerged victorious and has spoke out about her parking drama and how she wasn't prepared to just accept the fine.
'I would say to motorists everywhere stand up to the clamping bullies.'
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https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/man-awarded-compensation-after-parking-27796666
Pontypridd man awarded £200 after being harassed by New Generation Parking 5 years after PCN issued1 -
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/parking-tickets-from-private-firms-up-29-in-a-year/ar-AA1ho07E?ocid=U148DHP&pc=U148&cvid=e94f2f6e8c554808987c859eef7441b6&ei=29
Drivers have been hit by a 29% annual rise in the number of parking tickets issued by private companies in Britain, new figures show.
A record 11.1 million tickets were handed out in the 12 months to the end of March, according to analysis of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data by the PA news agency and motoring research charity the RAC Foundation.
Steve Gooding, RAC FoundationA new call to evidence on the issue closes on October 8.
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “In the four-and-a-half years since legislation was passed to create a single code of practice and address the worst excesses of private parking companies, as many as 36 million private parking charges may have been issued.
“The ballooning rate at which the volume of vehicle keeper requests continues to grow is a clear sign that something is seriously awry, creating distress for drivers and hassle for legitimate parking managers alike.
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The Island Green Car Park in Wrexham Hollywood North Wales has been the centre of much local community outrage (as previously reported on the forum a number of times), with many boycotting the car park, and in turn, businesses serviced by it. Local MSs Lesley Griffiths and Ken Skates have been fighting Euro Car Parks, but constantly hitting an arrogant brick wall.Wrexham MS Lesley Griffiths and Clwyd South MS Ken Skates have been taking a stand against Euro Car Parks, which runs the notorious car park at Island Green, after a deluge of complaints about unfair fines.
Despite managing to get some overturned, the Labour pair remain say they frustrated at the ‘arrogance’ of the company and its ‘refusal to show any empathy or utilise any shred of commonsense’. They are calling on the local community to respond to the DLUHC consultation, so hopefully there will be some ground floor evidence made available to the Government from this location.
Now they are hoping that a UK Government consultation will lead to new legislation which will clamp down on unscrupulous practices within the industry.
Ms Griffiths, MS for Wrexham, said: “Parking at Island Green Shopping Centre has been problematic for years but the issue of suspect private parking operators issuing unfair fines to shoppers and, in turn, negatively impacting businesses is not just a Wrexham issue – it is happening in towns and cities right across the UK.
“This consultation could be the beginning of the end for these unprincipled companies and I hope people make their voices heard.
The Private Parking Code of Practice Impact Assessment, published by the UK Government, states: “Since 2012, there has been a significant increase in the number of parking charges issued by private parking operators, measured by the number of requests for vehicle keeper details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
“Linked to this, there are concerns from consumer groups, MPs, and the public highlighting a range of poor practices and behaviours within the sector that the current system of self-regulation has not adequately dealt with. Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .
I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street4 -
Whar a win ........ shame the article did not say who the idiot legal was. Any idiot legal want to own up ??Stuckupahill said:https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/man-awarded-compensation-after-parking-27796666
Pontypridd man awarded £200 after being harassed by New Generation Parking 5 years after PCN issued1
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