Parking stories in the News/media

RavingMad

alanjuk said:

Another car park that has recently changed and appears to have purposely made it confusing to make the correct payment.
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/couple-boycott-lymelight-boulevard-car-10120581

They paid £1.50 for an hour's parking? How's that long enough for their activity? They didn't know they had to change the amount of time to match their intended period of stay?  Councils are all about making money now to provide services so it's no surprise if parking isn't cheap any more 

Edit: I retract most of that as I've reread the story.  People have to know specifically what time they parked up and then alter the scale? to match. Bit of a rubbish system obviously designed to catch people out

Gr1pr

There are far too many payment apps where you have to register the account first,  Ringo,  Sippi ,  allsorts , well known and obscure,  nobody wants loads of different private parking apps on their phones,  not everyone has roaming data either,  or sometimes no smartphone,  nevermind no service like some beach areas etc ( like in Wales   )

My phone hasnt got the space for all the apps required to be sure,  I am not changing it just to please app makers

There was talk of a single national app, but that appears to have died a death  ! Same with one payment app for electric charging  ( refuelling  )

When our council went app only, the shops had little or no footfall,  little or no business,  so are reintroducing limited free parking to encourage shoppers back to the high streets and town centres , locally

As for digital wallets,  it's currently a scam on the rise in the UK  ( Was on rip-off Britain earlier this month   )

https://www.actionfraud.org.uk/digital-wallet-scam-fraud/

Coupon-mad

alanjuk said:

Another car park that has recently changed and appears to have purposely made it confusing to make the correct payment.
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/couple-boycott-lymelight-boulevard-car-10120581

RavingMad said:

They paid £1.50 for an hour's parking? How's that long enough for their activity? They didn't know they had to change the amount of time to match their intended period of stay?  Councils are all about making money now to provide services so it's no surprise if parking isn't cheap any more 

Edit: I retract most of that as I've reread the story.  People have to know specifically what time they parked up and then alter the scale? to match. Bit of a rubbish system obviously designed to catch people out

Yep. It appears deliberate.

No surprise, because this isn't Council, it's  ex-wheelclampers Minster Baywatch who rejected her futile joke 'appeal'.

This industry invariably only make money from PCNs. That's the fundamental issue and the MHCLG will literally NEVER significantly make any dent into the PCN numbers issued unless they ban the 'free to landowners' protection racketeering that encourages new ways to confuse and catch out a % of drivers and thus issue as many PCNs as possible.

That's why we are now at 16million private PCNs per annum (£14.5 million involving DVLA keeper data harvesting & another 10% on top are windscreen private PCNs paid or appealed by duped drivers  who either fess up to parking - no DVLA data needed for those - and/or actually think these are real fines).

As for Councils only providing an app, clearly this is unfair and likely illegal.

prowla said:

Some streets in Reading are being shifted to RingGo only.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3qg3w5p3ko 

I don't have, nor want, that app.

RavingMad said

But then you can't park anywhere that only accepts RingGo.

What do you have against using the app? 

The fact that only providing that payment method knowingly excludes elderly people and others with no smartphone.

Which is quite possibly illegal (discriminatory by marginalising a whole age group of motorists) and this approach goes against the will of Parliament:

https://www.localgov.co.uk/Motorists-face-digital-exclusion-from-car-parks-MPs-warn/55910

ParkingMad

In September 2022, DLUHC wrote to the DVLA about Brighton and Hove City Council, who contract One Parking Solution to enforce parking restrictions on BHCC housing land. Some of the locations in the contract are not housing land.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/correspondence_between_dluhc_and/response/2281628/attach/2/DVLA%20letter%20on%20LA%20parking%20enforcement%201%20Redacted.pdf

The two FOIs below show that PCNs are still being issued on non-housing land such as Brighton and Hove seafront, Victoria Recreation Ground, Woodvale Crematorium and Patcham Community Centre. 

PCNs issued in 2023:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/parking_charge_notices_issued_by_14/response/2648890/attach/2/PCNs%20issued%20on%20BHCC%20sites%20by%20OPS%2001.01.23%2031.12.23%202.pdf

PCNs issued in 2024:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/parking_charge_notices_issued_by_15/response/2998371/attach/2/FOI%2017977309%20Parking%20Charge%20Notices%2001012024%2031122024.xlsx

Kaizen2024

Both the Robert Goodwill letter and the above letter from DLUHC state that they are of the opinion that local authorities should not issue Parking Charges under contract law; and that the DVLA should bear this in mind when making a decision as to whether data should be released to them in this scenario.

There is nothing within these letters (which are opinions, not law), or legislation for that matter, that forbids Parking charges being issued by a private company in their own name as the Creditor on non-relevant land (all be it on a non-POFA basis).

Coupon-mad

ParkingMad said:

In September 2022, DLUHC wrote to the DVLA about Brighton and Hove City Council, who contract One Parking Solution to enforce parking restrictions on BHCC housing land. Some of the locations are not housing land.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/correspondence_between_dluhc_and/response/2281628/attach/2/DVLA%20letter%20on%20LA%20parking%20enforcement%201%20Redacted.pdf

The two FOIs below show that PCNs are still being issued on non-housing land such as Brighton and Hove seafront, Victoria Recreation Ground, Woodvale Crematorium and Patcham Community Centre. 

PCNs issued in 2023:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/parking_charge_notices_issued_by_14/response/2648890/attach/2/PCNs%20issued%20on%20BHCC%20sites%20by%20OPS%2001.01.23%2031.12.23%202.pdf

PCNs issued in 2024:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/parking_charge_notices_issued_by_15/response/2998371/attach/2/FOI%2017977309%20Parking%20Charge%20Notices%2001012024%2031122024.xlsx

@Coupon-mad said:

Thanks for that info.

Very interesting!

This isn't housing land in most cases.

I suspect that the DLUHC and DVLA just hoped this would go away. Well it hasn't.

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Kaizen2024 (self admitted from the parking industry) said:

Both the Robert Goodwill letter and the above letter from DLUHC state that they are of the opinion that local authorities should not issue Parking Charges under contract law; and that the DVLA should bear this in mind when making a decision as to whether data should be released to them in this scenario.

There is nothing within these letters (which are opinions, not law), or legislation for that matter, that forbids Parking charges being issued by a private company in their own name as the Creditor on non-relevant land (all be it on a non-POFA basis).

That's also just your opinion.

My view is that Council land should always be operated under a TRO or Parking Places Order because there is clear unfairness in using a PPC who:

- profits from PCNs issued

- very often issues what MPs and consumer groups would call 'scam' PCNs

- charges double, then triple (£170)

- offers no impartial appeal or tribunal

- causes CCJs (not possible if councils are operating properly under a TRO)

- uses ANPR or CCTV (breach of Deregulation Act on Council land and now operating on the Promenade) and

- is from a known rogue industry and

- can't even be bothered to keep signs in good order. For example here's an OPS sign on a road the Council is pretending isn't public highway, despite the double yellow and council sign on the opposite kerb:


Yep the broken sign is apparently the contract...and this is clearly public highway with a TRO, see the sign on the left / foreground:

This is at The Highway, directly off the main A270 into Brighton (the Lewes Road). You can see this is restricted public highway and those bays are on a verge (NOT private land)...so I'd suggest that BHCC may have misled the DVLA and the DLUHC:

Nellymoser

"It gets rid of the hassle"

One in 20 (5%) AA members would pay up immediately if they received a PCN from a private company even if they had done nothing wrong.

Will Hurley IPC says motorists should use the appeal services offered. (This forum says complain to the Landowner they employ the PPC)

https://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/national/25119215.one-20-pay-unjustified-parking-ticket---survey/

Local growth minister Alex Norris said:

“We inherited a dysfunctional private parking market that has lacked crucial transparency and protection for motorists, leading to unfair and unjustified charges."

“Parliament legislated for a legally binding Code of practice six years ago with cross-party support but the four previous administrations all failed to implement it."

“Where they failed, we are determined to act. That is why we are working at pace to drive up standards by bringing forward a stronger, more robust legal private Parking code of practice.”

Ooh I so want to believe him....

patient_dream

"stronger, more robust legal private Parking code of practice.”

And that sums it up .... A LEGAL CODE OF PRACTICE .... not some code dremed up by the BPA/IPC to support their members also adding a scam charge

Nellymoser

A woman only learned UKPC had dropped the case against her when she called the court to check the time of her hearing.

The 23yr old received the pcn in 2023 after a visit to Blackpole Retail Park. She refused to pay due to the "sudden" change in the parking rules and the change in signage.

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/25000545.blackpole-parking-fine-legal-case-thrown-last-minute/

Coupon-mad

Driver's anger at 'incorrect' parking fine from Rye car park

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/25107098.drivers-anger-incorrect-parking-fine-rye-car-park/

Think we've seen this one in another paper but this new article yet again refers to the scam of faulty keypads:

"In an investigation by the PA News Agency, they revealed numerous cases of drivers who insist they entered their registration correctly but still received a PCN.

Lee Rogers, 67, is among others across the UK who claim to have experienced this. The retired chef received a fine from Euro Car Parks after using a car park in Rye, East Sussex, in August last year. After purchasing his ticket, he later realised the ticket he bought only had one digit of his registration printed on it.

Lee said: “I did not stand there and key in just the first digit. Hundreds of others have had the same problem.”

Lee said he told Euro Car Parks he would “very much like to go to court” over the issue as “they know I’ve paid”.

His partner is feeling “trepidation that someone might come knocking at the door”, he also added.