Parking stories in the News/media

Nellymoser

The PP industry's response to these faulty payment machines is truly shocking. 

BPA nothing to say but appeal.
Excel and ECP nothing to say.

Gobsmacking!!!

Car1980

https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/127792/html/

In a nutshell. Glad DCB Legal have been waved under some MPs' noses.

Coupon-mad

Another person caught out by a faulty machine but still blamed and rinsed of £20:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14601235/amp/fined-100-wrong-parking-ticket-machine-WELSH.html

Her VRM showed on the ticket as Y1 but that's not even in her numberplate. Instructions were in Welsh.

Maybe she hit the Y key during the process to answer yes to a confusing question, who knows, but this victim ended up paying Initial Parking £20 to make the scam go away.

Coupon-mad

And yet another double dip case where POPLA found in favour of GroupNexus because they expect the motorist to have the burden to prove where they were in between two visits to a retail park, instead of the parking firm proving it by coughing up the whole VRM in/out list:

https://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/business/parking-row-erupts-after-shopper-fined-at-bedfords-st-johns-park-despite-claiming-to-have-left-5105709

The victim has vowed to fight it (good on him). Frustrated about the cameras, Mr Flashman said: “Unless they have been tampered with they WILL show me leaving and returning.”

Just musing: given POPLA is (so it says) 'an evidence based service' why do they just take ANPR firms' word for it that the appellant's car wasn't seen leaving then returning?

Coupon-mad

Not quite the same issue as normally covered on this forum but it involves APCOA and a car that ended up stationary (written off):

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14645263/We-left-70-000-Jaguar-Luton-Airport-staff-left-stunned-crashed-fence-wrote-havent-refunded-parking-fee.html

The employee wasn't breathalysed. 

Nellymoser

Mansfield MP contacted by retail park shoppers claiming faulty car park machine led to pcns. GroupNexus refunds some as a 'gesture of goodwill'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgp74lgn0ro

Nexus imply the machines were out of order drivers should have used other methods of paying but the people in the article are saying the machines were working....

One shopper said "her card payment was accepted by the machine but a pcn arrived shortly after, which soon totalled £170. I'm a single parent and every penny counts £170 is a lot of money for one hour's parking."

Another who received two charges said "For the first charge, I did put in my appeal 'Your machines aren't working correctly, somebody needs to go and look at them'.

"When I got another charge I brought that up again, I said 'Hold on, I've already told you the machines aren't working but you are still charging people'.

"It's not nice. It gives you anxiety that if they decline it you have to appeal to someone else, the charge is going to go up and in a world where the cost of living is already so high. It is just unnecessary for people who have already paid."

Nellymoser

Motorists are being cautioned that they could be hit with a £1,000 fine for not informing the DVLA of a change of address. 

The DVLA has issued a stark reminder that keeping personal details up to date is a legal obligation, not just a mere formality.

https://www.kentlive.news/news/motoring/dvla-alert-thousands-drivers-risk-10108316

Castle

Nellymoser said:

Motorists are being cautioned that they could be hit with a £1,000 fine for not informing the DVLA of a change of address. 

The DVLA has issued a stark reminder that keeping personal details up to date is a legal obligation, not just a mere formality.

https://www.kentlive.news/news/motoring/dvla-alert-thousands-drivers-risk-10108316

I wonder how many fines the DVLA has actually issued for failure to inform them of a change of address.

BlueonBlue

What the DVLA states or says and what they actually do in reality seems to be whatever suits them financially .

Coupon-mad

Asda seems to have no sympathy for an amputee who committed the heinous crime of parking at Asda in High Wycombe before opening time because he got there too early:

https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/25128384.asda-high-wycombe-parking-concerns-raised-ticket/

Of course this is BPA favourites, ParkingEye and the rule about parking during the hour immediately before store opening is clearly unjustified and unfair. The victim's relative, Andrea, quite rightly feels this rule is specifically catching out "vulnerable people". 

She said: "It is often elderly people and disabled people who like to get there early before it gets busy and crowded."

Does anyone care?

Clearly not.

Asda could have just cancelled it but they have completely swallowed the ParkingEye line. An ASDA spokesperson said: 

"There are prominent and visible signs in the car park of our Wycombe store that provide motorists with clear guidance on how to use the car par responsibly.

"These signs specify the permitted parking times and clearly state that parking outside these hours is strictly prohibited, to help ensure the car park is used appropriately and that spaces remain available for our customers.”

The car park management has an appeal process, and motorists with mitigating circumstances are encouraged to use the process and to provide relevant details when submitting an appeal."

So ASDA are basically saying that this poor customer wasn't using their car park 'responsibly'.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, ASDA, USE YOUR BRAIN CELL AND STEP IN TO PROTECT YOUR DISABLED CUSTOMERS WHO LIKE TO ARRIVE EARLY.

PPCs are a rotten festering virus on society, in my view. Look how they infect retailers with their crap, such that retailers forget what is actually important: their customers.

The BPA must be so proud.