Parking stories in the News/media

Nellymoser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81878079#Comment_81878079

WOW that's some shocking story above. A clear example of Smart Parking ignoring the landowners request 'we don't want or need you to manage our car park'.

And a pathetic response from the IPC who made no mention that Smart had reactivated their ANPR cameras after their contract with the business had ended.

kryten3000

Could Smart be liable for stealing electricity?

BTW does anyone know what happened with the landowner on the Isle of Wight that was threatened because he unplugged the ANPR cameras after his staff kept getting charges? I might be wrong but I thought that this was also Smart.

Coupon-mad

Shocking story.

I noticed that the MP also talked about 'ghost tickets' which as our evidence shows, is very common from Smart.

First letter is a £170 threatogram. PCNs magically never received in case after case, despite victims' addresses being correct.

The BPA was investigating that pattern IIRC, and Smart admitted in a case I saw that no PCN had been issued. If they were still being investigated by the BPA last year it isn't a surprise that they forum-shopped to the lax IPC.

I also think the IOW one involved Smart Parking.

And infamously, Smart Parking also almost called time on the We Three Loggerheads pub:

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/loggerheads-mold-car-park-fines-13774891.amp

patient_dream

And a pathetic response from the IPC 

In general all comments made by the IPC are pathetic. Do you think government is being sucked in by the IPC ?

Nellymoser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81879387#Comment_81879387

I think this is the IOW one @kryten3000 is thinking off. I remember it well it was around the time the penny dropped that I was dealing with scammers (PPC and BPA)

https://iwobserver.co.uk/browns-golf-course-parking-fiasco/

It was Smart Parking here too. Although they threatened to sue Mr Scandrett there doesn't seem to be anything online to say they did. Think it would have only embarrassed Smart Parking showing they lacked the skills to manage a 'whitelist' and ipad for registering VRM exemptions.

The couple did leave in 2023 saying it was over the new lease agreement with the council. https://onthewight.com/browns-golf-course-and-cafe-closes-tenants-gutted-about-decision/

Coupon-mad

Notorious "rip-off" industry stalwart parking firm, Napier, is reportedly still ruining residents' and visitors' lives at Jengers Mead, which is a no-go zone for many in the Billingshurst area of Sussex:

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/25839000.confusing-parking-rules-leave-billingshurst-shoppers-fined/

Look at the state of the machine keys & screen:

How can anyone use this in two minutes flat or drive out by 5 mins if it fails?

Found this on FB:

Aren't the De Savary family rich enough without taking 3 and 4 figure extortionate sums from disabled villagers (or those reduced to borrowing money to pay) for parking at and using a shop?

And who is this guy, who registered himself for 32 parking company officer appointments on 9th Feb (this week?):

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/qhrALYzJHkRQLr_mjkSsxYYHQP0/appointments

Seems to be Ops Manager at Napier but he has a Linked In profile as Mat Croft - Napier Parking, saying he has 'worked' (for want of a better word) in the parking industry for years.

The IPC must be so proud.

They'll no doubt reckon that the 94 year old disabled victim mentioned in that FB chat should have just buggered off and parked elsewhere and therefore, the £1100 their horrific AOS member has trousered from him is fair game.

@Kaizen2024 what say you?

How do they all sleep at night and look their families in the eye?

ParkingMad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81872607#Comment_81872607

Coupon-mad

Woman going to court to fight 'unfair' parking fine appeals for other victims in Milton Keynes to come forward

https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/woman-going-to-court-to-fight-unfair-parking-fine-appeals-for-other-victims-in-milton-keynes-to-come-forward-5525080

Why didn't she just Google it first (before appealing like a numpty) and come here and appeal as keeper…?

Sigh…

Terrible article.

Calls it a fine & incorrectly says she going to Magistrates' Court…

BUT it does mention an interesting (successful) claim that an elderly chap called Jim Hibbert filed against Smart Parking in 2024.

I looked it up as I can't recall if we reported it at the time:

https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/24499964.pensioner-battles-car-park-company-court-10p/

Particularly interesting because, according to that article, Jim seemingly went head-to-head with JMW Solicitors over his £40 claim.

Hands up who believes that the BPA's pet lawyer Derek Millard Smith and cronies at JMW spent FOUR GRAND on a defence and sending some (reportedly 'lying') sap to the hearing?!

@Kaizen2024 - you are an admitted insider in this appallingly anti-consumer greedy, bullying industry - do you believe that c£4000 costs assessment that old Jim was reportedly threatened with, to shut him up?

Coupon-mad

The paper has followed up on this one:

Shoppers have been hit with £60 'fines' for visiting B&M during the earlier opening hours at B&M’s store in Parc y Llyn Retail Park in Aberystwyth the week before Christmas:

https://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/shoppers-hit-with-ps60-parking-fine-for-visiting-bms-early-christmas-opening-hours-865899
The store usually opens from 8am, but that week opened from 7am to help customers prepare for the busy holiday week.

However the car park operator - UKPC - didn’t follow suit, fining customers who used the retail park car park before the official opening time of 8am. One victim said:


“The restriction is not clearly displayed and none of the signs are illuminated in hours of darkness. The store had informed UK Parking Control of the change in opening hours; however they have taken no notice and continued to enforce the 8am time limit! There were dozens of cars parked at B&M at this time, so suspect they have all received a parking ticket.”

And now:

https://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/parking-company-cancels-fines-for-aberystwyth-bm-christmas-shoppers-877785#google_vignette

"Prior to Christmas, B&M extended their shopping hours, but this extended the hours beyond the adjacent car park’s opening hours, exclusive to customers only.

Mandy and the vicar both parked before 8am on the week before Christmas, and both received fines which would grow to £100. Mandy appealed after the news article and both fines were eventually cancelled by the parking company.

Don't be fooled.

They cancelled the TWO charges featured in the January article.

Quelle surprise.

The BPA and their members like to sweep bad publicity under the carpet.

Any apology? No. Not even from B&M.

UK Parking Control have repeatedly not responded to requests to comment, but B&M responded in an unapologetic tone, that:

“it is unfortunate that restrictions and charges need to be imposed due to non-B&M customers using the car park, and customers using our car park as a base while they continue shopping etc with other retailers or attending other appointments.”

That's UKPC-speak!

What on earth has that got to do with genuine shoppers and how exactly does remote ANPR know where drivers are or are not shopping or 'going for appointments'?

Why does B&M blindly believe what UKPC tells them?

Coupon-mad

Here we have Group Nexus slapping hospital patients with £100 rip-off charges when there is evidence that their machines were not working:

https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/25847432.colchester-hospital-visitor-given-controversial-parking-fine/

This follows on from the appalling records set by this rogue industry in the last few years.

Patients & staff are sitting ducks for dodgy payment methods, ANPR 24/7 big brother surveillance and a lack of spaces for permitted, authorised staff:

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-nhs-staff-receive-thousands-of-car-parking-fines-at-hospitals

An investigation by Channel 4 found that over 25,000 parking fines were given out to NHS staff in just 17 of England’s 207 trusts with car parks in 2024.

And there’s reason to believe there are thousands more.

"We submitted an FOI request to every NHS trust in England that had a car park, asking how many fines staff had received last year. Some trusts said that they didn’t separate staff from visitor fines, but still showed us the total, some of which showed thousands had been issued.

And some trusts had third party companies running their car parks who wouldn’t share their data.

These missing figures means the true number of fines meted out to NHS staff will be much higher than the 25,000 we’ve identified."

‘It’s absolutely disgusting’

"We spoke to hospital staff about the toll these fines can take, as well as the struggle with lack of parking spaces for employees, and the high costs of parking permits.

Lisa Duggan, a neonatal nurse at Milton Keynes University Hospital, received a fine after not being able to park in any of the staff car parks. She explained that she needed to start work urgently to relieve the nurse from the previous shift, and so she parked in a visitors bay.

She told us she left a note on her window screen explaining the situation, but returned to her car that night to find a fine. She had her £20 monthly parking permit on display at the time too.

The fine started off under £100, but as she was trying to contest the ticket and explain the situation to the parking company, the fee continued to rise.

Lisa started to receive letters threatening her with county court judgements (CCJs) and court hearings, which frightened her into paying the final fee of almost £300. She had to borrow money to pay it off.

Lisa told us: “It’s absolutely disgusting. I don’t think there’s any care and compassion. I don’t think it’s fair for staff to be put in this situation.”

The nurse said other colleagues at the trust face a similar situation. She’s in a Facebook group about NHS staff parking fines where she said “everyone is stressed and being threatened”.

Lisa is just one of tens of thousands of NHS staff who’ve received a fine.

In south London, cancer patient coordinator Shakebah Robinson has had nearly 200 tickets in the last few years, which over time have racked up to £15,000.

She told us she can’t afford to pay this.

As a mother of four young children, whose mortgage has recently nearly doubled, Shakebah told us her budget is razor thin. After free parking that was implemented during the Covid pandemic was removed, she struggled to pay the £600 annual cost required for her parking permit.

Shakebah said she relies on her car to get her children to different schools and then herself to work, and the situation got so bad that she even tried to park near the hospital bins, avoiding taking up a designated space altogether.

Parking management would “jump out” and “aggressively” show Shakebah that they had a camera and wanted to record her giving her identification, she said.

We spoke to Patricia Marquis, executive director and the Royal College of Nursing, about Lisa and Shakebah’s situation, as well as the number of fines we found.

She said: “It really is of concern to think that nurses are regularly, it would appear, being fined for going to work.”

Ms Marquis added that it is “shocking” to see the “scale” of the number of fines we found, especially as this was just over 17 trusts, and said:

“imagine what this looks like if multiplied by trusts that didn’t provide us with figures."

This week we also have this Sheffield Star article about ParkingEye hiking up fees at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Northern General Hospital:

https://www.thestar.co.uk/health/sheffield-hospital-parking-nhs-staff-5507995

"Private operator ParkingEye - who took over in late 2025 - has put up parking fees, with some frontline NHS staff working 12-hour shifts now paying up to £12 just to do their jobs.

The response from readers was huge. Out of more than 600 comments, over 98 per cent were in favour of free or reduced parking for staff."

The Government should be ashamed.

The BPA clearly isn't bothered and supports the interests of its members, so who will stop this money-grabbing steamroller business model that rips off patients & NHS staff?

Come on MHCLG. Step in NOW.

Reverse your tone deaf anti-consumer and wholly disproportionate 'bending the knee' Options Assessment and get real. You do not need more data or evidence.

Parking invoices (in most instances) should be no higher than on-street penalties. This isn't about safety or keeping traffic flowing.

It's not as if genuine patients, NHS staff - nor supermarket, retail park, hotel, pub, restaurant or gym patrons for that matter - need a £100 deterrent!