Parking stories in the News/media

yarpsnehpets

In most cases the EV bays are leased separately from the landowner.

It's therefore very questionable if the parking operator even has the authority to issue notices to people using those spaces.

GrannyKate

With regard to the FOIA I sent following an article about parking at a hospital trust on this thread, I have sent a second reminder today asking for a response or a realistic timescale by next Monday. After that I will ask for an review of the handling of the request followed by escalating to the ICO. I suspect they will not care much as I have become aware that this Trust received an enforcement notice from the ICO in April 2025 at which point they had 900 (yes 900) unanswered FOIA requests from 2019 to 2024.

Half_way

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82093178#Comment_82093178

Depends upon how much you want to fight, but if you have the time you could attend any comunity "outreach" type events and just eb a complete thorn in their side.

As for EV charges and "out of hours" , if its out of hours then the chargers should be off, and/or set up in a way to demonstrate that, anything else could be seen as entrapment, then theres the whole aspect of if you are re fuelling are you parked? and if in an EV bay is that bay leased by the charge company, meaning that you effectivly leave the car park to enter an EV charge area. With the uptake of EV vehicles this issue will keep rearing its head.

It will take a court case/test to decide if EV charging/re fuelling is parking ( as per joppson vs homegaurd) and if being in an area separately leased means you are effectively out of the car park

Nellymoser

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/pensioner-hit-120-parking-charges-230000289.html

A pensioner, 78 says he felt totally ripped off by an unreasonable and insensitive company after being charged £120 for briefly using a private car park to safely drop off and collect his disabled wife from a medical appointment.

The couple were unable to stop on the High Street because it was closed for the weekly market, while roadworks around the Fountain roundabout left nowhere nearby to safely unload her folding mobility scooter.

Chris instead pulled into The Fountain private car park for a few minutes to use an electric hoist to remove the scooter from the boot of their estate car and help his wife, before driving away, returning 3hrs later to collect her.

Later two pcns were received from the site's operator, Napier Parking. Chris appealed the charges, explaining the circumstances, but says both appeals were rejected.

"It feels wholly unreasonable and pretty inhumane that they penalised us and to charge me twice is outrageous."

Chris said he reluctantly paid the two charges because he could not afford to challenge them further.

Napier Parking was approached for comment…😶

Coupon-mad

"Couldn't afford to challenge them further"…but he'd never have paid a penny.

yarpsnehpets

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82093432#Comment_82093432

It can be argued that the CMA open letter touches on your point - namely; sites which have multiple facilities.

It's surprising actually, since the CMA letter (while out and about) I have been observing how many filling stations / car parks offer additional facilities - it's a huge percentage.

Something does need to be done otherwise the number of PCNs will carry on rising.

patient_dream

CMA takes action to drive improvements for motorists

I am sure the link has been posted before

1. Under the new consumer regime, if a company infringes consumer protection law, the CMA can fine them up to 10% of their global turnover (or £300,000 where this is higher than 10%).

Which parking company will be next ?

Any one of those we see on here

nigelbb

re EV charging out of hours. The defence to any PCN in these circumstances should be that of promissory estoppel.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/104029

kryten3000

The IPC are now touting CMA training on LinkedIn

"Appeals - Appeal Handling: Getting It Right

Understand the Guidance. Train Your Team. Demonstrate Compliance.
This training course provides a comprehensive overview of the appeals handling process, covering the consideration period, effective communication with motorists, and the operation of the internal appeals process.
Participants will gain practical guidance on managing evidence requests, using appropriate template wording, and carrying out consistency checks to ensure fair, accurate, and compliant decision-making

Annual Training Subscribers - Included at no additional cost
Non-Subscribers:
£20 plus VAT per course – buy one get one free
£60 plus VAT for all four of the new courses plus all the additional 37 training modules

Coming soon: Evidence gathering for those issuing charges/Designing compliant signage/Complaints handling
Included free for annual training subscribers."

Shouldn't they have been doing this already?!

LoneStarState

Interesting……..

I thought as had been emphatically stated by IPC/IAS mouthpieces over the last decade+ that there were no apparent systemic issues in operator conduct/the way appeals were being handled. Some mistake surely?