We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure your posts do not contain any personally identifiable information (both your own and that of others). When uploading images, please take care that you have redacted all personal information including number plates, reference numbers and QR codes (which may reveal vehicle information when scanned).
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Parking stories in the News/media
Comments
-
https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/26622863.uppermill-pensioner-threatened-donating-church/
When 80yr old Sybil Bate was dropping off items at Sacred Heart and St William Catholic Church she was confronted by a young woman and informed that she would be required to pay a £100 penalty for 'unlawful parking'.
The encounter of being photographed and 'threatened' with a £100 charge caused Sybil significant emotional distress. She was after all only trying to help the church.
Community members are now calling for greater understanding and compassion, especially towards elderly residents who contribute their time and resources. They say no one performing an act of charity should feel threatened or anxious.
OR be out of pocket!
5 -
Council car parks have switched away from ticket machines to cut costs, leading to extra fees for usersAlways remember to abide by Space Corps Directive 39436175880932/B:
'All nations attending the conference are only allocated one parking space.'
247advice dot uk has more information and guidance on dealing with this Outrageous Scam.4 -
Spotted that in my news feed, i can understand why councils ( and other places) would move away from cash payment machines, where theft, plus the cost of having to regualrly empty them, but they should offer a contactless option with any apps being suplementary/secondary.
Ive seen many cases where people have been waving theri phones around in car parks as if signalling to beyond trying to get a signal to download a poxy app then struggling to register the thing, more older people strugle with apps, but everyone struggles when the signal is poor.
Plus people, especailly at the younger end are becoming more data aware, and letting an app have access to GPS/Location/location history, the abilitiy to make calls, access your contacts, send/receive texts etc puts people off.
If there is no other option that pay by app, then payment should be voluntary.
From the Plain Language Commission:
"The BPA has surely become one of the most socially dangerous organisations in the UK"5 -
"A Stockport dad who was issued a parking fine during a visit to a branch of Marks and Spencer says the punishment has been unexpectedly cancelled.
Tim Coates parked up at the Peel Centre in Stockport on June 22 this year but later found out he had fallen foul of Ocean Parking's rules. The firm, which runs the site, says cars must be completely between the white lines of the parking bay.
A photo seen by the Manchester Evening News taken when the £100 fine was issued shows Mr Coates' tyre on the white line. This later increased to £170 but the Stockport dad says he never received an email telling him his appeal had been lost.
Ocean Parking have confirmed they have now cancelled Mr Coates' fine. A spokesperson for the company said this was following a request by Peel Centre owners Peel L&P on October 2, shortly after the LDRS' coverage of Mr Coates' complaint.
Mr Coates said he never raised the issue in order to get the fine cancelled but rather highlight what he sees as unfairness and 'stop people falling into the same trap'. He plans to continue to raise concerns about what he believes are issues with privately operated car parks.
He said: "It's about time. Some common sense has prevailed. They must have seen the coverage they were getting.
I feel like we as motorists are being held to ransom by private parking companies and the appeal process is heavily weighted in their favour.If people are parking up and do not realise what they have done, it's just easy money for them and I do feel they are exploiting the whole thing."Well said.
PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD4 -
CMA investigation into airport drop off fees incoming:
Sky News ( video) https://news.sky.com/story/its-a-rip-off-call-to-investigate-airport-drop-off-charges-13596962
RAC foundation:
The Time (paywalled)
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/transport/article/airport-drop-off-fees-review-heathrow-gatwick-brmhflmsh
From the Plain Language Commission:
"The BPA has surely become one of the most socially dangerous organisations in the UK"5 -
Guardian article on RAC report regarding cloned plates.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/16/cloned-number-plates-uk-roads-record-high
Always remember to abide by Space Corps Directive 39436175880932/B:
'All nations attending the conference are only allocated one parking space.'
247advice dot uk has more information and guidance on dealing with this Outrageous Scam.2 -
Pensioner paid £70 after being stuck in gridlock at a hospital car park and losing first and second appeals.
Always remember to abide by Space Corps Directive 39436175880932/B:
'All nations attending the conference are only allocated one parking space.'
247advice dot uk has more information and guidance on dealing with this Outrageous Scam.8 -
A mish mash of the charge being for "parking" and also for a "stay". The CRA backs up the charge being for parking. The Trust website also calls them payments for parking.
The system doesn't work because our pensioner says he submitted the queue photos, but without a legal argument Popla just finds against people. No doubt they used the old "you can't argue mitigation" line. Or "a photo of cars does not prove you were stick for an hour". I doubt he would have include timestamps etc.4 -
“Worryingly, looking over checks dating back to 2015, there are three companies which have been rated ‘red’ on four occasions from five audits. These are: G24 Ltd (2023, 2020, 2019, 2018), UK Car Park Management Ltd (2023, 2019, 2018 x2) and Vehicle Control Services Ltd (2023, 2020, 2018, 2017). In addition, APCOA Parking (UK) Ltd has been audited three times – the most recent being 2024/25 – and has been ‘red’ each time (also 2022 & 2020).
The Government Internal Audit Agency does, however, state that its ‘Red, Amber, Green’ ratings are based solely on a point in time assessment of the organisation's compliance with DVLA requirements.”
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/more-than-half-private-parking-firms-use-dvla-data/?utm_id=97757_v0_s00_e0_tv0
6 -
The James Cook example is another hospital where they tell you how much to pay but must leave some leeway for cars actually getting out of the car park. If the statement on their site is true:
The car parks are regularly patrolled by security and parking attendants and monitored via CCTV. All facilities are well lit, and we are proud to state that we are consistently accredited to the Park Mark safer parking scheme
They must be fully aware when there is a problem and should take action to avoid extra charges. There seems to have been a particular issue back in May as there are other reports of the same. If they have CCTV that say otherwise they should have been required to produce it
2026 Decluttering and redistribution 1031/1526 Major job list 230/500 Total 1261/2026 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅(🏅)
2026 Tuesday weight loss 0 lbs
2026 1p Challenge 295/365
2026 NSD Feb 10/28 Mar 7/31 April 8/30 May 6/31June 7/30 July 6/31 Aug 9/31Sep 14/30 Oct 7/315
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 355.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 456.2K Spending & Discounts
- 248.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 605.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 179K Life & Family
- 263.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards