APCOA managed camera monitored railway station parking session

theconquest

Dear parking vigilantis,

I am a bit curious about a parking situation where:

The parking space is an APCOA managed area close to a railway station. The ticket can only be purchased via Ringo app and the parking session is automatically managed by cameras.

Full day parking charge is: £9.50

Half day parking from 1PM is: £3.50

It has 20 mins free parking.

If I enter the parking lot at 12:48AM, am I in breach of contract if I start my parking session at 1:00PM?

Many thanks,

Mouse007

What do the Terms and Conditions say? Does the 20 minutes free parking have to be followed by you leaving? Is the 20 minutes free parking just to cover a drop off or pick up? Is it expressly excluded as an extension to the charge for period?

KeithP

Are you in America? What's a 'parking lot'?   

Umkomaas

The parking lot is a council managed area close to a railway station. The ticket can only be purchased via Ringo app and the parking session is automatically managed by cameras.

Are the council managing this themselves, or have they farmed it out to a private parking firm?  Whose name is shown on the car park notices?

Coupon-mad

Council cannot use cameras to generate PCNs and don't work on breach of contract.

McKneff

If you entered the parking lot at 12.48 that is when your session started, you can't pick and choose. 
If you wanted to take advantage of the 'free' time you should get the free ticket, then go back and start p your paying session with a fresh ticket. 

Coupon-mad

If you entered the parking lot at 12.48 that is when your session started.

Luckily the new Code of Practice is killing off that scam.

fisherjim

More information on signage, location, maybe a photo or two etc would be needed to give more informed views on this IMHO, as already stated councils are forbidden from using ANPR are you sure it's council owned?

theconquest

Dear all, 

Thank you for your messages and responses. 

@KeithP - My humblest apologies.. it's a car park and this is def not America.. 

The car park in question is Basingstoke Station - North Yard car park. 

@McKneff - There is no option to get/buy a ticket. The entry and exit time is logged via cameras. Payment can only be done through Ringo app. And the Ringo app also tells you the entry time when you have entered the car park, when you are trying to pay for the session in the app!

I haven't had a chance to closely look at the terms and conditions!

@fisherjim - I'll def get more information from the car park next time I visit! 

Thank you all once again. 

Fruitcake

Being a station car park, as opposed to a car park near a station, it will probably be owned by the Train Operating Company or whatever Network Rail is now called. Consequently, it will be a railway asset where railway byelaws apply, and therefore not relevant land as defined by the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) 2012.

If this is the case, then a vehicle keeper can never be held liable, but the driver can, and the owner may.

If, however, it is a car park that happens to be near a station then it could be council owned where ANPR scameras are prohibited, or a privately owned car park infested by an unregulated private parking company.

Looking at Google Streetview it appears to be a railway asset.

Basingstoke, England - Google Maps

fisherjim

Well it certainly appears to be railway land to me the sign behind the telephone pole appears to state it is owned by South Western Railway, and I wouldn't be surprised if the small white sign on the pole in front of it aren't bye laws.