KFC Parking Ticket disabled child

ktTurn

Thank you so much for your advice Coupon-mad. 

I know we need to get it in the local paper but what I’m trying to say is I’m absolutely fed up of this and want to take it further than just getting the fines dismissed.

we have two parking fines for two disabled families. The other family are in no place to be able to even dispute the fine, even with a severely disabled son. They are exhausted and fed up of this. I’ve promised them I will resolve it. 

I am tired of going through the process with my disabled som. I want to help in anyway I can. As I said I know how to get it cancelled, what I want to do is support you stopping this happening x 

ktTurn

This is not enough. So many disabled families are just paying these fines, it cant continue.

Fruitcake

ktTurn said:

Please can someone advise how I find the details of if it’s a franchise and who the area manager.  I would
like to go in tomorrow with the final letter. 

As I stated I’m fed up of this discrimination and want to make a change. The other family that were also scammed son is also severely disabled and I’ve promised them I will try to take the pressure of them and resolve the matter for them. Looking after disabled children is beyond hard without this additional stress.

we do really appreciate your help. 

For this individual case, you and the other family should contact the UK KFC CEO direct. I found the CEOemail website useful. 

https://www.!!!!!!   

In fact, contact the USA CEO or equivalent as well. It doesn't matter too much if the cafe is owned by KFC or is a franchise, the head honchos need to know whoever employed the PPC is breaking the law in KFC's name, and if KFC employed CEL, then they are jointly and severally liable for such criminal action.

Read up on the EA 2010 and quote the relevant parts. The basics are that a service provider (I hate using that term in regard to a PPC, but it is the type of wording you need to use) must anticipate the needs of people with disabilities classed as having protected characteristics. Failure to do so is indirect discrimination, a breach of the EA, and a criminal offence.
Once the service provider has been informed of a person's disability and protected characteristics status, to continue ignore the needs of such a person is direct discrimination, a further breach of the EA, and a further criminal offence.

In your and the other family's case, CEL should have anticipated that a person parked in an accessible bay (even if they didn't display a blue badge because the BB scheme does not apply on private land) might need more time, and make allowances for that. ANPR scameras cannot do that unless there are separate units pointing at each accessible bay or group of bays and the software set to allow more time. 
As an aside, the UK government has prohibited the use of ANPR scameras for council and local authority parking management because they are not fit for purpose, but unregulated parking companies use the scameras' flaws to generate income. In addition, they cannot detect a blue badge even if it has been displayed as a curtesy.

Coupon-mad

ktTurn said:

This is not enough. So many disabled families are just paying these fines, it cant continue.

Agreed!

Stick around here, because a final draft Impact Assessment and Public Consultation is imminently anticipated from the DLUHC within weeks.

The Consultation might lend itself to comments about the statutory Code of Practice not going far enough to protect disabled people (I did try hard on the Steering Group since 2020 and there are some very good things in it).

We encourage you to be heard by the DLUHC.

ktTurn

Thank you. As I’ve said I’m a newbie to this forum trying to read and catch up as much as I can. It sounds like you’ve made so much progress with the DLUHC. It’s hard being a parent of a disabled child without these extra hurdles constantly being thrown at you

ktTurn

I have received the following reply from social media. 

I'm sorry to see you have received a parking fine after visiting our Sandwich A256 KFC with your children, but thanks for making us aware. 

Can you send us a picture of the fine you've received, confirming the date/time, the restaurant you visited and the PCN number of the fine? I will be get in touch with the restaurant management team to try and have this fine cancelled for you.

Unfortunately there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to waive your ticket and if you’ve already paid the ticket, they will be unable to cancel it.

Le_Kirk

Good, progress is being made; when you send the copies of the PCN, can you point out to them that it is not a fine but a speculative invoice!

nopcns

Something along these lines maybe?

Subject: Urgent Complaint Regarding Discrimination and Parking Charge

FAO: Meghan Farren, General Manager, KFC UK & Ireland

Dear Ms Farren,

I am writing to bring to your attention a distressing incident that occurred at one of your KFC locations, which has left me deeply concerned about the treatment of customers with disabilities.

On [date], my family visited the KFC restaurant located at [specific location]. We were accompanied by our severely disabled child, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility. Despite the challenges we faced, we were eager to enjoy a meal at your establishment.

However, our experience took an unfortunate turn. Initially, we encountered delays in being served, which resulted in our stay exceeding the allotted time for parking. Additionally, when leaving, the process of loading our child’s wheelchair into our car required extra time due to its complexity.

To our shock and dismay, we received a parking charge notice (PCN) from your agent, Civil Enforcement Ltd for an overstay of 11 minutes. As my child is a disabled person with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, I believe I should have been allowed reasonable accommodation to safely return to my vehicle without the threat of penalties.

The Equality Act 2010 explicitly prohibits discrimination based on disability. It requires businesses to make reasonable adjustments to ensure equal access and fair treatment for disabled individuals. In our case, this would have meant allowing additional time for us to leave the premises without fear of repercussions.

Unfortunately, when I approached the local manager to discuss this matter, they were not very helpful. They refused to provide me with the contact details for the area manager, preventing me from escalating the issue as necessary. As a customer, I believe that your staff should be aware of their obligations regarding discrimination and reasonable adjustments.

Furthermore, I would like to highlight that KFC is jointly and severally liable for the actions of their agent, namely the unregulated private parking company responsible for issuing the charge. As the principal business, KFC shares responsibility for ensuring that their agents comply with legal requirements and treat customers fairly. Should Civil Enforcement (your agent) escalate this matter to a court claim, I will not hesitate to issue a part 20 Counterclaim to include KFC as a defendant for direct discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

I kindly request that you investigate this matter thoroughly and take appropriate action to rectify the situation. Specifically, I propose the following steps:

1. Immediate Cancellation of the Parking Charge: I urge you to cancel the parking charge issued to us, considering the extenuating circumstances related to our child’s disability.
2. Staff Training and Awareness: Ensure that all KFC staff members receive comprehensive training on accommodating disabled customers. This includes understanding their rights, providing reasonable adjustments, and treating them with respect and empathy.
3. Review of Policies: Conduct a review of your parking policies to ensure they align with the Equality Act 2010. Consider implementing specific provisions for disabled patrons, such as extended parking allowances.
4. Apology and Assurance: A sincere apology from KFC, along with an assurance that such incidents will not recur, would go a long way in restoring our faith in your brand.
5. Remove the ANPR systems with immediate effect until you can install or upgrade the system to detect people in vehicles with a protected characteristic as per the Equality Act, and allow those people/vehicles extra time. A whitelist/pre-registration system for disabled people is unacceptable as it discriminates against those with a disability by requiring them to take on additional tasks.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a prompt resolution. However, as a customer, I believe KFC’s commitment to inclusivity and fairness has been badly let down by my families recent experience. I had expected, as a customer, to feels welcome and respected. As you can see, this is not the case and I expect a satisfactory resolution to this matter.

I look forward to your understanding and cooperation.

Yours sincerely,

ktTurn

Le_Kirk said:

Good, progress is being made; when you send the copies of the PCN, can you point out to them that it is not a fine but a speculative invoice!

I will,  along with pointing out that I have already presented the restaurant with all these details and both blue badges. 

nopcns said:

Something along these lines maybe?

Subject: Urgent Complaint Regarding Discrimination and Parking Charge

FAO: Meghan Farren, General Manager, KFC UK & Ireland

Dear Ms Farren,

I am writing to bring to your attention a distressing incident that occurred at one of your KFC locations, which has left me deeply concerned about the treatment of customers with disabilities.

On [date], my family visited the KFC restaurant located at [specific location]. We were accompanied by our severely disabled child, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility. Despite the challenges we faced, we were eager to enjoy a meal at your establishment.

However, our experience took an unfortunate turn. Initially, we encountered delays in being served, which resulted in our stay exceeding the allotted time for parking. Additionally, when leaving, the process of loading our child’s wheelchair into our car required extra time due to its complexity.

To our shock and dismay, we received a parking charge notice (PCN) from your agent, Civil Enforcement Ltd for an overstay of 11 minutes. As my child is a disabled person with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, I believe I should have been allowed reasonable accommodation to safely return to my vehicle without the threat of penalties.

The Equality Act 2010 explicitly prohibits discrimination based on disability. It requires businesses to make reasonable adjustments to ensure equal access and fair treatment for disabled individuals. In our case, this would have meant allowing additional time for us to leave the premises without fear of repercussions.

Unfortunately, when I approached the local manager to discuss this matter, they were not very helpful. They refused to provide me with the contact details for the area manager, preventing me from escalating the issue as necessary. As a customer, I believe that your staff should be aware of their obligations regarding discrimination and reasonable adjustments.

Furthermore, I would like to highlight that KFC is jointly and severally liable for the actions of their agent, namely the unregulated private parking company responsible for issuing the charge. As the principal business, KFC shares responsibility for ensuring that their agents comply with legal requirements and treat customers fairly. Should Civil Enforcement (your agent) escalate this matter to a court claim, I will not hesitate to issue a part 20 Counterclaim to include KFC as a defendant for direct discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

I kindly request that you investigate this matter thoroughly and take appropriate action to rectify the situation. Specifically, I propose the following steps:

1. Immediate Cancellation of the Parking Charge: I urge you to cancel the parking charge issued to us, considering the extenuating circumstances related to our child’s disability.
2. Staff Training and Awareness: Ensure that all KFC staff members receive comprehensive training on accommodating disabled customers. This includes understanding their rights, providing reasonable adjustments, and treating them with respect and empathy.
3. Review of Policies: Conduct a review of your parking policies to ensure they align with the Equality Act 2010. Consider implementing specific provisions for disabled patrons, such as extended parking allowances.
4. Apology and Assurance: A sincere apology from KFC, along with an assurance that such incidents will not recur, would go a long way in restoring our faith in your brand.
5. Remove the ANPR systems with immediate effect until you can install or upgrade the system to detect people in vehicles with a protected characteristic as per the Equality Act, and allow those people/vehicles extra time. A whitelist/pre-registration system for disabled people is unacceptable as it discriminates against those with a disability by requiring them to take on additional tasks.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a prompt resolution. However, as a customer, I believe KFC’s commitment to inclusivity and fairness has been badly let down by my families recent experience. I had expected, as a customer, to feels welcome and respected. As you can see, this is not the case and I expect a satisfactory resolution to this matter.

I look forward to your understanding and cooperation.

Yours sincerely,

Thank you 🙏 This is brilliant and very concise. I had drafted a letter to the CEO but it was long and seemed to lose the points I was trying to address. This is exactly what I need. I have found her email so will try and send it today, along with a copy to our MP.  Will also post a letter. 

Fruitcake

nopcns That is a most excellent letter of complaint! 

ktTurn perhaps you could also request a copy of KFC's accessibility/disability policy.