EXCEL PARKING - FEETHAMS LEISURE CAR PARK

Gr1pr

I am afraid that its the latter 

But 

A court claim will eventually lead to an end, one way or another 

KeithP

Twinkle91 said:

Just trying to manage my expectations here? If I provide a good "I dispute this claim because...." section in my LOC reply is there a chance that this could be knocked on the head at that stage of is it pretty certain that they will ignore whatever I say at this stage and progress with a claim?

Thoughts welcomed

This morning @Umkomaas gave you a link to a very informative thread. Did you read it?
It goes a long way towards answering your question.

Coupon-mad

Twinkle91 said:

Just trying to manage my expectations here? If I provide a good "I dispute this claim because...." section in my LOC reply is there a chance that this could be knocked on the head at that stage of is it pretty certain that they will ignore whatever I say at this stage and progress with a claim?

Thoughts welcomed

No.

But court claim stage in 2025 is when the scam ends, so no need to fret.

The process is so easy AFTER the court claim arrives, it's like taking candy from a baby.

YOU WANT THE COURT CLAIM!

Twinkle91

Coupon-mad said:

Twinkle91 said:

Just trying to manage my expectations here? If I provide a good "I dispute this claim because...." section in my LOC reply is there a chance that this could be knocked on the head at that stage of is it pretty certain that they will ignore whatever I say at this stage and progress with a claim?

Thoughts welcomed

No.

But court claim stage in 2025 is when the scam ends, so no need to fret.

The process is so easy AFTER the court claim arrives, it's like taking candy from a baby.

YOU WANT THE COURT CLAIM!

Reassuring - thanks

Twinkle91

This may be of interest to some - email received this week from Lola McEvoy, MP for Darlington:

"Dear xxxx

I wanted to provide an update following your concerns regarding Excel Parking Services.

Since being elected in July, I have received over 100 complaints from constituents and visitors about their experiences at the DL1 car park in Darlington.

As I’ve outlined in previous correspondence, I have made repeated attempts to address these issues directly with Excel Parking Services and the relevant industry body. However, progress has been disappointingly slow.

Given this lack of meaningful action, I have spoken with a number of other MPs from across the country who are dealing with similar complaints about private parking operators. Together, we explored ways to tackle these ongoing issues through Parliament.

Following those discussions, 11 of my parliamentary colleagues and I have written to the relevant Minister, Alex Norris, urging the Government to take over the regulation of private parking companies. I have attached a copy of this letter for your information.

In the letter, we welcomed recent reports that the Government intends to revisit plans for a legally enforceable code of conduct for the private parking industry. We believe this step is essential to ensure consumers are better protected and to prevent these issues from recurring.

We have requested a meeting with the Minister to discuss these plans further and have offered to share our constituents’ experiences to help shape any future regulations.

Rest assured, I will continue to engage directly and constructively with Excel Parking Services. My priority remains ensuring they resolve outstanding issues and concerns raised by constituents and improve their practices going forward.

Thank you again for sharing your experiences with me. I will continue to keep you updated on any progress.

Kind regards,

Lola McEvoy'

Nellymoser

Good reassuring letter from MP. Though no surprise to hear her progress has been disappointingly slow with Excel and IPC. Although Will Hurley (IPC) says car parking episodes should be forgettable he and his ATA do seem to be reluctant to take any action to make this happen.

Lots of recent posts on Excel and MP telling Parliament "Rip off" fines need to go" in the Parking stories in News/media thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81152306/#Comment_81152306

Coupon-mad

11 of my parliamentary colleagues and I have written to the relevant Minister, Alex Norris, urging the Government to take over the regulation of private parking companies.

That's good to hear. Pressure is also being exerted at the 'business' end by the good guys & gals on the Steering Group. We aren't giving up at all.

Before the General Election in May, the then DLUHC publicly said they were intending to do a final (hope so!) consultation and to update re the 2023 Call for Evidence. Of course, the GE stopped that.

I can't talk about the work of the Steering Group but I hope we should see some sort of update from the now-named MHCLG in 2025. About time!

Twinkle91

Received this message from MP for Darlington this week:

Dear xxxx

I write to you with an update on fines issued by private parking companies following your previous correspondence with me on this matter.

More than one hundred constituents have reported issues relating to Feethams Car Park in the DL1 complex in Darlington, operated by Excel Parking Services. I know from speaking with colleagues that hundreds more across the country that have faced similar problems.

A large number of these complaints originated from what has been described as the “five minute rule” - where drivers had not paid for their parking within a five minute time period stipulated by the operator. In many of these cases, paying within this time period was clearly not possible. Reasons often included faulty payment machines and a lack of phone or internet signal to make payment through alternative means. Nonetheless, Excel had, in dozens of cases, insisted on charging hefty fines and in some cases pursuing court action, even when these drivers had paid their tickets in full on the day.

You may know that I and a number of my fellow MPs had taken these cases to Government ministers and industry representatives in a push to end his unfair practice. We said that Government regulation may be necessary if the industry did not sort its act out.

Following this, I am now pleased to report that following these discussions this unfair “five minute rule” has now effectively been banned by the industry. 

Under a newly-updated code of conduct to which all private parking companies must abide, operators of car parks with fixed camera technology - such as Excel’s car park at Feethams - will no longer be permitted to charge fines where payment has been made in full before departure. In effect, this means there is no longer any time limit to pay as long as it is done before leaving the car park, and any fines for taking longer than five minutes should be overturned on appeal.

While this rule officially came in to effect from 1 January 2025 for car parks such as the one at DL1, it also applies retrospectively to any such cases that have yet to be settled. This means any “five minute rule” fine from a fixed camera car park that has not yet been paid, regardless of when it was issued, can immediately be appealed to the industry’s Independent Appeals Service and that appeal should be upheld. Details on how to appeal can be found on https://www.theias.org/ and in any correspondence you have received about fines.

While this appears to be a hugely positive step, I still need your help to ensure the parking industry is true to its word on this issue. Therefore I would request that you please notify me by email of the result on any appeals made. I have already raised dozens of individual cases with Excel, many of which have been dropped as a result. I will continue to do this until this issue is, hopefully, resolved. If it is not resolved, I will not hesitate to continue pushing for state regulation of the sector to force operators to treat drivers with the fairness they deserve.

Finally, I am aware that this change does not benefit those who have already settled their fines. For this reason I am actively seeking advice on whether there are any means for retroactive compensation for those who have already paid or been taken through enforcement action related to the “five minute rule”. This is at an early stage and may not prove possible at all, but I will continue to look into every possible route of redress for those who have been stung by this unfair practice. I will keep you updated on these efforts and would welcome any constituents who would be interested in pursuing this to let me know by email.

I’d like to thank you for raising this issue with me. It is only with your input that we have been able to secure this positive change, though we are well aware there is work still to be done.

Please do keep in touch and if I can help in any way, I will.

Best wishes,

 xxxx

I don't want to speak too soon but it feels like a successful end might be in sight - hopefully one in eye for the Excel bandits!

KeithP

That exact same response from Lola McEvoy was reported on another thread yesterday... 

     News on the "5 minute rule"

Beaudelicious

Happy days, Excel can't use the 5 or 10 minutes to pay, made up rule, from today. I predict this will make their unfair PCNs drop off by 2/3rd in the coming months. Until they come up with their next scam, that is. They might have to shorten their lucrative leases on car parks like Feethams.