Re: Christmas Spirit in short supply in Newbury
The private parking industry is completely unregulated at the moment, although that is due to change this year.
UK MPs have variously called these companies, cowboys, rogues, scammers, and bloodsuckers
The woman did not receive a fine or a penalty, she received a parking charge notice, an invoice.
These parking companies are out to make money and don't care how they do it.
The worst thing anyone can do is pay these charges since it allows the scammers to perpetuate their scams.
One recently issued a charge to a disabled ex-soldier because he parked in a disabled bay without showing a blue disabled badge. He had lost both legs in action. His prosthetic limbs were on the passenger seat next to him when the chap stopped for a rest and fell asleep.
His crutches were in full view in the car as well.
It was obvious to the parking operative that the man was disabled but issued a charge anyway.
The blue badge scheme does not apply on private land, but the Equality Act 2010 that says reasonable adjustments must be made for disabled people with protected characteristics.
The parking scammers took him to court and the judge found against him despite the fact that he was perfectly entitled to use a disabled bay on private land without displaying a blue badge.
I believe he is going to appeal using the EA 2010 as his defence, which he didn't do in the original case.
There is a two stage appeal process that the woman in this instance should have used.
Forget mitigating circumstances. This is civil (contract) law and she breached the parking contract. The parking company don't care why she was delayed, she breached the Ts and Cs at the car park.
The only way to beat these scammers is to use the law against them.
Not the landowner.
No standing to issue charges in their own name.
Inadequate signage.
Lack of grace periods.
Breach of trade association code of practice.
Breach of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (this protects a vehicle keeper, not the driver).
Data Protection/GDPR breaches
are all defence points that can be used against the parking scammers. Giving CPR is not. Hopefully it will be later this year when a new mandatory code of practice is introduced.
Parking companies have been known to remove signs that assist the motorist's case during the appeals process,
Lied in court,
Put up temporary signs, taken pictures of a car next to it, then removed the sign afterwards.
Reduced the permitted parking time in breach of the original council planning approval,
Made leaving a car park on foot a breach of Ts and Cs, when the original council planning order allowed it,
Doctored time stamps on parking charge images,
Issued charges on public roads,
Regularly use automatic number plate recognition cameras to to record time on site, not parking time. The UK Government has prohibited the use of these cameras in council car parks, saying they are not fit for purpose, but parking scammers use them because their faults generate income,
and much, much more.
A parking company trade association convinced the UK government to allow a law making vehicle keepers in England and Wales liable for parking charges, even if they weren't present. The keeper could be at home, in hospital, on holiday, or on a gap year on the other side of the world, but the keeper is still liable.
The trade association lied to the government by saying this Act would reduce the load on UK courts, and the government believed them.
Scottish MPs introduce the same keeper liability last year, but it has yet to be implemented. Scottish motorists and Scottish courts won't know what has hit them when it becomes live.
Parking court cases have increased from less than 100 per year pre-2012, to about 100 000 now, because the government believed the parking trade association's lies.
Over 8 million parking charge notices were issued in the last year prior to covid, and the courts are being swamped.