To think this is grabby?

[QuestionableMouse]

We visited a railway museum today to see the Flying Scottsman.

It was £30 for a day's parking in what looked like a building site.

We wanted to ride on the train and went to buy tickets. The tickets were £5 each, which is fine. They charged us the full price for a newborn baby in a sling. I can understand it if the baby was taking up a seat but it was standing only. Aibu to think that's a bit grabby?

[HereIAm20]

Yep and £30 for parking 😱😱😱

[RavioliOnToast]

Complain. I probably would. A newborn should have been free imho

[QuestionableMouse]

I refused to pay it and they wouldn't let us on. I'm happy to pay for stuff but that felt ridiculous.

[HouseOfGingerbread]

I think you've been had on the parking front. According to this they're running park and ride for £3. www.flyingscotsman.org.uk/events/shildon-shed-bash/

Perhaps it was someone selling parking on private land at massive profit.

[branofthemist]

We didn't pay anywhere near that for parking. Dbro has been I will ask him.

It costs a lot to maintain, so assuming you have been had over the parking I can see why they charge for everyone took on board.

[branofthemist]

Dbro has been recently, that should say

[QuestionableMouse]

We did use the park and ride rather than paying the £30. The person looked like they were in a museum uniform.

[ToBeAChadsman]

We live fairly close to the museum and I was thinking of heading there next week - hadn't realised they were charging for parking at the moment so thanks for the warning.

The museum is usually free to park and enter so I don't think grabby is the right word to use. I suspect the charges are to try to avoid the chaos they had a couple of years ago when Mallard and its brothers were there, and there were long queues to get into the car park. The website says they've laid on park and ride services for the event - I presume you didn't see signs for it on your way in?

I do agree it's a bit daft to charge for a baby in a sling to ride on the train, but again it looks like the charges for Flying Scotsman are different from the usual charges - suspect they don't want to fill it up with young children when it could be full of paying enthusiasts (and there are other train rides that are free for under 5s).

So I guess it was possibly all a none-too-clear attempt at crowd control rather than the museum being grabby.

[ToBeAChadsman]

Sorry, cross posted with everyone.

[branofthemist]

Sorry I don't understand. Did you or didn't pay £30 to park?

[WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant]

£30 for parking?
It was cheaper than that for 4 days in a city hospital 3 years ago when I had dd.

[QuestionableMouse]

No we didn't pay for parking. We wanted to park near the museum (mum is disabled and can't walk very far) but we couldn't afford that. We used the park and ride but struggled with it.

[JudyCoolibar]

Given that you could park at a cost of £3, I don't think they were particularly grabby. It costs a lot of money to maintain and run those engines.

[branofthemist]

They have disabled parking at the site.

If that is full they ask you to speak to staff about drop off points.

Are you saying they directed you to the £30 parking and it's theirs?

Just because they were wearing a similar uniform, doesn't mean it's their car park. Could be any body.

Besides which you didn't pay the £30, there were other option available so I don't know why that's relevant to your point.

Is your point just that they shouldn't charge for babies?

I think the parking this has confused the situation.

[Beeziekn33ze]

OP Email the museum with your feelings about the parking and newborn charges. Shouldn't there have been provision for disability anyway?

[Cordelia1234]

£100 to pay if you want to park in the usual car park!! Yikes...

VIP Package
Available daily from Saturday July 23 to Sunday July 31.

VIP Package includes:

Guaranteed parking space in the main car park from 9.30am to 6.00pm;
One Flying Scotsman souvenir T-shirt and one Flying Scotsman souvenir cap;
One train ride with Flying Scotsman and unlimited train rides with ‘Joem’ J72 – for every person in the car;
10% discount voucher to spend in the museum’s main gift shop and pop up shop, on the day only. Please note that this discount is not available on National Railway Museum exclusive models.
Price – £100 per car

[branofthemist]

Shouldn't there have been provision for disability anyway?

there is.

[Cordelia1234]

It's £3 per person on park and ride..that is expensive...plus you should not have to buy a ticket for a baby, I agree with the OP...grabby

Getting to Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon
We’re located here in County Durham.

Due to Locomotion’s location within a residential area of Shildon, there will be no free public parking at the museum during the Shed Bash. Park & Ride services will be available from Hardwick Park (East Park on outskirts of Sedgefield, TS21 2DN) and Bishop Auckland college (Woodhouse Lane, DL14 6JZ) at a charge of £3 per person. Park & Ride services will run from 8.30am to 6.30pm (last buses leave Collection at 6pm). To respect the needs of local residents, we would ask all visitors to use Park & Ride facilities or public transport rather than parking on the roadside in Shildon.

For visitors with disabilities, there will be a limited number of allocated disabled parking spaces at the Collection Building (Main Car Park – use postcode DL4 2RE) along with limited disabled spaces at the western end of site at Car Park C (use postcode DL4 1PQ). Access to disabled parking bays will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and will only be given to visitors displaying a disabled parking badge. If onside disabled parking is full or you have mobility issues but are not registered disabled please speak to a member of staff about drop-off points.

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

£30 parking? Bloody hell!

Mind you, if you park on the road they'll have your wheels off.

[pictish]

Yes...very grabby indeed.

[QuestionableMouse]

The parking is neither here nor there. We went to the museum, asked about disabled parking (mam has a blue badge) and were told it was £30. We then chose to use the park and ride.

I was mostly shocked at them wanting to charge £5 for a tiny baby in a sling. It was grabby of them imo.

[Ditsy4]

Ridiculous. I would write to superior and see what they say.

[ZBWRDSM]

A business can't be "grabby"!!!! It's the very point of cmmerce - to make money and maximise your income - without tipping over to overpricing goods/services so no one buys.


"grabby" is a term for personal greed and a selfish ruthless desire to acquire.

Wrong word and wrong thought process.

[QuestionableMouse]

What word would you use then? What is your thought process on charging a fiver for a tiny baby in a sling to stand in a train carriage?

[ZBWRDSM]

A business is trying to make money. If you think the charge is unreasonable, you don't buy the goods or services.

I agree it'san unreasonable charge but that isn't "grabby". It's market forces. If people don't buy/don't pay, the seller will reduce their charges.

It's like saying "charging £100 for a can of coke is grabby". It makes no sense! It's just overpriced goods. The aim is to sell and charge for as much as you can.

Grabby is as I've said is about individual and personal avarice. In commercial terms, it's just market forces.

You paid it don't forget. If you didn't like it, you didn't have to pay. You could have complained there and then to the manager.