To think the new outrageous 'pay by phone' parking shiz will obliterate the high street?

[Proudnscary]

In one of London suburbs near me they've installed these pay by phone parking systems. So you cannot pay for parking unless you have your mobile on you. There are no other options.

I had no idea til I got there so was standing in the pissing rain with 2 dc trying to work out who to text and what. Got two fucking texts back telling me I'd done it wrong and to log on and register with a Phoneparking website!!! FFS!!

I also noticed that there were several parking spaces free when usually there are none. So I googled it when I got home and the local shopkeepers are absolutely desperate - takings are down 40% since they installed these stupid things and hiked the prices. This isn't even a particularly affluent area!! There shouldn't be parking fees anyway, it's notbloody central London.

What about older people without phones or who are even less phone literate than me?

Isn't this illegal, that this is the only method of payment?

Doesn't the council realise this is driving people away from small businesses and into the supermarkets or shopping centres, even more than before??

So angry, am I BU, missing something??

[SantasENormaSnob]

You have to give them card details?

I definately wouldn't be parking there.

[StealthPolarBear]

OP I agree. Don't mind them as an additional option but the only way is crap. I spent ages telling the stupid thing my details once, when it read back I realised I had said M and it had said N. Stupid thing was there was no way to correct it so I had to hang up and start again - so two 10 min phone calls when they could have just said "is that correct?" and let me correct it!

[NinkyNonker]

I agree, the 20p convenience charge is irritating ad everything. My granny would certainly be put off.

Round our way quite often the cash taking machines are mysteriously out of order for weeks and weeks on end, leaving you no choice but to phone.

[PurplePidjInAPearTree]

Ninky, iirc we're talking about the same Unitary Authority?

[Proudnscary]

Santa - I'm not going to be parking there. To the detriment of the business owners. Such a shame.

Stealth - I know it took me a good 10 mins too and still got it wrong.

Ninky - 'convenience' (convenience - bloody cheek!) charge sucks arse.

[AriesWithBellsOn]

This makes me so sad for business owners on high streets. Everything councils are doing seems to be for short term gain, and they actively seem to WANT them to fail, despite the government's lip service to them. Don't get me started on parking charges themselves.

And no not everyone has a mobile phone.

[3littlefrogs]

Proudnscary - I am guessing you live somewhere near me. I no longer shop locally because of this situation. I am happy to use the bus, but it isn't very practical if you want to purchase a couple of large, heavy items.

I attempted to visit the local supermarket recently and couldn't get in because of all the people trying to use the car park (you can pay £1 for 2 hours). The council car parks and meters were practically empty.

Having had very bad experience with the local parking authority, there is no way I am giving them my credit card details.

The local high street will go the way of so many others - charity shops and estate agents and not much else.

A friend told me she was charged £6.50 for 2 hours parking under this system recently. She won't be using it again either.

[3littlefrogs]

purple - you will still get a ticket. That is the whole point of this system - no excuses. Our local papers are full of letters from people who thought the black bags on the meters meant they were broken. They all got tickets and fines. No appeal. (If you live round here that is...)

[nannynick]

We already pay for council car parks and the roads though council tax and other taxes, so I see parking costs as an additional tax.
I don't pay it. I will go out of my way to park elsewhere where there are either no charge for parking, or where I can park for free on the street.

National Trust have the system at Box Hill. It would not recognise my voice correctly. Right faff. Haven't been back - won't bother unless I get NT membership as then I don't need to use the machine. NT carpark steppingstones used to be free, we used to go quite often. The coffee and icecream at the NT shop is expensive enough without adding parking costs on top.

No wonder supermarkets get the trade. I like to shop local but parking charges need a rethink.
Complain to the council, attend council meetings, contact local MP, local chamber of commerce etc. Local shop keepers need support.

[nannynick]

We already pay for council car parks and the roads though council tax and other taxes, so I see parking costs as an additional tax.
I don't pay it. I will go out of my way to park elsewhere where there are either no charge for parking, or where I can park for free on the street.

National Trust have the system at Box Hill. It would not recognise my voice correctly. Right faff. Haven't been back - won't bother unless I get NT membership as then I don't need to use the machine. NT carpark steppingstones used to be free, we used to go quite often. The coffee and icecream at the NT shop is expensive enough without adding parking costs on top.

No wonder supermarkets get the trade. I like to shop local but parking charges need a rethink.
Complain to the council, attend council meetings, contact local MP, local chamber of commerce etc. Local shop keepers need support.

[AriesWithBellsOn]

Our town has mounted a Free Parking campaign. The number of shops going under would break your heart and at the same time, a THIRD supermarket has just been granted planning permission to build on the outskirts. This is a town which supposedly relies on tourism.

[3littlefrogs]

nannynick - our local community has been up in arms about this for weeks. The local press has taken it on, it all falls on deaf ears. I am sure there is a vested interest within the local council to cosy up to the big supermarkets. It is evident in many local planning decisions that they do not give a toss about local shops/businesses.

[nannynick]

Some carparks offer free parking for 1hour, 2 hours, then charge for 3+ hours. That seems a better idea to me as then encourages locals to shop but not encourage people to leave their car there all day.

[3littlefrogs]

The trouble is, there is no longer any free parking or street parking. It is all meters, restricted or residents only round here.

[valiumredhead]

It's madness that there is no other option!

[Auntiestablishment]

Our local council has free parking everywhere - as a matter of policy to attract people to shop in the market towns. It's a roaring success.

Though in part that success is because the nearest city has a transport policy that actively discourages locals from shopping there (it's a tourist hotspot).

[Hardgoing]

Totally agree that this is a major deterrent to shopping in my local town centre, I can't get parking on a Sat morning as a very small car park, and the charges are too much, so I drive out of town for a big shop then on to another out of town restauraunt to eat. I love the town centre, but it is too stressful getting to it and not being able to park easily, plus if I want to pop in for 20 min to do a job, it might take me 20 min to find a parking space.

Local councils know this, it's been in loads of reports, including the Mary Portas one last week. Some I know are offering free parking on Sunday, which is good if you know about it, but we've lost that automatic way of thinking about popping into town for a few things, it's going to be hard to get it back now.

[AriesWithBellsOn]

I notice when I go home to Wales that things are different there. The parking in small towns is free, and in the tourist areas like West Wales it's all free too. If you consider what the average spend is on parking for a week's holiday in Devon or Cornwall, then I know where I would be heading on holiday next year.

[Proudnscary]

3littlefrogs - yes sounds like you are near me esp regarding the big local press interest.

Nannynick - yes but then we are playing into the supermarket's hands. They are clearly in cahoots with local government (and central government but that goes without saying - how Tesco is allowed to sell finance, petrol, booze, clothes, toys, newspapers, electricals is beyond me).

I am really not the campaigning sort if I'm honest but I will support this campaign and would join in a protest.

It really got to me when I read that one shop owner pleading with councillors (in a recent meeting) said 'You are literally taking food out of my children's mouths'.

[CurlyBoy]

YANBU. I agree completely. I only have a pay-as-you-go phone and wouldn't use my credit to pay for parking. There are some in our area and rather than use them I parked somewhere else and used the shops there. I'm not surprised the local shops are livid!

[ObviouslyLovesTinsel]

I think you're talking about the borough where I live. The council basically disabled all the meters and forced you to use the system or get a fine - at this time there was no announcement that the system would be changing, it was all done by stealth.

The Councillor responsible for this is a prize fat cat arsehole who refuses to accept that not everyone has a phone or a card. My dad said yesterday (the first time he'd used the system) he completely misheard the recorded message. It was asking him how many minutes he wanted - he thought it said units.?! So he entered 1 unit (minute!), then 2, then 3! He couldn't understand why the time wasn't increasing! And by then he'd used up all his phone credit so he left and went to Sainsburys....

The high street will die soon :(

[fedupwithdeployment]

It is horrendous.

I have recently moved to Lambeth (not sure if that is where we are talking about) and I very rarely drive. However on a cold wet Friday night, I drove the boys to a carol concert and had to park near the church. You need a degree in idiocy to understand the instructions. My meter that I found some 200 m in the wrong direction refused to accept all my money (£3 for an hour), so I tried to ring. Failed to get through. Wasn't even sure I needed to pay any money - the instructions were so unclear....eventually i drove round the corner, and asked a taxi driver (who didn't speak much English). I risked it and was lucky.

Maybe it is me being really stupid, but I am a lawyer and do read horrible long contracts for a job - they are a hell of a lot easier than working out parking instructions.

[Hulababy]

It seems very odd to not have more than one option. Round here you can pay at the machine as normal OR pay by mobile. So, it increases the options rather than reduces the number that might use the parking.

One word of warning though. I do use these systems generally and it has been fine - apart from once. I phoned the number, got the confirmation, etc - but got a parking ticket on my return. That was in July. Took them ages to get back to me, but then they said they had no record of me paying. Have challenged it further and sent detils of phone all and still waiting to hear back....not impressed and I won't use the system at that particular car park again.

[3littlefrogs]

ObviouslyLovesTinsel

Yes - your description fits the individual I am thinking about........I suppose there could be more than one, but he really is an obnoxious little twerp.

[ObviouslyLovesTinsel]

Here's another description - odious little toad!