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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not pay my parking fine?

79 replies

Sp3849 · 04/10/2021 14:57

I am really annoyed. I have recently relocated and found an amazing home bargains a little while away from my house. It's truly huge with cafe and everything. Hadn't seen my mum in weeks and it was my birthday so we arranged to meet there as it was halfway from hers to mine. Did some shopping had a coffee had a lovely few hours out. Then to my surprise I have know received a fine! So has my mother for being in the car park too long?! A picture of me going in and the leaving. Not once had I seen a sign saying there was a maximum time of staying in the 4 times I have been there. The fines are 100 pound each but reduced to 60 if we pat in the 14 days! I feel really annoyed. I spent a hell of alot of money in that shop on that day in particular well over 100 pound and also bought food and drinks in the cafe and now am being fined for being thier too long! If I didn't pay it what can they do? Is there any suggestions to help me?

OP posts:
TheQueef · 04/10/2021 14:59

Do you have any shop receipts showing the time?
Sometimes appealing to the retailer direct works.

Dreamscomingtrue · 04/10/2021 15:00

www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/fighting-parking-tickets/

DustyMaiden · 04/10/2021 15:01

I had the same, phoned them then sent receipts.

Shitzngiggles · 04/10/2021 15:01

I've appealed two parking fines recently and won, so definitely worth sending an email.

catsareme14 · 04/10/2021 15:02

I think if there is a sign then the onus is on you to read it . The amount you spent in the shop is irrelevant. Car parks are often run by private companies & their fines are difficult to argue with . Go back , check the signage & go from there . If there is a sign I would pay the fine ASAP & put it down to experience. If there isn't a sign you may have some leverage . Good luck .

TakeYourFinalPosition · 04/10/2021 15:03

The advice to ignore these is really old - you don’t want to do that, you may well end up with a CCJ if you do.

Is there signage, even if you didn’t see it before? You can fight these, there’s a section on MSE about it with plenty of experts.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 04/10/2021 15:04

Are the signs displaying the parking restrictions clear and obvious when you enter the car park, @Sp3849? If they aren’t, it might be worth taking photos to prove that you could easily have missed seeing them each time you went there.

I have also seen people recommend Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert site as a good place to get advice on fighting parking charges.

Unfortunately, if the signs are clear and there are enough of them, you will struggle to fight these tickets.

The parking is probably subbed out to a private parking firm, and the shops served by the car park may not have much - if any - influence on signage, policy or fines, I’m afraid.

HarebrightCedarmoon · 04/10/2021 15:05

Yes, I would first go into the shop and ask the manager. If no joy there, write to their CEO. There will probably not be any benefit in following the appeals process of the parking body if you have breached their terms and conditions. However, sometimes appellants are successful due to a technicality in how they issued a ticket. Have a look at the Martin Lewis parking forums, there are some real parking ticket gurus on there and some good general advice.

WeAllHaveWings · 04/10/2021 15:08

It is normal for shop parking spaces to be time limited, usually around 2 hours. How long were you there for?

seaandsandcastles · 04/10/2021 15:25

@catsareme14

I think if there is a sign then the onus is on you to read it . The amount you spent in the shop is irrelevant. Car parks are often run by private companies & their fines are difficult to argue with . Go back , check the signage & go from there . If there is a sign I would pay the fine ASAP & put it down to experience. If there isn't a sign you may have some leverage . Good luck .
This.

And you will probably end up with a CCJ if you ignore it.

HarebrightCedarmoon · 04/10/2021 15:26

I was issued a ticket in a private car park and had actually paid for the correct amount of time using their app. However, because their app is shit and like no other parking app I've ever used, you can't call up your own parking records on it. I did have bank account records showing a payment to their company on that day (correct amount for three hours' parking). Their argument was that they had a photo of the car arriving and leaving and could not find any record of payment against my registration number. Obviously though I could show payment I didn't have proof whether I'd paid in that car park at that time with that car or somewhere else on the same day with another car.

My argument was that their app was so crap that there was no way for me to show that evidence, and if I had made a mistake on the day with a registration number how would I know and be able to rectify that at the time to avoid getting a ticket? Their app does not send out texts or any communication to say "Thank you for parking vehicle registration X at X car park at X time" as most others do. I did make the point that there were no other car parks operated by that company in my local area (so if payment wasn't for that car park, what on earth was it for - where was their loss?), and that I had used it before without any issues

The POPLA adjudicator found in my favour, but not for the reasons I argued, but because they had not communicated properly with the registered keeper. I was driving my DM's car and they should have continued to write to her as well as me, after I replied to the parking shysters. His tone in the judgement was very pissed off with them though, it was great to read Smile. I think he found any reason to relieve me from paying as they were just crap operators.

They had done things like not actually attached their evidence when sending their evidence to me and had generally been a pain in the arse.

MadamMedea · 04/10/2021 15:27

Definitely don’t ignore it, but do try appealing it.

StevieNix · 04/10/2021 15:32

Don’t ignore it! But if you have receipts etc than appeal it and it they will most probably drop it.

MintyGreenDream · 04/10/2021 15:34

Its usually 1.5 hours maximum.How long were you there for? If longer than the specified time then I don't see how you can dispute it.

gardeninggirl68 · 04/10/2021 15:41

the store wont be able to help....its not them, its an outside parking company!!

don't go in harassing the staff!

i can't believe there was no signage anywhere

Leftphalange · 04/10/2021 15:43

Unfortunately I think you'll find that appealing to the retailer won't be much help and the car park is probably run by an external private company, might be worth checking though. I think if the signs are clear and correct (I'd drive and check ASAP, and if not take photos to support your case) then the responsibility was yours to check the terms and conditions of the car park. It is rubbish, but circumstances like how much you spent in the shop aren't really relevant.

BarbaraofSeville · 04/10/2021 15:58

@gardeninggirl68

the store wont be able to help....its not them, its an outside parking company!!

don't go in harassing the staff!

i can't believe there was no signage anywhere

That's not true. With these you have pretty much zero chance of help or the charge being cancelled by the parking company, but quite a good chance from the store.

If the OP and her DM emailed Home Bargains head office with their receipts and apologised for their mistake, but given that they'd spent so much and were keen HB customers who would love to return to this special store/cafe would could they possibly ask the parking company to cancel the ticket and they'd be more mindful of the time limit in the future, they'd have a reasonable chance of success.

Vancouverorbust · 04/10/2021 16:01

Go and see the store manager . They can often get them cancelled. Don’t argue with the company.

pelosi · 04/10/2021 16:07

If there are no signs, or signs that are tucked away, then you absolutely should not pay, but don't ignore the fine.

Go back, take pictures showing the lack of / poorly displayed signs, borrow a template letter from Money Savings Expert website, and appeal asap.

If it's a private parking company, they will probably reject your appeal, at which point you should appeal to POPLA or the other adjudicator mentioned in the appeal rejection letter and appeal to them.

I have successfully a number of fines.

pelosi · 04/10/2021 16:07

@Vancouverorbust

Go and see the store manager . They can often get them cancelled. Don’t argue with the company.
Sorry, but this isn't good advice.
Bottleup · 04/10/2021 16:15

We had this in our local sainsburys. We had spent a lot of money in the store and, like you, had spent time money in their cafe which is why we were in there for a while. We contacted the store, showed our receipt and they were great and waived the fine. They said they didn't want to discourage genuine customers, and it was to stop people using their carpark when they weren't actually shopping there.

PurpleFlower1983 · 04/10/2021 16:20

If it’s Parking Eye or similar the retailer won’t care. My disabled mum spent over 4 hours a retail park recently, many shops including lunch at a Costa there and got the same fine.

Lupinhere37 · 04/10/2021 16:22

Ok. My local store has this set up and a 1.5 hour limit.I was worried I’d exceed the parking limit there as I had a massive list and also needed to browse. Realistically knew I’d need to make a couple of trips with the trolley, to load the car up. I spoke to the store worker; she said don’t worry,,,,keep receipts from the visit and if I received a ticket to notify the store immediately. Said it is frequently raised as a concern and she took my registration number, as a precaution.
As it was, I didn’t get a ticket even though I’d overstayed by about 20 mins.
I’d suggest contact the store as it sounds like they can override it if you give evidence.

user1493494961 · 04/10/2021 16:24

There is a 1.5 hour maximum stay in our Home Bargains car park, it's clearly marked.

Funkyslippers · 04/10/2021 16:35

Definitely start with the store. Do what Bottleup did. I got a fine for overstaying in McDonald's 😂 but I attended a family fun day there so was in there for a few hours. The manager was great and got the fine cancelled straight away