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Original poster

Breastfeeding in a parking

46 replies

Irugi · 29/09/2017 06:25

Good morning,
We went on holiday to Wales and the last day we parked in a private parking. We payed for 2 hours and a few days after that we were issued with a parking charge notice of £100 for overstaying 23 min according to the ANPR cameras. Taking into account minimum grace periods of 5 and 10 min, assigned to the start and end of the parking session respectively, we overstayed 8 minutes because we use the car to breastfeed our baby boy before driving back home, the journey was about 2.5 hours.
We have appealed to POPLA on a few grounds, one of them being sexual discrimination against a breastfeeding mother. We were advised to use it but we actually don’t know anything about laws. We were wondering whether we would have a case if we decide to take legal action against landowner and car park operator. Could you please advise us?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

OP posts:

Whynotnowbaby · 29/09/2017 06:28

I can't see how you would possibly have a case here. Your right to breastfeed does not negate your obligation to pay. They would have been unreasonable if you had paid for three hours and someone had tried to stop you feeding your child but that is not what happened.

DinnaeKnowShitFromClay · 29/09/2017 06:29

No. In your shoes,I wouldn't consider any of what you have put in your OP. You overstayed and need to pay. 'Minimum grace' periods. where do you get that from? Just pay.

Sirzy · 29/09/2017 06:30

How was it discrimination? If you had chosen to bottle feed you would have still been there longer than you had paid for!

They don’t care what you are doing, they care you have paid for the time you are there!

Mouthfulofquiz · 29/09/2017 06:33

I had the same happen to me and I did manage to get the parking ticket cancelled. I'll try and find the email I sent, it was a couple of years ago. I think the company cancelled it as an act of goodwill though rather than the law...

talkshowhost97 · 29/09/2017 06:34

I will advise you yes. Get a grip. Pay the fine. You broke the clearly advertised rules which you have acknowledged.

Breastfeeding has no relevance to this at all. And it's frankly abhorrent that you are trying to use it as a way to deflect from your own mistake. Detracts from people with genuine grievances around this issue by screaming discrimination where none exists.

dertyyuoih2 · 29/09/2017 06:34

I don’t think it’s discrimination, when you look up the definitions surrounding it the one that the situation would fall into is

“This can happen when an organisation puts a rule or a policy or a way of doing things in place which has a worse impact on someone with a protected characteristic than someone without one”

However this isn’t meant through your circumstances, the rule in place, you paid for two hours parking, you made that decision to pay for that amount. The impact it has was through your choice when parking had expired to then feed your child. I’d imagine you didn’t realise they had anpr and Just hoped it would be okay.

flumpybear · 29/09/2017 06:35

Did it take you over two hours to breast feed?!

savagehk · 29/09/2017 06:37

I don't think it's discrimination, but I would send them a polite letter explaining you accidentally overstayed because you had to feed your baby and it took you over the time allowed (assuming that's what happened).
Sounds like the polite letter boat has already sailed though.

FrancisCrawford · 29/09/2017 06:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

INeedNewShoes · 29/09/2017 06:39

You pay for how long you park your car for regardless of whether you're breastfeeding or not surely.

mimiholls · 29/09/2017 06:40

There were two of you in the car from the sounds of your op? Could the one not breastfeeding not have gone to pay to extend your time?
I suppose there's a chance they will waive it as a gesture of good will if you wrote to the parking company, but it definitely isn't a legal matter. Rubbish about minimum grace times. I think you sound a bit entitled and should just pay up to be honest.

43percentburnt · 29/09/2017 06:48

Look at the parking cowboys website they tell you how to check that the parking company were complaint with legislation. They often break their own rules. Sadly popla are not a helpful regulator. You are better off trying to get off on a technicality.

In our local hospital they don't always put a ticket on your vehicle - even though they are meant to - instead they post it to you. It's your word against theirs regarding the ticket. Or they photograph and remove it (happened to a friend, the parking attendant took a photo of the rear of the car but you could see windscreen through the car and the ticket had gone). Meaning you miss the chance to pay the lower figure.

Often lease car companies and company car drivers workplaces just pay the bill assuming the driver is in the wrong and then bill the driver - which gives the driver no right to appeal. Even if they have evidence.

I avoid car parks with amra cameras now and keep all car park tickets now as evidence. I try to use car parks with long stay options and barriers (pay on exit ones). Then you pay what you owe, and if the hospital appointment is running late etc you aren't worried about a parking surprise in 2 months time.

43percentburnt · 29/09/2017 06:51

There's a great poster on money saving expert who knows his stuff. In fairness it sounds like you should pay but there is a good chance they didn't follow the rules set by their regulator. Do not contact them again until you have read up on it as you may jeopardise getting out of it.

43percentburnt · 29/09/2017 06:53

www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/popla/

headhurtstoomuch · 29/09/2017 07:06

What 'grace period' in a car park? First I've ever heard of that. When you are illegally parked on a road and a warden appears you have 5 mins (from memory) before they can issue a ticket but in a pay and display car park you pay for precisely the length of period you stay.

Why couldn't you breastfeed while your partner drove the car? I'm all for trying to get out of car park fines but perhaps not on this occasion...

Lindy2 · 29/09/2017 07:11

23 minutes is quite a lot extra on top of 2 hours of parking. You must have known you were short of time when you started to BF.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 29/09/2017 07:13

Pay the fine. You were in the wrong.

NerrSnerr · 29/09/2017 07:19

Would you pay the fine if you bottle fed the baby? Of course you should pay it, they're not discriminating against you for breastfeeding. Why didn't you just pay for an extra hour?

prh47bridge · 29/09/2017 07:26

What 'grace period' in a car park? First I've ever heard of that

Local authority car parks and members of the BPA Approved Operators Scheme give a 10 minute grace period after the parking ticket runs out.

Irugi - I don't see any legal basis for a challenge. You overstayed. The fact you overstayed because you decided to breastfeed in the car park before moving does not make it sexual discrimination in my view. I think the best you can hope for is a goodwill payment from the operator. Legal action will, in my view, fail.

StylishDuck · 29/09/2017 07:32

*Why couldn't you breastfeed while your partner drove the car?
*
I'm at how wrong this is. Please don't ever do this!

Having said that, I agree with PPs. The fact you were breastfeeding is a red herring. You overstayed your allotted time. You have to pay.

Cupcakegirl13 · 29/09/2017 07:32

This is ridiculous ! It is in no way discrimination , take responsibility and pay the fine.

Tumilnaughts · 29/09/2017 07:45

Whereas I agree with all the previous messages and I believe you over stayed and therefore they were within their rights to fine you, I also think it never hurts to fight a fine. Oftentimes they'll just cancel it out of goodwill. The worst they can say is no. But I wouldn't get in a huge legal battle over £100 either.

DinnaeKnowShitFromClay · 29/09/2017 07:51

you sound a bit entitled

You sound massively entitled. Do you live your life like this OP?

Merida83 · 29/09/2017 07:54

You knew the time your ticket was due up. You also knew baby would need feeding before you set off home. You should have returned to your car early enough to feed baby without over staying. You are in the wrong. You should pay the ticket!

Also claiming discrimination is rediculous - they simply clocked your number plate on entry and exist and knew time you paid for. They neither knew nor cared why youn over stayed and to say you should get off from paying fine as you were feeding baby is outrageous and unfair. It was poor time management on your part nothing more!

countingdown · 29/09/2017 08:01

We got a ticket whilst I was giving birth. We had parked in the 15 minute drop off zone and my baby arrived 8 minutes after we had parked. When my husband went to move the car we had a parking ticket.
The midwives all said we shouldn't pay it. We did - we had broken the rules and gone over the 15 minutes. Sometimes you just have to accept you're in the wrong, whether deliberately or inadvertently.

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