Angry motorist slams ‘confusing’ car park
Driver given PCN despite no mention of pay and display
Katherine Clementine
A VISITOR faced confusion and a ‘ridiculous’ penalty charge notice (PCN) after spending 90 minutes in an Uxbridge car park with covered-up pay machines.
Paul Xavier-Lucas visited Uxbridge briefly and used the council-run Pavilions shopping centre car park, also known as Grainges, for 90 minutes, believing he had to pay after the stay.
He returned to find a PCN slapped onto his windscreen and asks Hillingdon Council why it is not clearer that the car park is a pay and display.
He said: “Where you normally stop and the machine would take your ticket was completely taped up and the barrier was in the up position.
“I got a parking space on the first level and when I went over to the exit, which is towards the high
‘RIDICULOUS’:
street, the paying machines were completely taped up.
“Then when you go into the stairwell, you can see signs which say it’s a pay on exit car park – no mention about having to pay and display.
“There are two car parks – one where you take a ticket and pay on exit and pay and display, but on a pay and display they’ve got to tell you that it is one.”
Mr Lucas did not realise there were any pay and display machines, as the only one he saw on his way out were taped up.
He said: “It was only after I got the ticket that I walked around the car park and found in the corner, this other machine that wasn’t taped up – it was in the opposite corner to the exit I’d used.
“What I think has happened is that the car park was one of the pay on exit ones and you pay for the time you had when you leave. But at some point the council got pay and display but did not put up clear signs telling people that’s what they’ve done.”
TJG1ST
This is not the first time parking in Uxbridge has caused controversy – last year shoppers fumed over intu Uxbridge’s parking hike.
Mr Lucas wants the council to cancel his penalty charge which he thinks would ‘never stand up’ and suggests signs need to make it clearer the car park is a pay and display.
He added: “Another thing I would say about the car park is that if you wanted to stay for the whole day, which costs something like £16, the machine only takes coins, which is further madness.
“No one’s got £16 worth of coins on them.
“When I came into the car park, clearly none of the barriers were working, none of the machines that I saw on the way to the exit were working and the signs told me you pay on exit, so it’s mad.”
Hillingdon Council had not commented by the time the Gazette went to press.
SWEET GESTURE: BOYS at Abbotsfield School were inspired to help raise funds for a young cancer patient.
The pupils held a cake sale to support and raise awareness of neuroblastoma, raising well over £100 for the Solving Kids Cancer charity.
The boys were inspired to take part after reading the Uxbridge Gazette article about eight-year-old Jessica Sheppard, who has been battling neuroblastoma and explained she had named her tumour Boris.
The money was raised to help anyone who is fighting neuroblastoma receive the treatment they need.