A break from driving – but not from parking charges
One of the most common complaints Raw Deal sees is from people threatened with debt collectors by a car parking firm.
Our readers are often very angry at the amount of money they are being asked for, and the frightening tone of the letters.
By coincidence, two letters landed on our desk within a day of each other, both taking issue with ParkingEye, one of the UK’s largest private parking companies. They run the parking operations of several large retail chains, as well as smaller lots.
This week we will deal with case 1.
Last October, Alan Redpath, of Bannockburn, received a call from his daughter in Essex telling of a family crisis. As any father would do, Alan left to go and help disregarding the fact he had already worked a full day.
After driving for several hours, Alan felt he was becoming drowsy and, prompted by several “Tiredness can kill” signs along the motorway, stopped at services in Chorley, near Wigan, for a brief kip
He paid his parking ticket, which allowed a two-hour stay, but napped for more than two hours. By the time he left the deserted car park, he had gone 51 minutes past his allotted time.
The service area car park is run by ParkingEye and, a few weeks after his mercy dash, Alan was hit by a “bill” for the time he hadn’t paid for.
Within a few months, the cost had spiralled to £100 and though he appealled against the
Alan did what the Government advises, but still got a “fine”.
charge, Alan was threatened with debt collectors and court action. He asked Raw Deal for help.
We pointed out the special circumstances of Alan’s case to ParkingEye. It was a family .emergency, Alan took a break from the road to safeguard his own life and possibly the lives of other road users. He was obeying Government advice to take a break from driving long distances.
And it wasn’t that he’d deprived anyone of a car parking space, the
car park was otherwise deserted in the wee small hours.
In any case, a charge of £100 for overstaying 51 minutes seemed, in our opinion, a punishment that didn’t fit the crime.
Couldn’t they see their way to waiving at least part of this fee? Perhaps charge for the extra time used at their normal rate?
Alan isn’t a criminal. He doesn’t deserve to be treated as if he is one. Threats of court action and debt collectors for the sake of 51 minutes asleep in a car park might seem, to a reasonable person, excessive. ParkingEye wouldn’t budge. They sent us a statement saying: “ParkingEye adheres to the British Parking Association’s guidelines on grace periods and as the driver overstayed beyond this period a charge was incurred.
“ParkingEye operates an audited appeals process and encourages people to appeal if they feel there are mitigating circumstances. If a motorist disagrees with our decision they have the option to appeal to the independent appeals service (POPLA). In this case the driver did appeal to POPLA, who upheld our original decision.”