There may be trouble ahead …

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As the penny starts to drop for the British Parking Association that their organisation is as good as the worst of the apples in the barrel we predict that whilst there may be trouble ahead there ain’t gonna be much dancing going on … except for officials at the DVLA who have created a lucrative industry based on the free, unfettered supply of public data to private land parking operators, many of whom have paid scant regard to the BPA’s VOLUNTARY Code of Practice.

How do we know of the pending doom?

Check out this here

A very bright spotlight is about to be shone on an ‘industry’ the Minister failed to properly examine before embarking on a route which will end up causing a great deal of embarrassment for all concerned.

The motoring public were cynical and suspicious previously about the legitimacy of private land parking enforcement in its attempt to mimic local authority enforcement. Now the hot poultice of publicity is about to be smeared on the top of a festering boil!

http://youtu.be/TnfKmNRfLYU

Regulation of Signage and Ticketing Technology (Publicly-available Car Parks)

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Motion for leave to bring in a Bill (Standing Order No. 23)

1.13 pm

Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab): I beg to move,

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision relating to signage and ticketing technology for parking charges used in publicly-available car parks; and for connected purposes.

This is a straightforward Bill. It will get a better deal for the motorist and stop them being ripped off at car parks. Misleading and confusing signs are inexcusable; it should be simple to get the signs and pay machines right.

Last autumn, angry constituents came to see me when a new operator took over a town centre car park in Ebbw Vale. Within weeks, I had received a flood of complaints from blue badge holders. There were criticisms about signage, and about a complicated payment system in which drivers had to enter their car registration number into a fiddly key pad. I am fed up with poor signage in car parks that confuses and confounds the motorist. At that car park in my constituency, motorists were told, in micro-print:

“Do not leave the car park to retrieve change in order to purchase a valid ticket”.

The fact that they are unable to read that instruction before entry makes it hard for the motorist to do the right thing; it also helps the operator to pocket fines. However, the British Parking Association, which oversees the self-regulation of the private car parking industry, told me that that sign was acceptable.

Perhaps the greatest grievance brought to my attention was the extortionate parking charge notices. Like most MPs, I bat for my constituents. I am a reasonable person, and I think that motorists should pay to park on private land. However, I expect parking operators to tell drivers how and what to pay. Signs should be clear and unambiguous, and when drivers do pay, but make a genuine mistake when entering their registration number into a machine, they should not have to pay an additional parking charge of £40, as a constituent of mine was asked to do. They had already purchased a ticket and paid for their parking space, so there was no loss whatever to the operator. My constituent had done the right thing, but was still forced to cough up. That is just wrong.

I have met representatives of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, which passes on vehicle registration data to the so-called approved car park operators. I have also met representatives of the British Parking Association, the industry-funded body, which requires its members to abide by its members’ club code of practice. The BPA told me that it would like statutory regulation of the sector, but that that has been spiked by the Government. When I met the Transport Minister, I was told that an independent appeals service for unfair ticketing would be introduced under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. That safeguard is welcome, but it fails to address the large-scale and deliberately exploitative ticketing operations of some in the sector.

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Since raising this issue in Parliament, I have been contacted by people from all over the country who have been hit by car park operators’ sharp practice. Their anger and frustration is backed up by statistics from the DVLA. In 2011-12, the DVLA received 1.57 million electronic requests for driver information. Those requests give drivers’ personal details to car park operators, and the information is used to chase up motorists for payment. The number of requests went up by one third in the past year alone. When a driver allegedly breaks the rules, the car park operator gets their personal details from the DVLA and uses them to send them an instant penalty charge notice. In short, the operators are milking the motorist.

Now, following much consumer campaigning, the BPA is reducing the maximum charge, but it will still be a hefty £100. If drivers do not pay the charge, it increases and a solicitor’s letter often follows. That aptly named “threatogram” can often frighten the motorist into paying up. Such charges can cost the British motorist a staggering £125 million a year. In Stockport, a gentlemen won his case because the judge thought that the signage was poor, and that people could have been forgiven for thinking that they did not have to pay. It turned out that more than 11,000 people in the previous three years had not paid, but, yet again, the BPA thought that the signage was fine.

I am pressing for simple and fair signage. I want clear notices at the entrances to car parks, to let motorists know whether or not they have to pay. Drivers also need to know how to pay, and how much. One idea is to have large signs painted on the tarmac as well. That is certainly a low-cost solution. The BPA tells me that it plans to improve signage, including through the use of larger font sizes. Let us hope that it takes inspiration from the excellent Olympics signage that we have all seen in the past few months; it was first class.

Above all, the BPA must get on with this; otherwise, motorists will continue to be a soft target. I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find that the BPA is giving its car park operators up to three years to change their signs, even though we all expect the operators to make the changes quickly. That will mean another three years of unfair fines for many.

I am also worried about a developing business model for this sector, in which the landowner receives the hourly charge from the motorist but the car park operator receives the income from any extra charges. So, from the car park operator’s point of view, the more confusing the signage is, the better. When it is confusing for the motorist, the car park operators make more money. That cannot be right.

This Bill will end the open season on motorists; it will deliver clear, easy-to-read signs in all car parks used by the public. Payment systems, too, must be as simple as possible. Motorists who pay should not face extra charges when they have done the right thing.

If we want shoppers to use our high streets, we need to make sure they can park at reasonable cost. Confusing and misleading car park signs are quite literally driving consumers out of our town centres. They are going to out-of-town retail centres, where they can park for free. Nobody is arguing for free car parking in our towns. People should pay for parking and the landowner should get a reasonable return. Motorists should not be ripped off, however. This Bill would mean that, in future,

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motorists can use their local town centre without fear of being fleeced. Crucially, car park operators must clean up their act.

Question put and agreed to .

Ordered,

That Nick Smith, Stephen Barclay, Nic Dakin, Chris Evans, Yvonne Fovargue, Diana Johnson, Barbara Keeley, Ian Lucas, Seema Malhotra, John Mann and Jim Shannon present the Bill.

Nick Smith accordingly presented the Bill.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 25 January 2013, and to be printed (Bill 71).

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm120918/debtext/120918-0001.htm#12091825000002rinted

Another One Bites the Dust ...

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Once the penny starts to drop for councillors across the country that motorists vote then any plans by other councils to adopt the workplace stealth tax will fade faster than an American golfer's dreams!

Bristol workplace parking scheme scrapped by city council

A plan for a workplace parking levy on businesses in Bristol has been scrapped, the BBC has learned.

Bristol City Council wanted to raise £27m by imposing the charge on parking spaces owned by companies.

Read the full article here

Previous reports

• Row over workplace parking levy
• 'Mixed reaction' to parking plan
• Work parking levy debate begins

Cumbria Council drop Penalty Charge Notice clanger – as well as dropped kerb!

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As far as clangers go this is a good one … and goes to show how fighting something that is unfair can pay dividends.

Motorist Annie Caine stood up and appealed an unfair ticket and took it to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and won.

Her ‘crime’ was to park next to a dropped kerb and that could constitute a contravention providing that the dropped kerb was there for a purpose and not, like here it was ‘dropped’ for aesthetic reasons.

Have you been caught out in similar circumstances?

If so click on our affiliate site Penalty Charge Notice.co.uk

http://penaltychargenotice.co.uk/ 

To read the full decision see below.

ROAD TAX TO BE SCRAPPED

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MOTORISTS have been told to expect the biggest ever shake-up in transport policy.

It came as a minister predicted the abolition of vehicle tax, big cuts in fuel duties and a new system of road tolls for every mile travelled.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said a national system of road pricing was inevitable, adding: “Every government of every colour will get there, whatever parties say now.”

He explained that the drift towards electric and cleaner cars would force the Treasury to look at replacing the billions of pounds it is likely to lose through traditional carbon tax revenues.

Mr Baker wants a revenue neutral” system of road pricing in which there would be no difference in overall costs for the average motorist.

Read the full article here

Darwen motorist slams ‘immoral’ Blackburn car park fine

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A GYM goer has hit out at an 'immoral' car parking fine and said that dozens of others are at risk.

Robin Cronshaw, an IT manager from Darwen, was handed a £90 ticket after parking next to the Vue Cinema in the Peel Leisure and retail Park, Blackburn, as he went to use the on-site DW Gym which neighbours the cinema.

The car park is managed by Lytham-based CMS (UK) Ltd, which has erected notices that tickets will be issued if cars are parked on the site and the owners leave the retail park boundaries.

Mr Cronshaw said: “They don’t define where the boundaries of the retail park are, so how do you know whether you’re leaving or not?

“I only went to the gym and thought that I was well within the rules.

“When I came out there were 10 to 15 other cars that had tickets on, and there were a lot of angry motorists.

“I think it’s completely wrong and immoral because they’re just trying to catch people out.

“I am going to appeal because £90 is a lot of money.”

http://www.blackburncitizen.co.uk/news/9945931.Darwen_motorist_slams____immoral____Blackburn_car_park_fine/

Hospital Parking Fines - Damned Liberty!

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The following story shows how emotive hospital parking enforcement is ... and the hospital Trust is very reluctant to disclose how many 'fines' were issued last year.  The staff, Unison, patients and visitors are right to express concern that a private parking company is going to see them as Parking Charge Notice fodder and the residents in adjacent areas will be brought into the fray with displacement parking.
Let's watch with interest as the landscape changes on 1st October with the introduction of keeper liability.
A new war on motorists is about to begin!

Parking fines at Sheffield hospital double

Sheffields Northern General Hospital increases parking fines for badly and wrongly parked vehicles in it's car park

Sheffield Star
Thursday 20 September 2012

FINES for parking in ‘prohibited areas’ around Sheffield’s hospitals are set to more than double - despite a chronic shortage of spaces.

Vehicles are clamped with a £25 release fee but from Monday, October 1, a new company, Liberty Parking Services, is taking over enforcement.
Although offending motorists will no longer find their cars clamped, the contractor will be issuing £60 parking tickets, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days.

Trade union Unison, which represents a large number of hospital staff, said there is particular concern at the Northern General Hospital in Fir Vale.
Charlie Carruth, regional organiser for the union, said: “This is a terrible proposal and will impact adversely on staff and patients and their visitors. £60 is a big fine, particularly as a so-called prohibited area could be parking slightly outside the parking bays, not blocking an access route.
“This deals with the symptoms but not the problem of insufficient car parking around the Northern General, which is what we should be looking at.
“This change will cause hardship to low-paid staff struggling to find an appropriate space.”
One Northern General worker, who declined to be named, said: “It’s a nightmare to park as things are and people sometimes end up parking in somewhere that isn’t a marked space because there is no alternative.
“Depending upon the time of your shift you sometimes can’t get here by public transport.”
Members of the public parking at the hospital criticised the huge increase in fines.
Jim Glasby, aged 64, from Darnall, who was visiting a relative, said: “It seems wrong. It can take a long while to find a space, sometimes I’ve driven around for 20 minutes.”
Fellow visitor Jacqueline Taylor, aged 55, a sales assistant from Gleadless, said: “It’s a ridiculous and disgusting increase. How can they justify it?”
Residents in surrounding areas feared the increased fines could mean even more people parking in their streets.
Farid Hussein, aged 40, a taxi driver who lives on Idsworth Road, close to the Northern General’s Barnsley Road entrance, said: “On weekdays, you often can’t find spaces outside your home as things are.
“This change could mean more people parking there for the hospital and will make life worse.”
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals was planning to tackle the shortage of spaces at the Northern General with a new multi-storey car park, but the plans have been put on hold due to shortage of funds.

The trust declined to say how much money has been raised through parking fines in the last year.
However, a spokesman said it has provided 200 additional car parking spaces at the Northern General over the last 12 months.
The new fines will apply at all the trust’s sites, which also include the Royal Hallamshire, Weston Park, Charles Clifford and the Jessop Wing.

Neil Thompson, the trust’s manager for hotel services, said: “There are some people who simply choose not to park responsibly, don’t pay and in some cases even block access for emergency vehicles.
“Therefore, some means of enforcement is essential. We will have an appeal process in place with an independent arbitrator if needed.
“Signs will be put up before October 1 in all car parks to provide information about the changes.
“Money from fines will be reinvested into NHS care.”