ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
View Threaded
Wed 10 Oct 2012 17:18
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - jo mick2

i am a disabled driverwith a blue badge and have been to livingston outlet before and have used the disabled parking bays.today i went there and when i got back to my car after shopping i saw a ticket on my car a parking enforcement notice,and the breach wasfailing to display a valid permit. my blue badge was clearly seen on my front windscreen. Do i need to pay this.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 10 Oct 2012 19:17
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - daveyjp
No, blue badges stand for nothing on private land, the fact you have one and it was on display only compounds how desperate these companies are becoming.

You can waste the cost of a stamp appealing or you can ignore the letters you will get as you owe them not a penny.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 11 Oct 2012 09:04
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - Dwight Van Driver

As dave states, there is no exemption to Badge holders from paying for private parking charges as mentioned above.

Congratulations - you seem to be the first to post about problems that are now covered by new legislation allowing them to chase Reg Owner for fees. Prior to 1.10.12 under law of contract they had to prove who the driver was and there was no obligation on the Reg Keeper to name driver. Under new law they can now go for the Reg Keeper where driver is not known.

One presumes that clear signs were up about conditions/charges for parking.

Now what to do? Options to consider.

One - As I understand it they will have to take you to County Court to obtain a judgement. Question is in view of cost, time and trouble will they do this? One could chance that they won't and totally ignore letters etc until Court papers arrive. Do you feel lucky as Clint Eastwood once said?

Two - In an appeal write to them and contest that a Badge was not displayed. Bear in mind these sharks do no havet a heart.

Three - HMG has said Charges for breaking a parking contract must be reasonable and a genuine pre-estimate of loss. This means charges must compensate the landholder only for the loss they are likely to suffer because the parking contract has been broken. For example, to cover the unpaid charges and the administrative costs associated with issuing the ticket to recover the charges. Charges may not be set at higher levels than necessary to recover business losses and the intention should not be to penalise the driver. As HJ has said in the past point this out to them and send a fiver/tenner (up to you). Also point out they accept or you will see them in Court to contest high charge..

Four - roll over and pay up.

dvd

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 11 Oct 2012 11:26
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - Bromptonaut

Suspect Livingston designer outlet is in Scotland - Protection of Freedoms Act changes to parking are E&W only.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 11 Oct 2012 12:43
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - bathtub tom

Their website states: For your convenience, ample car parking is available in various locations around the centre and is well signposted. A charge applies.

No mention of free disabled parking. I've seen car parks with disabled spaces close to access points that charge disabled badge holders. Perhaps terms have changed?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 11 Oct 2012 14:29
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - Falkirk Bairn

Parked there 12 mths ago - no ticket as I did not see the £1.00 required to park as it had been free for years.

It is a carpark owned by the shopping centre and has private co monitoring.

I ignored their invoice and threats. After 6 mths it stopped as they cannot "take you to court" when they do not know who was parking(they only know the reg owner!) and you do not need to tell them.........New English law on 1st October does not apply in Scotland.

Ignore all correspondence and they will tire - they can only be awarded damages in the highly unlikely event they go to a court . Likely to be a pound or so..........if they went to a civil court...........they cannot prosecute as they are private and can only invoice the reg owner.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 11 Oct 2012 14:59
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - Dwight Van Driver

Well spotted Bromptonaut.

If in fact Act does not apply to Scotland so bin and dont enter into any correspondence.

dvd

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 17 Oct 2012 11:46
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - thunderbird

Some car parks require even Blue Badge holders to pay, our local hospital is one such example, major uproar when they announced it.

If the car park at Livingston has this policy they have you banged to rights. Before you ignore the notice double check that its free parking for diabled.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 19 Oct 2012 13:40
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - TeeCee

they have you banged to rights.

No they don't. They have him bang to some weird idea of "rights", that only exists in the minds of the sort of scumbag parasites of dubious parentage that run private parking enforcement firms.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 19 Oct 2012 15:21
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - skidpan

Why should people who do not pay to park get away with it.

The vast majority of us pay when we see a Pay and Display machine and when the limit is 2 hours free we make sure we are there less than 2 hours. If there is a notice that says shoppers only that's fine by me since I go there to shop.

Car parks cost money to build, they do not tarmac themselves etc. The works to create entrances off a public highway are far from cheap. Car park owners are not registered charities for the benefit of free loaders.

So why should the scum of the earth think its their god given right to ignore notices and get free parking for however long they want. Would be better if they towed cars away and the offenders had to pay for their return, they could not ignore the notices then.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 19 Oct 2012 18:49
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - RT

Why should people who do not pay to park get away with it.

The vast majority of us pay when we see a Pay and Display machine and when the limit is 2 hours free we make sure we are there less than 2 hours. If there is a notice that says shoppers only that's fine by me since I go there to shop.

Car parks cost money to build, they do not tarmac themselves etc. The works to create entrances off a public highway are far from cheap. Car park owners are not registered charities for the benefit of free loaders.

So why should the scum of the earth think its their god given right to ignore notices and get free parking for however long they want. Would be better if they towed cars away and the offenders had to pay for their return, they could not ignore the notices then.

The "problem" is that penalties for non-compliance are totally out of proportion to the unpaid parking charge.

As far as the Op is concerned, all Blue Badge holders know, or should know, that the BB doesn't give free parking everywhere - there are any number of off-road municipal car parks which are chargeable to BB holders as well as most private off-road car parks. The only place where rules are uniform are public highways, but even that differs between Scotland and England.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 19 Oct 2012 21:43
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - Bromptonaut

Why should people who do not pay to park get away with it.

The vast majority of us pay when we see a Pay and Display machine and when the limit is 2 hours free we make sure we are there less than 2 hours. If there is a notice that says shoppers only that's fine by me since I go there to shop.

Car parks cost money to build, they do not tarmac themselves etc. The works to create entrances off a public highway are far from cheap. Car park owners are not registered charities for the benefit of free loaders.

So why should the scum of the earth think its their god given right to ignore notices and get free parking for however long they want. Would be better if they towed cars away and the offenders had to pay for their return, they could not ignore the notices then.

Neither do they patrol themselves against blatant abuse. Lets say it costs £50 to park my car at Leeds/Bradford Airport while I'm on a break in Majorca. I could just leave the car on a supermarket car park in Yeadon and get a 'mates taxi' to the airport.

And that's why penalties need to deter.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 20 Oct 2012 18:45
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - skidpan

Just got back form the Leisure Centre. Parking is never really a problem, loads of spaces but some are about a 2 minute walk from the door and people just are not prepared to do that so they abandon them wherever they feel like, in disabled spots (great to see them get out of the car and run), mother and baby spots (great to see them get out of the car and realise they have forgotten the baby) or use the drop off zone outside the door.

Parking is free so I am delighted to report something is being done. Local Authority Enforcement Officers were in the car park today leaving warning notices on their screens if they were parked out of a bay, in a disabled spot or in the drop off zone. This time its a warning, next time a fine.

I applaud their efforts, lets seee some fines.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 20 Oct 2012 21:21
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - daveyjp
If a car is parked in a car park a few days the supermarket only has to call the police and get them to move it. No need for scamming penalties.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 21 Oct 2012 10:46
ford fiesta - disabled parking at livingston designer outlet - Bromptonaut
If a car is parked in a car park a few days the supermarket only has to call the police and get them to move it. No need for scamming penalties.

The car is taxed, insured and correctly MoT'd. There's no record of it being reported stolen and its not an obstruction. Legit in every way.

The police will rightly advise it's a civil matter.

The Council might collect abandonded cars but again are likley to be chary of doing so on private land in circs above.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 21/10/2012 at 10:49

Reply | Report as offensive | Link