Danger of using the parking ticket display clip on windscreen

[Folkie]

Just over a week ago I went to a restaurant, parked in the pay and display nearby.  I attached the parking receipt to the windscreen, using the little clip provided by Skoda.  Today I received a Parking charge Notice from a company called "Euro Car Parks" with time-stamped photographs of my numberplate when I entered and left the car park, and a fine for £85.  Nothing was put on my car at the time I parked there, so there was no reason why I should have kept the receipt to show that I had paid.

 

I have to assume that their parking warden looked on my dashboard and did not look higher up to where their ticket was being displayed on the windscreen.  In future, I guess I won't be using this clip to avoid a similar incident in the future. 

[john999boy]

Did you have to input your car reg before the ticket was issued? Might you have made a mistake?

If you were sent entry/exit photos then I doubt a warden was even in attendance.

 

My current cars don't have the ability to display tickets using the windscreen clip and I do miss it.

[YMe]

I would challenge this. If they photographed you in and out they have a record of all ins and out during the time you were parked. Therefore if receipts match car park entry tickets then you have your proof that you paid. It's not your fault if the parking control person is too dim to properly check you are displaying a ticket.

 

Similarly if it's a completely automatic car park and you have to enter your reg. ask to see list of car reg's taken during your parking time, if yours is there then you are OK, if there's something very similar you may have to eat humble pie and talk nicely to them - good luck. 

Edited 10 August, 2017 by YMe

[Folkie]

Since posting, I found the original receipt in my car ash tray.  They had requested the first letter of the car registration which is also on the receipt, so I can challenge it anyway.  There was an 8 minute delay between their time stamp of my entering the park to the time on my ticket.  My wife is disabled and it takes a while to get her out into the wheelchair, so I may have exceed their time allowed to pay?  I guess with pay & displays if they don't put a note on your windscreen at the time,  it's  your word against theirs.  I'm afraid that the restaurant has lost any further business from me as I'm not likely to be parking in that car park again.

[blueR36]

These auto car parks are a nightmare , local co op to me has 20 mins free I was in there 23 mins and got fined even though I had been shopping there . I was parked up for less than twenty mins but it clocks you in and out not for time parked ! I will never park there again 

[peterhardy]

10 hours ago, Folkie said:

Since posting, I found the original receipt in my car ash tray.  They had requested the first letter of the car registration which is also on the receipt, so I can challenge it anyway.  There was an 8 minute delay between their time stamp of my entering the park to the time on my ticket.  My wife is disabled and it takes a while to get her out into the wheelchair, so I may have exceed their time allowed to pay?  I guess with pay & displays if they don't put a note on your windscreen at the time,  it's  your word against theirs.  I'm afraid that the restaurant has lost any further business from me as I'm not likely to be parking in that car park again.

 

I would suggest that you seek advice from the excellent people on the Pepipoo Forums.  They're a very knowledgeable lot and have assisted me in the past.  I would think that you won't have to pay anything.  Here's the link to the section of the forum you need:

 

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=60

 

BTW, this forum is also great for pretty much any motoring related issue; speeding etc.  Hope this is useful to you.

 

Peter.

Edited 11 August, 2017 by peterhardy

[Auric Goldfinger]

A couple of years ago I reported a Taxi who tailgated me out of the short stay car park at Leeds Bradford Airport. ANPR in and out, so the system knows what time you went in, what tme you came out and charges you appropriately.  He knew what he was doing as he waved me into a line of traffic leaving the car park.  I took his reg number and taxi  plate numberand reported him to the car parking firm. A few weeks later I recieved an email from the firm thanking me and I was informed they had check there records and the said Taxi had been ANPR'ed going in but no record of him leaving as he tail gated me out. They fined him the Maximun charge which was for 24 hours.

 

The thing that annoyed me the most was It's only £3 to drop off and the chances are he charged the customer the extra £3 for the drop off.

[glosrich]

You're right Auric.

One tailgated me out of Birmingham airport carpark last week, I wondered why, that must be it.

[MattChr]

Keep hold of the ticket and challenge it - you parked legitimately and it's not your fault the automatic system failed.

 

For automated systems they don't have to display a penalty charge sticker on your windscreen, they can send it in the post instead.

 

Check with pepipoo.com for timescales involved. If it's fully automated it's unlikely, but if they send anything too late then the parking charge is null and void. Also look very carefully at the wording - in particular to driver/Notice to Keeper - if they're demanding rather than inviting early repayment etc.

 

Euro Car Parks should be registered with POPLA, who are an independent panel for assessing parking charges. You have good reasons to challenge:

- You paid for your parking and displayed your ticket appropriately on your windscreen clip (take a pic showing it's location to confirm it's prominent, not behind tinted glass etc)

- Your timestamp between parking (according to their system) and paying for the ticket was fair, considering your wife's disability and extra time needed to help her. You may need to send pictures/scans of her blue badge to help your cause.

 

If you have chance, check the signs on the car park. Are they clear, are all charges correct (early repayment, full cost etc) - POPLA accepted my appeal because their NTK charges didn't match the signs.

 

First you request cancellation to Euro Car Parks, with your arguments fully fleshed out and all evidence. If they decline, they will give you a POPLA appeal number to process with them. You can list multiple arguments with POPLA, with a primary reason, but POPLA must check all of them one-by-one, either stopping when one of your appeal reasons is valid, or at the end when they are all justified by Euro Car Parks and you have to pay up.

[ords]

Why don't you pay for the ticket first, then help your wife out of the car?

[Jono]

Why *should* he?

[Ttaskmaster]

On 10/08/2017 at 21:24, Folkie said:

I guess with pay & displays if they don't put a note on your windscreen at the time,  it's  your word against theirs.  I'm afraid that the restaurant has lost any further business from me as I'm not likely to be parking in that car park again.

You paid, you displayed, you have proof. Tell them to stuff it.

If it's any good, perhaps have a word with the restaurant and see if there's somewhere else you can park - No reason they should lose their business just because some indy car park is up their own...

[Folkie]

Thanks to  peterhardy, MattChr & Ttaskmaster for all of  your useful  inputs.

I have partially taken the route since suggested by Ttaskmaster.  The Restaurant had an arrangement where you got two tickets from the pay & display machine, one the display ticket, and the other a receipt of the parking paid that they would refund when you paid the restaurant bill.  I contacted the restaurant and they took my case up with Euro Car Parks, for as you say it’s their loss of business if people get done for parking there.  They have since told me that the case is now cleared, but I’m retaining  all the details – just in case

Edited 14 August, 2017 by Folkie

[Ttaskmaster]

Oh, that's even better news. I'd certainly go back to that place, then!

[Folkie]

8 hours ago, Ttaskmaster said:

You paid, you displayed, you have proof. Tell them to stuff it.

If it's any good, perhaps have a word with the restaurant and see if there's somewhere else you can park - No reason they should lose their business just because some indy car park is up their own...

At the time I wrote that I did not know that I still had the ticket in my ash tray.  With nothing on the windscreen when you leave the park, there is no reason why one should save the ticket, hence - no proof.

1 hour ago, Ttaskmaster said:

Oh, that's even better news. I'd certainly go back to that place, then!

I would, but my wife didn't like the food there anyway, so probably won't be going again, but not because of the parking issue.

[peterhardy]

10 hours ago, Folkie said:

Thanks to  peterhardy, MattChr & Ttaskmaster for all of  your useful  inputs.

I have partially taken the route since suggested by Ttaskmaster.  The Restaurant had an arrangement where you got two tickets from the pay & display machine, one the display ticket, and the other a receipt of the parking paid that they would refund when you paid the restaurant bill.  I contacted the restaurant and they took my case up with Euro Car Parks, for as you say it’s their loss of business if people get done for parking there.  They have since told me that the case is now cleared, but I’m retaining  all the details – just in case

 

Great news!  I would suggest you keep the Pepipoo Forum details.  You never know when they may come on handy.

[Ootohere]

I have never used a Ticket Clip on a Skoda to hold a ticket only air fresheners.

 

I have only ever placed Parking  Display Tickets at the passenger side where the Tax Disc used to be because that was where Parking Wardens out on the Public Highway looked for them first and sometimes that was the only place they looked, where they looked for Orange and then Blue Badges as well.

 

?

On left hand drive cars is the Ticket Holder at the drivers side as well, ie at the road side not the kerb side?

[ords]

On ‎14‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 20:58, Jono said:

Why *should* he?

It's normal practice to go and get a ticket as soon as you park.

[Jono]

I'd say it's normal practice for you and your passengers to get out of the car before going to buy a ticket...

[ords]

9 hours ago, Jono said:

I'd say it's normal practice for you and your passengers to get out of the car before going to buy a ticket...

But in this case it's taking much longer because of his wife's disability. There has to be a cut off point between entering & paying for the ticket.

[Jono]

 

In order to not unfairly discriminate against someone *because* of their disability, that cut off point should be long enough to allow them to exit the car and get to the ticket machine.

 

The last thing people trying to live their lives with a serious disability need are automated car parks being dicks to them.

Edited 16 August, 2017 by Jono

[Folkie]

There seems to be a moral here, not to throw away parking tickets, even if you think it's all done with.  There was nothing to indicate that that car park was camera controlled, and no obvious reason to retain the parking ticket, but I'm naturally glad that I did.  Perhaps one shouldn't use the windscreen clip for car-park tickets, although in this case I guess it was not relevant as no human warden ever looked at it.

 

As to whether I should help my wife out of the car or pay the parking ticket first varies with circumstance.  I feel happier to have her buckled up in the wheelchair before leaving her unattended, as recently she took things into her own hands, fell and fractured her pelvis.  She suffers from dementia and is not fully aware of her own disabilities.

[Rodge]

A sign that it may be camera controlled is if you have to enter your registration number to get a ticket. I do use the ticket clip but I've recently started keeping old tickets for exactly this reason.

[Ttaskmaster]

15 hours ago, Jono said:

I'd say it's normal practice for you and your passengers to get out of the car before going to buy a ticket...

Depends how cold it is... and how many of those passengers are best left in place until you can look after them without having to faff around with ticket machines and money, such as children or dogs.

 

1 hour ago, Folkie said:

Perhaps one shouldn't use the windscreen clip for car-park tickets, although in this case I guess it was not relevant as no human warden ever looked at it.

 

Tosh.

Unless they specify an exact location complete with measurements from each edge, anywhere inside the windscreen that does not obscure the details is fine, particularly if they're not the adhesive ticket kind.

 

I used to love arguing tickets for the bike, as it was an unfaired model and had no windscreen in the first place!!

 

On 14/08/2017 at 23:18, Folkie said:

At the time I wrote that I did not know that I still had the ticket in my ash tray.  With nothing on the windscreen when you leave the park, there is no reason why one should save the ticket, hence - no proof.

 

Do they have a photo of your empty windscreen?

No?

Then you paid, you displayed. Not your problem if they can't be bothered to actually look.

[Odin1123]

On 8/10/2017 at 22:10, blueR36 said:

These auto car parks are a nightmare , local co op to me has 20 mins free I was in there 23 mins and got fined even though I had been shopping there . I was parked up for less than twenty mins but it clocks you in and out not for time parked ! I will never park there again 

Shop at Waitrose, their car parks allow 2hrs or are free.

Parked recently at Abingdon and their municipal car park also allowed two hours free.

Big car parking companies are only in it for the money and all anomalies should be disputed.

Edited 17 November, 2017 by Odin1123