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Sunday 10 August 2014

Is ANPR always fit for purpose? ParkingEye bill one household around £10,000 of incorrect charges

This post on pepipoo details an apparent attempt by ParkingEye to scam a household of around £10,000 in incorrectly issued tickets. The situation arises because according to the motorist she has rights to a car park which is accessed by driving through Aldi's car park. ParkingEye's technology regularly fouls up and issues tickets for cars parked in these spaces. It is not clear whether ParkingEye have only put ANPR cameras on the main entrance and forgot to montitor this entrance or whether the cameras are simply unreliable.

To compound matters, ParkingEye are refusing to cancel tickets outright and are making the motorist waste time by appealing to POPLA. They are also refusing to accept appeals from her on behalf of friends and visitors, making life very difficult. This is in direct contradiction to the BPA's decision which is that third parties can appeal  on behalf of motorists, and which was noted in their 10th April 2014 AOS Board Meeting minutes. Meanwhile, ParkingEye regularly accept appeals from other third parties such as Parking Ticket Appeals

Aldi have washed their hands of the affair and refuse to deal with the motorist, even though they have a dedicated complains division just to handle ParkingEye problems.

ParkingEye have issued over 100 incorrect tickets to this motorist and her visitors.

Prankster Notes

ANPR is a cheap way used by ParkingEye to generate revenue but it is not always the right solution for ever car park. In this case it is clear the whole installation was ill thought out, but ParkingEye are refusing to take responsibility for the mess. Their current attitude which is to refuse to cancel tickets and force the motorist to use POPLA is typical of their bullying, grab the money at all costs attitude.

Issuing tickets on land where there is no contract is a breach of the BPA code of practice carrying 10 sanction points. The motorist has already complained to the BPA but should bring this to their attention and give them her paperwork to let them get on with it.

The motorist has already complained to the DVLA because they are giving out keeper details when there is no reasonable cause. The DVLA should stop giving out motorist details for this car park until the situation is rectified.

ANPR technology is not a silver bullet and is not right for all situations. Aldi should therefore require ParkingEye to either come up with a solution to stop this deluge, or require ParkingEye to remove the faulty equipment. They should also accept responsibility for the whole charade.

The motorist could also consider complaining to her MP and ask them to bring this to the attention of the Transport Select Committee, who are currently considering the problem of rogue parking companies - ParkingEye seem to be one of the main culprits.

The motorist could also consider contacting the Daily Mail, at parking@dailymail.co.uk. The Mail are currently highlighting the scams parking companies use.

The motorist could also put ParkingEye on notice that further tickets will be dealt with on a costs basis and she will be charging for time spent on any future incorrectly issued tickets.


Happy Parking

The Parking Prankster


9 comments:

  1. The thread's OP has now added this:-
    "ParkingEye maintain that the car park is shared (it isn't) and the signs mean we/our visitors have made a contract with them. This last is despite me sending photos of the signs and saying 'what contract and with whom?' They also insist that all visitor's vehicles have to be notified to them every time they visit and BEFORE they arrive. I don't know about ParkingEye employees, but I'm not clairvoyant and I don't see why I should insist that visitors notify me before they arrive and tell me which car they're coming in! In any case, telling PE names/registration numbers doesn't stop the tickets even if I didn't think it a gross invasion of my privacy. Why the hell should I tell some tinpot company who is visiting me? What if it was something sensitive like someone from the Community Mental Health team (who probably wouldn't want to give clients their reg number anyway!)

    One particular visitor got so p***** off with them that he threatened a harassment claim. The outcome was subject to a confidentiality clause so I can't say what it was, but neither he nor I are in the habit of giving up on a fight. It has made no difference whatsoever to either ParkingEye or Aldi (who actually dealt with it as PE just ignored us as always) so even hitting them in their pockets doesn't work."

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps you should bill ParkingEye for your time wasted for each ticket - or at least put them on notice that any more issued will incur a fee, of say £250 per ticket issued - any ticket issued will serve as an acceptance of your terms and conditions. Then take them to court if they do not pay.

      You could also put Aldi on similar notice if their agent issues any further tickets you will bill Aldi etc.

      Delete
  2. Invite the MP and a Daily Mail reporter to your house, and let them get tickets.

    ReplyDelete


  3. 'Invite the MP and a Daily Mail reporter to your house, and let them get tickets'

    Ooooo. Good game. Persons to invite over
    Judge Moloney
    Rachel Ledson
    Hill Dickinson

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oops. Kate Mickleborough@ Hill Diclinson

    ReplyDelete
  5. Invite us all over for a party and we'll fight them together

    ReplyDelete
  6. Obtaining an injunction on the basis that they are hounding you in an attempted fraud may be a good idea.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Refuse to answer any of their correspondence. As the Poster has already had a great number of tickets cancelled at POPLA then surely this has set a precedent. Let them take each one to court and then claim expenses. If the OP did it enough they could probably stop working and just appear at PE court cases. Maybe then the blithering idiots will get the message.

    ReplyDelete