Marks Tey Hotel got rather less than they bargained for when they employed Civil Enforcement Ltd to manage their car park. Specifically, they didn't get proper car park management, but did get a large headache as their legitimate customers are being targeted. Customers are now vowing never to return.
The story is detailed in this newspaper report.
The lesson to landowners is clear. If you contract somebody to manage your car park, make sure you have the right to cancel charges issued to genuine customers. Also make sure you have the right to cancel the entire contract if things are not going well.
Mark Teys Hotel have only themselves to blame for this. While there are a number of reputable firms who offer car park management, Civil Enforcement Ltd and their sister company Creative Car Parks are not one of them. A quick internet search would have told them of this.
Mark Teys Hotel have another surprise in store when they eventually cancel the contract. Civil Enforcement Ltd are well known for resurrecting old charges, valid or not, as soon as a contract is canceled, and taking the landowners genuine customers to court.
Perhaps Mark Teys Hotel should have a word with the co-op to find how that turned out for them.
Prankster Note
The owners of Civil Enforcement Ltd obfuscate their dealings through a network of many companies. including at least these ones.
CREATIVE CAR PARK LTD
CREATIVE (CONTRACTS) CAR PARK LIMITED
CREATIVE PARKING SOLUTIONS PLC
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LTD
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT SERVICES LIMITED (dissolved 27 Dec 2016)
In 2016 companies were required to declare 'Persons with significant control'. It does appear on the face of it that this is not being complied with in any meaningful way for these companies, and The Prankster would welcome any clarification from the persons with significant control of these companies.
Happy Parking
The Parking Prankster
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" We spoke with the hotel who said it was out of their control and they just employed the parking company and they couldn’t reverse the charge"
ReplyDeleteOf course the hotel can sort this out. They employed CEL
PPC's are usually employed by some greedy plank who can only see the kickback and not the detrimental effect PPC's have on thier business, idiots all of them.
ReplyDeleteWow, looks like the victims are airing their views on Tripadvisor. This can't be good for the hotel's reputation.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g2717741-d191762-Reviews-BEST_WESTERN_Marks_Tey_Hotel-Marks_Tey_Colchester_Essex_England.html
No sign of planning permission or advert consent at
ReplyDeleteColchester planning. Google views show signs around the
0.3 sq.m threshold requirement for consent. Will request
Council to view them.
The local Council's policy is: "Advertisements
Deletewould not be backdated and would have to be dated
after the application was validated." (This is
subject to official confirmation at this specific
site, but is consistent with the policy of some
97% of councils across England and Wales).
Local Council is being asked to view these signs
and decide whether consent is required - if it is, then a retrospective application will not
back-date the signage, and any relevant AOS /
ATA CoP would surely be breached, thus prohibiting access to keeper data.
Are Civil Enforcement members of BPA / IPC ?
There is only a size threshold for advertisements that fall in one of the 16 classes that have "deemed consent". Car park Ts & Cs signs DO NOT. They need express consent (i.e. planning permission) no matter how small they are.
Deletehappy customer!
ReplyDeleteI am also sorry to hear that you have received a parking charge notice whilst dining with us. Parking is free for all Hotel guests and patrons, however it is important that guests do register their car registrations number on arrival on one of the terminals available in reception. Failure to do this within 15 min of arriving will result in parking charge notice being issued independently and directly from a parking management company “Civil Enforcement Ltd”. There is numerous signage and notices around the car park, hotel entrance and reception counters reminding guests to register their car number plates.
If you do need to contact Hotel for any supporting evidence for any appeals with the car park management company or POPLA, please contact us via email on “parking@markesteyhotel.co.uk
I can only apologise and hope that you will return to our hotel in the future which will give us the chance to deliver our usual high standards of service.
Just read your Tripadvisor report and the response given above is the generic "Don't give a shit" one you make on all the complaints of parking tickets.
DeleteECL are the absolute pits and it's a lack of care from yourselves in employing the dregs of the world to "manage" the parking.
Quite how they would be able to monitor effective use of a disabled bay from ANPR is a mystery.
If you haven't already picked up on it, CEL are operating illegally by them not having Advertising consent for the signs and that makes you complicit in a criminal act.
For those who you fail to assist in getting a cancellation take note that a claim for damages for a breach of the Data a Protection Act is open to them.
The KADOE Contract that CEL access keeper details from the DVLA requires them to act within the law. They aren't they are acting criminally.
Drop into Pepipoo for a look at how to raise a claim or read through Prankies blogs where details are posted.
Plonkers.
ReplyDeleteYou had your chance and blew it.
BIG TIME.
You can't even control CEL and have no management over a cancellation by you, on your own land
You really look like you need parking control being next to a football ground, a concert venue, a town centre and a railway station. Must be difficlut parking there for legitmate customers eh?
DeleteFear not, the signs are forbidding so no contract can be formed by CEL. Only the landowner can claim for damages for trespass.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.8806029,0.790443,3a,16.5y,310.9h,88.75t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1svMUKBB-BDlB4R6-oCD5hvw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1
pull back to the entrance rd and it says "permit holders only"
DeleteCEL is now in charge, hotel is now a passenger in its own train wreck, choo choo......... LOL
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Goodfellows when the mafia take over the business they have hired to protect!
ReplyDeleteHmm, what little wheeze are CEL up to now then? This little gem from Tripadvisor,
ReplyDelete"[...]To avoid any further stress I paid the fine online with my credit card. Minutes after paying the fine I was advised by Barclaycard that attempts had been made to fraudulently use my credit card details. This was the only use I had carried out on the card for some considerable time. It was clearly them that had tried to fraudulently use the card details that I had provided to pay the fine.[...]"
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g2717741-d191762-r454671131-BEST_WESTERN_Marks_Tey_Hotel-Marks_Tey_Colchester_Essex_England.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT
My partner has just received a final reminder from CEL for this car park. They never received the original PCN.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, her boss also received a final reminder without initial notice too... He'd been there for a meeting with the hotel management.