McDonalds Wessington way parking 1hr limit £60 fine !

Definitely Maybe said:
I would strongly advise NOT to ignore it. People suggest that every time but it's really bad advice. You used to be able to just ignore PCNs as they didn't have the jurisdiction to pursue but the Supreme Court ruled in their favour in 2015 (Beavis vs Parking Eye). They can and do pursue through the courts, CCJs, bailiffs etc and affect credit ratings.

Have had a couple over the years. Successfully appealed one which was complete nonsense - paid for parking at the hospital, left A&E just after midnight and received a fine. Appealed with proof that I'd paid, was rejected on the grounds that they weren't disputing that I'd paid but that I'd stayed longer than I'd paid for. Appealed to the Ombudsman with proof that I'd paid for longer than I'd actually stayed for, they didn't contest. But have received a couple of others similar to yours which were extremely harsh and got nowhere.

Don't think you have a leg to stand on unfortunately, as shit as it is. They will argue that they've clearly stated maximum 1 hour and you overstayed that, regardless of how long McDonald's took to serve you (incidentally they are absolutely diabolical these days). I would definitely look on the Pepipo forum and possibly appeal but not sure you'll have any joy. It is totally shit though.
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I do agree that by the book the OP has broken the terms of the car park. However if OP can make it clear that they will appeal to POPLA, and irrespective of POPLAs decision they will still refuse to pay unless they are taken to court and lose, the parking company might not proceed.

Is a judge going to uphold a £60 parking charge for ten minutes if OP can put together a credible story? Would the parking company spend their time and money to roll the dice in court? I personally doubt they would for a ten minute outstay of welcome. I suspect the cases they take to court are for significant breaches of the terms and where the vehicle owner has failed to offer a defence.

The objective for OP is make it clear at the outset they have a valid reason for the overstay and is willing to take it all the way to the court room from the outset.

Not meant as any kind of sound advice and is purely my own opinions.
 


They're an absolute pack of ***** like.

Got done in Newcastle recently, car park had paybyphone which we've used at Sunderland hospital and it gives you 24hrs to pay. Assumed it was the same. Came back to the car and paid on me phone, only to then see the little yellow ticket in the bottom corner of my windscreen. Big sign behind a van saying pay on arrival, genuinely didn't see it. Didn't have a leg to stand on so had to pay up.

Hope their next shite has broken glass in it.
 
Guitar Man said:
Been over to take pics this afternoon and its a joke ..as you turn into the car park the a sign on the left is 3/4 covered by branches/ leaves so unreadable till you get in get out the car and walk over to 2m away and the other sign faces the wrong way i.e to whickes old store so no good to a car driving in.
I park the car go to the sliding door entrance nothing on the front , but to the side window in letters 1cm high a parking warning , why on the side ?
walk in nothing inside that warns you but at the counter less than waist high a warning but when you order at the machines when you go to the hatch you immediatley look up to the screen to see where your number is .
manageress was great she's going through the reciepts to get my proof and told me the people who ran the car park before it was 1.5 hrs .
When the appeal see how bad its signposted i think it will get overturned,as well as why has the new company reduced the time ? if i lose its £100 but i'm going for it.
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Hope you win mate.
 
Everything I’ve read is that they will persue you, that is their business at the end of the day. Personally, I couldn’t be arsed so paid the £60 and learned from it
 
oROSSo said:
Everything I’ve read is that they will persue you, that is their business at the end of the day. Personally, I couldn’t be arsed so paid the £60 and learned from it
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That's your choice of course . That's what these companies rely and exist on, people just paying up, no questions asked.

The OP is entitled to take it up with the parking company, who unsurprisingly weren't interested. £60 is a lot of money!

Hopefully he does contact POPLA which will cost him nothing and will cost the parking company money. If nothing else he'll reduce their profit to a negligible amount, indeed they may decide it's not worth pursuing. At the very least he'll cause them nuisance , never a bad thing with those people 😈

The OP states he was only 10 minutes over the hour ..... even local councils give a 10 minute grace period and the reason for reducing parking to one hour from 90 minutes wasn't to benefit the customer...... If he'd stayed for 90 minutes or longer I'd say the ' invitation to pay ' is fair enough.

I think he has an 80-90% chance of not having to pay. 🤞🤞🤞 for him.
 
Guitar Man said:
Been over to take pics this afternoon and its a joke ..as you turn into the car park the a sign on the left is 3/4 covered by branches/ leaves so unreadable till you get in get out the car and walk over to 2m away and the other sign faces the wrong way i.e to whickes old store so no good to a car driving in.
I park the car go to the sliding door entrance nothing on the front , but to the side window in letters 1cm high a parking warning , why on the side ?
walk in nothing inside that warns you but at the counter less than waist high a warning but when you order at the machines when you go to the hatch you immediatley look up to the screen to see where your number is .
manageress was great she's going through the reciepts to get my proof and told me the people who ran the car park before it was 1.5 hrs .
When the appeal see how bad its signposted i think it will get overturned,as well as why has the new company reduced the time ? if i lose its £100 but i'm going for it.
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Bit of a long shot - but how did you get on?
I’ve just recieved a fine for same place, genuinely didn’t see the signs but service was so slow - didn’t help my mum ordered a fish Mac and they always need to cook them up fresh 🙄.
Anyway i don’t live in Sunderland anymore we were just visiting a family member - is there any chance you still have the photos and would mind sending me one to include?

Thanks so much,
 
Stormo said:
My mates just got two ‘request for payments’ for using Washington leisure centre. He’s just recently joined and didn’t realise you had to type your ref in every time you go in. Ridiculous having to do that.
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I play footy up there and apparently it was because workers from the Galleries were using it to park all day. No idea why!
 
Goat Eyes said:
I play footy up there and apparently it was because workers from the Galleries were using it to park all day. No idea why!
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Mind I’ve never seen a car park like it. Would put me off going.

Apparantly a few parents who have been dropping their kids off for gymnastics (so literally going in and coming back out) have been fined. Any appeal people are receiving letters saying ‘just give us £20’. Just goes to show it’s all wrong that.
 
Stormo said:
Mind I’ve never seen a car park like it. Would put me off going.

Apparantly a few parents who have been dropping their kids off for gymnastics (so literally going in and coming back out) have been fined. Any appeal people are receiving letters saying ‘just give us £20’. Just goes to show it’s all wrong that.
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I hang around for a space and tend to hit it ok but we’ve had a bit hassle over the years.
 
ldaniels89 said:
Bit of a long shot - but how did you get on?
I’ve just recieved a fine for same place, genuinely didn’t see the signs but service was so slow - didn’t help my mum ordered a fish Mac and they always need to cook them up fresh 🙄.
Anyway i don’t live in Sunderland anymore we were just visiting a family member - is there any chance you still have the photos and would mind sending me one to include?

Thanks so much,
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If OP does not return get on Google streetview. The photo dated May 2022 from Castellien Rd shows the sign on the way in obscured by branches and leaves. Whist a year back it is better than nothing. Streetview also does show lots of other signs around the car park but they are above natural eye level so I would still bash in a case to Popla depending on how far beyond the time limit you were.
 
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ldaniels89 said:
Bit of a long shot - but how did you get on?
I’ve just recieved a fine for same place, genuinely didn’t see the signs but service was so slow - didn’t help my mum ordered a fish Mac and they always need to cook them up fresh 🙄.
Anyway i don’t live in Sunderland anymore we were just visiting a family member - is there any chance you still have the photos and would mind sending me one to include?

Thanks so much,
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hi @Idaniels89 first you need to appeal to Workflow Dynamics who run the car park ,use their appeal form and wait for a reply ( it will be a no !)

When you get your reply of a no they give you a Popla number ,Popla are a independent body who decide if you have a case and if they decide in your favour they will cancel the fine and Workflow Dynamics cannot do a thing .But bear in mind they can go against you .

I've had a right ballache uploading photos but managed this morning so i will see what happens .
So get your appeal into Workflow Dynamics and get back to me in a weeks time if they refuse and i will e-mail you my pics .
 
Stricter regulations need to be brought in about this sort of thing. The entire business model of these companies is to try to find things to 'fine' people for.

We got done at a Pets At Home. We turned up a bit before it opened on a Sunday so just went for a 15 minute walk, quick bit of shopping and were gone within an hour of arrival. A letter for £60 came in a couple of weeks later. Turns out there was a sign and there was no parking outside shop opening hours. Essentially we were fined for getting there sooner than we expected and should have sat out on the road for 15 minutes.

We checked the legal side and they have to have signs explaining the parking rules. This was one of them:
www.google.co.uk

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.co.uk www.google.co.uk
Look at the height of the woman, small text and that must be at least 2.5m high. None of the signs were obvious.

When you go to a council car park, all notices are displayed next to a big blue P sign and there are signs on every car park exit "Have you paid?". These people have stretched the law to the limit and deliberately put signs where they can't be easily read or noticed. If someone could be fined, then all information should be displayed next to a 30cm minimum square blue P sign at eye level on every road and pedestrian exit. The current legislations essentially support these companies tricking people into falling for a fine.

I was going to fight it, was seeking information and then found my wife had paid because she didn't want any hassle or bailiffs knocking on the door if I was out.

A Sainsburys near me is great. As you go in, a LED sign flashes up your registration right in front of your face and says 'free parking expires at 12:57'. It is 100% clear and I've never heard of anyone getting a fine from that one. They just want to not be shit to their customers while avoiding people using the car park for general parking for the day. I know I used to abuse the York one for free all day parking.
 
**Update**
@Idaniels89

Won my case ! :D

I had a feeling i would as the signage positioning and how small the writing is on the signs are ridiculous.
Wish i could post pics of them
The tw&ts even submitted pictures of Parking signage with big warning letters but when i screenshot it and zoomed in it was from a zoo car park in Devon ! .

I Submitted this in the evidence as well and the ombudsman brought it up in the summary.
 
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Guitar Man said:
**Update**
@Idaniels89

Won my case ! :D

I had a feeling i would as the signage positioning and how small the writing is on the signs are ridiculous.
Wish i could post pics of them
The tw&ts even submitted pictures of Parking signage with big warning letters but when i screenshot it and zoomed in it was from a zoo car park in Devon ! .

I Submitted this in the evidence as well and the ombudsman brought it up in the summary.
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Well done. I like to think they are fuming over it.
 
Guitar Man said:
**Update**
@Idaniels89

Won my case ! :D

I had a feeling i would as the signage positioning and how small the writing is on the signs are ridiculous.
Wish i could post pics of them
The tw&ts even submitted pictures of Parking signage with big warning letters but when i screenshot it and zoomed in it was from a zoo car park in Devon ! .

I Submitted this in the evidence as well and the ombudsman brought it up in the summary.
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The t***s should be hammered with huge fines or have their licence revoked for trying to deceive the process with false evidence.
 
Guitar Man said:
**Update**
@Idaniels89

Won my case ! :D

I had a feeling i would as the signage positioning and how small the writing is on the signs are ridiculous.
Wish i could post pics of them
The tw&ts even submitted pictures of Parking signage with big warning letters but when i screenshot it and zoomed in it was from a zoo car park in Devon ! .

I Submitted this in the evidence as well and the ombudsman brought it up in the summary.
Click to expand...
Fantastic. And I agree with @AyeAyeAye , that is falsifying evidence. Spotting that probably won your case more than anything else.
 

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