[Sussex] £200 parking fine for watching football in a pub

[Cowfold Seagull]

Was there a machine to enter your car reg when you went in? The Sportsman at Withdean has.
Maybe ring the pub to explain, and see if they’ll cancel the ticket as you were a customer?

So you have to pay to use the car park at Withdean now then? That must be a faitly recent thing. A friend and l parked there when we went to watch Horsham YMCA play Varndeanian's last season, and of course it was always free back in the day when it was ostensibly a Park & Ride site for Brighton.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

So you have to pay to use the car park at Withdean now then? That must be a faitly recent thing. A friend and l parked there when we went to watch Horsham YMCA play Varndeanian's last season, and of course it was always free back in the day when it was ostensibly a Park & Ride site for Brighton.

Yes, after three hours or you’re going into the gym or Sportsman.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Yes, after three hours or you’re going into the gym or Sportsman.

I queued up for roughly 5 hours to get play off tickets years back - Shirley that buys me a reciprocal duration on my next visit?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

It makes no sense to charge for parking in that car park when there's so much free street parking in the area. Unless of course, and call me a cynic if you wish, the council are waiting for complaints from the locals of so many parking in their street and so the Council respond "Ah, we have the perfect solution for that ...... PARKING PERMITS."

They wouldn't do that, would they ?

 

[SeagullinExile]

If it’s a private parking firm, just ignore it. Nothing they can do.

 

[timbha]

It makes no sense to charge for parking in that car park when there's so much free street parking in the area. Unless of course, and call me a cynic if you wish, the council are waiting for complaints from the locals of so many parking in their street and so the Council respond "Ah, we have the perfect solution for that ...... PARKING PERMITS."

They wouldn't do that, would they ?

It also stops people parking there indefinitely, eg if car sharing for the drive to Gatwick for a two week holiday, or God forbid, if our traveller friends decided to stay there. The car park would gradually fill up and I presume the Council could take no action even if the vehicles weren’t taxed, etc.

 

[Shorehamseagull]

I was walking past today, it looks like no charges just you need to register at the bar like others have said.

I’m sure they’ll help cancel it if you speak to them.

 

[LadySeagull]

If it’s a private parking firm, just ignore it. Nothing they can do.

Please don't mislead people, even if you were misled yourself by that rubbish from people on Facebook.

Over a third of all small claims every year (close to half a million p.a. now) are by parking firms using bulk 'roboclaim' litigators who are a huge part of the problem the MHCLG is trying to curb.

Close to 90% go undefended, often because the bulk litigators can't be arsed to carry out a (mandatory) 28 pence address trace and are perfectly content to ruin people's credit rating for six years.

I help victims defend meritless court claims and to successfully apply to set aside CCJs every day/week on MSE parking forum.

Please don't spread the myth that parking firms can't do anything. The courts bend over backwards to help these bulk litigators and they don't even need a Judge or a hearing in cases where people get scared and pay and where they get CCJs.

 

[LadySeagull]

If it’s a private parking firm, just ignore it. Nothing they can do.

Please don't mislead people, even if you were misled yourself by that rubbish from clueless people on Facebook.

Over a third of all small claims every year (close to half a million p.a. now) are by parking firms using bulk 'roboclaim' litigators who are a huge part of the problem the MHCLG is trying to curb.

Close to 90% go undefended, often because the bulk litigators can't be arsed to carry out a (mandatory) 28 pence address trace and are perfectly content to ruin people's credit rating for six years.

I help victims defend meritless court claims and to successfully apply to set aside CCJs every day/week on MSE parking forum.

Please don't spread the myth that parking firms can't do anything. The courts bend over backwards to help these bulk litigators and they don't even need a Judge or a hearing in cases where people get scared and pay and where they get CCJs.

 

[LadySeagull]

If it’s a private parking firm, just ignore it. Nothing they can do.

Please don't mislead people, even if you were misled yourself by that rubbish from clueless people on Facebook.

I guess if you are in exile then you don't know that it hasn't been (necessarily) safe to ignore many PPCs for over a decade.

Over a third of all small claims every year (close to half a million p.a. now) are by parking firms using bulk 'roboclaim' litigators who are a huge part of the problem the MHCLG is trying to curb.

Close to 90% go undefended, often because the bulk litigators can't be arsed to carry out a (mandatory) 28 pence address trace and are perfectly content to ruin people's credit rating for six years.

I help victims defend meritless court claims and to successfully apply to set aside CCJs every day/week on MSE parking forum.

Please don't spread the myth that parking firms can't do anything. The courts bend over backwards to help these bulk litigators and they don't even need a Judge or a hearing in cases where people get scared and pay and where they get CCJs to force people to pay.


"It also stops people parking there indefinitely, eg if car sharing for the drive to Gatwick for a two week holiday, or God forbid, if our traveller friends decided to stay there."

No - a common misconception.

It doesn't work like that in a car park that is operated solely by ANPR. None of the above could ever get a postal PCN because the system reads numberplate entries/exits only across a 24 hour period. Stay longer (e.g. leave the car there for days or weeks) or accidentally leave a bag sticking out of your boot covering the numberplate and such people will never receive a PCN.

It's the patrons who will get PCNs, due to hidden keypads and non-prominent signs to alert them.

And the sad thing is plenty of idiots just pay, thinking it's a fine and never knowing that pubs & hotels (landowners) can cancel the PCN.

 

[timbha]

"It also stops people parking there indefinitely, eg if car sharing for the drive to Gatwick for a two week holiday, or God forbid, if our traveller friends decided to stay there."

No - a common misconception.

It doesn't work like that in a car park that is operated solely by ANPR. None of the above could ever get a postal PCN because the numberplate reads entries/exits across a 24 hour period. Stay longer or accidentally leave a bag sticking out of your boot covering the numberplate and such people will never receive a PCN.

It's the patrons who will get PCNs, due to hidden keypads and non-prominent signs to alert them.

And the sad thing is plenty of idiots just pay, thinking it's a fine and never knowing that pubs & hotels (landowners) can cancel the PCN.

Firstly, thanks for all your good and helpful advice.

My comment (above) was in response to someone who suggested that the Withdean car park should be made free parking to avoid congestion in the streets., and the potential introduction of permits.
Surely correct signage offers some protection against cars being left there indefinitely, rather than as they can be left in the street (I appreciate this is probably a completely different issue)

 

[LadySeagull]

Yes I am with you on that.

Pubs just need some clear signs and don't need some random money-grabbing ANPR firm attacking their customers with £100 PCNs then £170 threatograms.

In fact the pub might regret it:

Landlord's woe after pub car park fine scheme backlash

Paul Wyatt was fed up of non-customers using the We Three Loggerheads car park, but up to 400 punters ended up being hit with £60 penalty charges

www.dailypost.co.uk

That's not an isolated case.

Another example (a similar keypad hidden system) a doctor at a GP practice ended up emotionally apologising and pleading with their patients not to blame them for getting into bed with an ANPR firm who proceeded to sue their elderly and vulnerable patients and refused to cancel PCNs.

The GP practice had to engage lawyers because like complete numpties they had signed up with the ex-clamper thugs for two years and signed an agreement written entirely by the parking firm:



These systems work against the interests of the landowners and their patrons.


P.S. apologies for the duplicate posts last night! The forum or my phone wasn't showing the post at first.

 

[amexer]

As far as Withdean is concerned it is just another attempt for council to make money. First 3 hours free helps very few. Certainly not people going to football or those wanting to go into Brighton for shopping theatre etc. If they just wanted to stop overnight parking etc would have been easy to make say first 6 hours free. Apart from visitors to pub and gym car park is little used now and people are parking in nearby roads where I am sure locals will soon complain and will become another area where they sell permits. I can see in future all those who get on Seagull travel buses in Brighton will have nowhere to park.
Looking ahead cynically I can see Brighton Council saying little demand for Withdean car Park so they will sell part for residential development

 

[zefarelly]

These parking firms are parasitic scum.

you're better off parking on the street . . . The police won't do anything, worst case a local council TW will give you a tiket . . . Which will be comparable to an NCP dry humping for 4 hours.

this obviously varies quite wildly depending if you live somewhere sensible or alternatively say, Brighton!

 

[LadySeagull]

Wait...

...are you all telling me that BHCC has put One Parking Solution into a Council owned (non-housing) car park?

These signs look like OPS signs. Yet the main entrance sign says it's provided by BHCC.

Are PCNs being issued by ANPR or on windscreens?

Can anyone show me one of those PCNs issued here please?