Private Parking Companies...

6TimesaRed · Apr 6, 2015

I wanted to share with you my experience..

I'm quite pleased with myself with the initial ouctome.. but I cannot believe for the life me that these cunts are allowed to exist..

So with the help of some posters on MSE I decided to fight my case and won.. Parking in disabled area without a Blue Badge

Bromborough Retail Park - Horizon Parking

I didn't appeal (I know, I know) but continued to get letters from DRP (Debt Recovery Plus) & Horizon, the usual threatening.. but non threatening shite they throw at you.

I wrote to them using guidelines on MSE.. As you can imagine DRP persisted
In the end I emailed the land owner..

Dear ******

Can you forward me the name and postal address to the Manager of Croft Retail Park, as I wish to complain in writing and show how they and their agent Horizon Parking are breaking the law in terms of requirements of parking for disabled customers at the Bromborough Retail Park. I require these details as on behalf of my wife I am preparing to serve court papers over this if the parking charge my wife was issued is not cancelled.

I look forward to hearing from you soon..

Best Regards

As it turned out the Email I sent it too was the Site Manager, she asked for details of the incident so it can be investigated.
So I drafted this together..

The Alleged Offence took place in November 2014, whilst we where shopping in Bromborough Retail Park, very few parking spaces as it was very busy as you would expect on Saturday during the lead up to Christmas. Reference Number ******, Registration X** ***. Alleged Offence Parking in a Disabled Bay without clearly displaying a Valid Disabled Badge.
I am acting on behalf of my wife, Mrs ***** ****** who is the registered keeper of the Vehicle in question. There is no case to answer to and I have informed Horizon, they have not been forthcoming.. I have demanded a POPLA, they insist it is in the hands of DRP, who have been informed to stop contacting my wife.. Yet they still persist with 'threatening' letters, even after informing both parties there is absolutely no case to answer to and explaining the valid reasons as to why. The harassment from DRP to attempt to 'bully' my Wife into 'paying up' is beyond belief, and really as a Service provider yourselves, you should hang your head in shame for allowing this company to operate on your behalf in such a manner.
The Reasons why there is No Liability ?
A passenger in the Vehicle on that day was disabled, my daughter ***** *******. She has a Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADHD and Gross developmental delay and is also in receipt of High rate care DLA and Low rate Mobility
We are not blue badge holders, although I can understand it would be seen as common courtesy to display a blue badge, these 'terms and conditions' really cannot be enforced.. To enforce this is blatant discrimination under the Equality ACT 2010.. As not everybody who is disabled has a Blue Badge, furthermore the Blue Badge scheme does not even lawfully apply in private car parks - as is shown in the Blue Badge booklet and on the Government website.
It is like having Parking Spaces for Men and Woman and trying to enforce a fine on either for parking in the 'wrong bay', absolute discrimination..
This statutory Code in respect of the Equality ACT 2010 became law on 6 April 2011 and applies both to Horizon Parking and to the Bromborough Retail Park and employees, as you are 'service providers'. If in doubt about this legislation I strongly suggest you refer to your legal advisers because it has repercussions which would relate to many of your policies and practices.
Furthermore, it is illegal to harass a disabled person or subject them to any detriment (in this case the 'service' is the reasonable adjustment provision of the use of a disabled bay):
''EQUALITY ACT 2010
29 Provision of services
(2) A service-provider (A) must not, in providing the service, discriminate against a person (B)—
(a)as to the terms on which A provides the service to B;
(b)by terminating the provision of the service to B;
©by subjecting B to any other detriment.
(3) A service-provider must not, in relation to the provision of the service, harass—
(a)a person requiring the service, or
(b)a person to whom the service-provider provides the service.
In Excel v Greenwood on 4th October 2013, in 3QT60496 the judge decided that the Operator had a legal duty to make a 'reasonable adjustment' for a genuine disabled person even when (as in that case) no Blue Badge was displayed. The judge also commented that the defendant (a disabled man issued with a Parking Charge) would have been likely to have had a case for compensatory damages.
Please take this email as a formal complaint, My wife and I have a good mind to take to Social Media to vent our experience over this matter. However I expect this charge with your intervention, to be quite rightly cancelled within 14 days.

Yours Sincerely
**** *******
Enc Proof of Disability from DLA.. Addressed to previous Address, we moved in December of last year..

The response I got...

I am pleased to advise that I have managed to overturn the parking ticket.
Sorry it's taken so long but because you didn't appeal the ticket until it had been passed to the debt collection agency, it was very difficult to overturn.
What I have also done as a good will gesture is added your vehicle details to our exemption list so that you can park at The Croft without worry of receiving any further penalty tickets.
I hope this matter has now been resolved in an acceptable manner for you, I would also like to apologies for any inconvenience this may of caused you.
If you would like to discuss the issue or have any issues in the future, then please do feel free to contact me.
Kind regards

Fair Play to the Site Manager... Result.. or though it appeared to be..

I went back to the retail park today with my family, including my Disabled daughter and Pregnant wife, and long behold... another ticket.. Same Reason.. It seems the exemption, was not applied..

Well the parking attendant avoided the issue when I challenged him.. I showed him the email.. he ignored it..

I questioned him in respect of the exemption list.. it fell on deaf ears.. What exemption list!!

I reminded him of the discretion he must give under the equality act, as he and his company are breaking the law..

I was indirectly called a 'loon', as he past comment to one of his colleagues

I then continue to persist him for his name, to make an official complaint.. I admit I was getting rather angry at this point and there where a few raised voices, but can anyone really blame me ??? He wasn't playing ball and just continued to walk away from me..

In the end he called security and they threatened to call the pollice if I didn't stop 'Harrasing' him.. oh the Irony

I Submitted an appeal to Horizon by email, copying in the site owner and proceeded to complain on facebook.. about the on going discrimination at Bromborough Retail Park in respect of parking for the Disabled at the hands of Horizon Parking.

The Site owner has come back to me and said she will investigate the issue..

However she is rather unhappy about the facebook comments.. I did say I wasn't implying they discriminate.. my beef is with Horizon.. i'm rather peeved off by it all though..

Markeh · Apr 6, 2015