A cautionary tale of parking ticket woe
REGARDING community centre parking is not "fine".
No doubt readers will be aware of the national problem of private parking companies issuing parking tickets, often to perfectly legitimate motorists, and then using very aggressive tactics to intimidate the motorist into paying up.
Scarborough is not immune to this problem, and let this letter be a warning.
My daughter was invited to a party at the Gladstone and Falsgrave Recreation Centre back in November, and before parking outside the centre to collect her I checked whether I was permitted to park there with the attendant who was present and checking and photographing other vehicles.
He clearly stated that, as a user of the centre, I was perfectly entitled to park there.
I was therefore somewhat surprised to find him taking my registration number and issuing a parking ticket just five minutes later.
He apologised, tore up the parking ticket and assured me that no further action would be taken, which I accepted in good faith.
I received a "second reminder" notice for 108 on Christmas Eve no less (a fairly common trick I believe – the first reminder is never issued and this cranks up the pressure a little).
I am appealing against this, of course, in writing, but have since received a further letter threatening court action and requesting 150. I don't intend to pay a penny of this fine, but it's a worry I can do without. I rang the centre to see what they had to say, and during a stormy conversation with manager Sheena Beadle tried to explain that it is the centre's reputation that will suffer from this behaviour, not the good name of United Kingdom Car Park Services.
While I have sympathy for the centre's parking problems, I urge it to raise this issue with the parking company.
Personally, I won't be bothering with this place again if I can at all help it.
John Mellor
Newlands
Scarborough
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Weather for Scarborough
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
