BT accused of enforcing 'underhand' parking fines next to Leatherhead Royal Mail sorting office

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey ... 0-15623690" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BT accused of enforcing 'underhand' £100 parking fines next to Leatherhead Royal Mail sorting office

The telecommunications company has said that warning signs against parking are "prominent"

BT has been accused of an "underhand" parking enforcement measure that is fining residents £100 for parking on land owned by the company.

The land in question is adjacent to the Leatherhead Royal Mail sorting office in Station Road, with BT giving fines to those parking on the land whilst picking up deliveries.


The telecommunications company has said that the step to enforce parking fines was taken to ensure that engineers have "vital" access to the telephone exchange building at all times.

Although warning signs against parking are present, one victim of a fine has described them as "eight feet in the air" and not visible from within a car.

Bookham resident Kellie Wilson, 38, received a £100 parking fine in the post on December 30, 11 days after a private parking enforcement officer took a photograph of her husband's car parked on the private BT land - an area that she says herself and other residents have used for a number of years without trouble.

She said: "He [Mr Wilson] had parked and had not seen any signs until he walked to the post office and saw a sign on a fence.

"He stopped to read it, at which point a bloke jumped out of a car and took a picture of my husband's vehicle.

"I'm 5ft4 and the signs are well above my head so there is no way you can read that from your car."

"I understand if it's private parking but I think it's underhand," added the 38-year-old.

"They should give people a fair warning, so if someone is getting out of the car, they could get out and say 'actually this is permit only'."

Last Sunday (December 30), Mrs Wilson said she had witnessed the parking attendant act in a rude manner to an elderly lady who had parked on the land.

BT, who provide phone, broadband and 999 services via the building, responded to the claims concerning warning signs.

A spokesman said: "Prominent warning signs about the parking restrictions are displayed around our private parking area.


"We'd recommend anyone visiting nearby buildings, including Royal Mail's delivery office, to check they are parked in the right place."

Mrs Wilson is to appeal the fine, which would have been reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days, questioning the amount of warning given and the method in which the fines are enforced.

Mrs Wilson said: "She had got one foot out of her car and a man said 'don't park there', but the attendant in the car jumped out and said 'too late'. He took a picture of the car before she had the opportunity to move it.

"The lady went into the post office and was visibly shaken."

BT has asked its contractor to investigate any complaints about staff.

[scoobydo79]

Sounds like people are taking a gamble and then whining when they lose.Play a stupid game win a stupid prize lol

[NWpostie]

Sounds like its run by a private parking company on behalf of BT. You would need to check if its BPA or IPP compliant company.

You can appeal your tickets but you will only win on four point according to POFA 2012 act.
There is a facebook group "fighting your private parking invoice" run by a chap called Tony Taylor who used to work for one of the private parking companies and now turned against them due to their immoral practices, he knows the system inside out and will appeal on your behalf.

[standanddeliver]

I would follow the advice on the pepipoo.com forums and ignore any 'private' parking tickets. No one has ever been taken to court over a 'private' parking fine.

[fb1969]

The advice on pepipoo hasn't been to ignore since October 2012 when the law changed with the Protection of Freedoms Act (POFA). Plenty of people have been taken to court, and lost, since then.

The "tickets" can be fought and pepipoo is an excellent place to get advice, but ignoring is not the thing to do. The Private Parking Forum on the Money Saving Expert website is also a good place for advice, and includes step-by-step guides on what to do. Shoddy journalism by calling them fines, but they can be enforced through the Small Claims Court - not all companies will take it that far, but quite a few do.

[NWpostie]

They can be defeated by following the points of law, mitigating circumstances don't count, its black or white as far as POPLA is concerned, quite often the parking companies can trip themselves over it, they rely on your ignorance of the law to take money of you.

This site is very useful as it explains it in quite simple terms.
https://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/popla/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;