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hotxbun
Hi,

The petrol station close to the local football ground is regularly used as car parking for people going to a match.
For the last few weeks the staff have been taking registration numbers and have now posted paper signs in various areas in the forecourt saying No Parking and there'll be a fine of £250.
There's quite a large area that backs on to the shop, away from the pumps, where parking doesn't cause any obstruction, and various other areas where again parking causes no obstruction, and in fact there's no restriction on the inside of the kerb where 3 or 4 cars can park comfortably.
There's also one or two places where there are proper metal Customer Only Parking signs where there's the threat of clamping though I've never seen any vehicle be clamped.

Are these hastily put together paper signs the staff have printed just scare mongering or are they enforceable ? If so, by who ?

Cheers
ManxRed
While I sympathise if they do have a genuine problem with inconsiderate parking on match days, do the signs actually use the word 'fine'?

Also, if £250, well outside the BPA recommendation of £100 max, then this sounds a bit maverick and unofficial to me, so probably just scare-mongering. Might be good to see one of these 'signs'.

EDIT: Although, without seeing the signs, it does sound like they are designed to scare people off, rather than someone trying to make a fast buck.
hotxbun
Not sure if it says "Fine" or "Penalty". I'll have a look next time I'm in the area, try take a pic. Interesting about the £100 - they obviously haven't done their research ! wink.gif
Just thought too, as the Customer Only parking bays mention clamping, would've made more sense to threaten that methinks.
ManxRed
QUOTE (hotxbun @ Mon, 20 Jan 2014 - 16:38) *
Just thought too, as the Customer Only parking bays mention clamping, would've made more sense to threaten that methinks.


It's now illegal to clamp or tow on private land. The signs might be old though, and it's not illegal to threaten it, just to actually do it.
hotxbun
Hi,

Have finally been back to the petrol station and got a pic. Hopefully it's attached ...

Cheers

Click to view attachment
emanresu
It's a polite request though it does have the effect of a warning not to park. IMHO a Judge would see this as legitimate though the amount claimed would not be.

If for example, they were to hire someone to lift the cars and move them to the first available space on the highway, they could claim the costs of this from the driver - or even the Keeper in some cases.

The law is a two-way street in that they may not appear to have followed "protocol" but it does not mean there is no merit in a subsequent claim for loss.
andy_foster
There is no 'protocol' to follow. Legally all the signs do is convey a prohibition on parking, negating any implied licence that might have otherwise existed. The result is that anyone who parks there is trespassing.
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