Parking fine

I paid for one 3 hour session and then paid for a second. I was fully paid whilst using the car park. The fine was for staying over 3 hours in a half full carpark. The warden took detailed photos of my wheel positions to show i didn't move the car.

I just want to know if the warden is targeting app users, and if certain businesses/ employees are allowed to stay all day. I can't see them taking such photos of all the cars in this town.

I'm not whining about anything. I asked a question to find out if I could use the freedom of information act to find out if all cars are photographed in the manner mine was, or if it is just those who use the app. I also wanted to see if I could use the same act to find out if any businesses have a dispensation to park all day.

If you don't have anything to add to THAT question, then jog on.

Thanks, this is useful. I'm not looking for actual photos of the cars, just to know how many cars were photographed in such a manner on that day. If this is standard practice, then I'll suck it up. The problem is that other staff members use the ticket machine and never had this issue. If they only photographed certain cars, and those cars were app users, then I question their use of the app. I also have to question why the app offers to extend your stay when this is not allowed - I know that this is probably a generic function but there is no warning, that's just lazy. There is one sign in the car park and it's right in the corner and surrounded by trees so it's not immediately visible.

The car park is a county council car park and we have approached them before about using it for employees. We got nothing back so I would be interested to see if this is the case for all.

Hmmm... it's a council car park. It's run by the council which runs on money derived from taxation. I contribute to that tax - in fact, I was actively working to contribute towards that taxation at the time. You may as well ask why should someone provide you with a road to move your private property?

I paid for the parking and thankfully, some sane minds have seen the nub of the issue and hopefully, it will be resolved and fixed.

I wasn't aware of the 3-hour limit - I knew you could pay for parking for up to 3 hours at a time and the app offered the option to extend your parking session when the 3 hours were up. There is a sign, but it's in the corner and not very prominent as it's surrounded by trees. I genuinely didn't think they were issuing fines for not moving your car before the 3 hours expired. I know better now and in hindsight, I should have thought about it, but I was trying to get into work and it wasn't something I was thinking about - I was just making sure that my parking had been paid. I do feel that it's sharp practice to offer an extension when it's not permitted.

As I said, I had parked there before, and previously I would have gone out and bought a new ticket before my ticket ran out. Other staff members do the same - nobody thought they were issuing fines if you had paid for your parking, and they were very surprised to hear this. They work there day in, day out, and had never heard of this happening before. They knew the warden was very strict about having paid for your parking; there is a running joke that he would hide in the bushes with a stopwatch.

I understand the reasoning behind the 3-hour limit, but as I already stated, the car park is never full during weekdays. I cannot find another place to legally park, that's the problem. I will just have to park there and play musical car spaces to show that I have moved the car which is utterly moronic.

There were 3 separate applications for car parks in the last 5 years and all were rejected by planning (ie the council). We have no available space for a car park as the back of the building is inaccessible. We made contact with the council about having a day rate but heard nothing. We have approached other businesses such as a local hotel and pub but they weren't interested. Nobody is asking the council to do our jobs. People are bemoaning the fact that businesses are closing down in small towns - the council should be helping, not hindering.