Saturday 10 March 2018

THE TOTAL INJUSTICE OF PCN SCAMS : PRIVATE PARKING COMPANIES STAND ACCUSED

No one disputes the fact that there are selfish, inconsiderate, cheating motorists who inflict mischief and distress on others , not to mention defrauding car parking companies of their essential ticket revenue. Indeed , these companies provide a valuable service enabling motorists to park up in areas where street parking is very limited or non-existant. And yes , these car parks need to be managed properly , especially in relation to tackling the problem of repeated and/or long-term over-staying , so that free spaces are quickly made available to cater for other motorists hoping to park up.  
Nevertheless , motorists also need to be treated with consideration and respect and to have their custom welcomed and appreciated.. In makes good business sense to build up customer loyality and to have a reputation that encourages motorists to revisted these sites, often to the benefit of the local shops and community. Customers provide an important and lucrative income stream to private parking companies, but one which is clearly not enough. The loss of repeated custom appears to be of no consequence given the vast number of potentially new , unsuspecting customers ready and willing to use their sites.  
The reality of a £100 PCN is that it represents 50 customers in one foul swoop ,  by simply isuing a speculative invoice.  With no further loss of parking bays involved, a motorist therefore can be made to pay for a his/stay 50 times over , because of some dodgy pretext on which to raise a highly suspect PCN.  
I can think of no other business that treats its customer with such distain and contempt. To these companies,  a motorist represents a sacrificial cash cow to be butchered and bled dry. No room for compassion , sympathy and understanding : just relentless intimidation and harassment until they pay up. Using the same business model as loan sharks , firms like Eccel Parking Services and Parking Eye keep increasing the debt and of course the severity of the threats,  until their victims eventually give in. 
Why much needed legislation to curb the dirty practices carried out by rogue parking operators has taken so long in coming is beyond me. The racket has be going on for years without any proper form of regulation and control. The BPA is a joke , along with POPLA. Their priority is to protect the interests of their members , ie. private parking companies , and they do that with great zeal and relish. The fact that a large majority of motorists have been exploited by these dodgy PCNs goes unnoticed and unaddressed. Just a few token appeals are allowed.
These companies have no moral compass , no guiding ethical values to adhere to , no soul and certainly no conscience. Even when a motorist wins in court to establish a precedent that a PCN was wrongly issed , does the company elect to refund the money already raked in from all previous victims of this outrageous scam ?  No bloody chance. In fact these bastards will ignore that ruling in the hope that tomorrow's motorists remain blissfully unaware of it.... and dutifully hand over money for the same scam. 

Welcome to the world of modern day racketeeering. 

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