Premium charging for car parking: is this legal?

[yorkie]

I'm well versed in the concept of train companies overcharging and mistreating customers and engaging in sharp or illegal practices. However I don't own a car, so anything to do with car park charging is well beyond my area of expertise, so hopefully others who are familiar with the relevant rules and laws in this area can comment on this query...

I was at Dolphin Shopping Centre in Poole earlier this month with family members. On our return, the car owners were surprised that they had to pay £4.80 each, for a stay of less than 2 hours, when they hasd expected that a stay of "up to 2 hours" would be £2.40.

Below are the advertised charges:

Dolphin Shopping Centre multi-storey car park

Car park at the Dolphin Centre in Poole, BH15 1TA. Open 24 hours a day. It has 1,134 standard spaces and 40 disabled spaces.

www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Charges

Monday to Sunday, 8am to 6pm:

up to 2 hours: £2.40
3 hours: £3.70
4 hours: £4.80
6 hours: £7.30
10 hours: £12.10

Monday to Sunday, 6pm to 8am: £2.40.

Lost ticket charge: £12.10

However, it turns out that the "up to 2 hours" doesn't just apply if you arrive by 6pm, you also have to leave by 6pm, otherwise you have to pay an additional £2.40, therefore doubling the cost, and that would apply even if you were there for just a few minutes either side of 6pm.

Is this sharp practice commonplace? Is it lawful?

Also, what is this lost ticket charge? Are they saying if you lose the ticket, they don't know when you entered? So it's like a 'maximum fare' equivalent? If so, then someone arriving at 0900 and departing at 1900 (10 hours) is better off losing their ticket, to pay £12.10, rather than pay the cost of 10 hours plus the post-6pm fee (i.e. £12.10+£2.40=£14.50), is that right?

 

[randyrippley]

Yep seen it before, but even worse where the overnight fee was something like ten quid irrespective of length of stay.

 

[Blindtraveler]

As my username would suggest I don't drive and I'm not likely to, but I'm used to run a functions and events business which often required me to research parking options near a customer's chosen venue and I can confirm that whilst this certainly is harsh and in many cases is designed to either put motorists off using facilities or make money out of those who do choose to use them that it is totally legal and above board. Should we ever get to a situation where more bikes than Toyotas are trying to park up in a certain place, the balance will shift and they'll start penalising cyclists instead

 

[Dai Corner]

As far as I'm aware car park operators can charge whatever they like.

I do everything I can to avoid paying to park so haven't fallen for this particular one. I don't think the wording is unclear or unfair enough to infringe any consumer legislation.

 

[thejuggler]

Quite normal. Our local Council car parks are similar. Hourly rates during the peak hours then an overnight rate. If the stay crosses both times you pay both fees.

 

[bramling]

I'm well versed in the concept of train companies overcharging and mistreating customers and engaging in sharp or illegal practices. However I don't own a car, so anything to do with car park charging is well beyond my area of expertise, so hopefully others who are familiar with the relevant rules and laws in this area can comment on this query...

I was at Dolphin Shopping Centre in Poole earlier this month with family members. On our return, the car owners were surprised that they had to pay £4.80 each, for a stay of less than 2 hours, when they hasd expected that a stay of "up to 2 hours" would be £2.40.

Below are the advertised charges:

Dolphin Shopping Centre multi-storey car park

Car park at the Dolphin Centre in Poole, BH15 1TA. Open 24 hours a day. It has 1,134 standard spaces and 40 disabled spaces.

www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk

However, it turns out that the "up to 2 hours" doesn't just apply if you arrive by 6pm, you also have to leave by 6pm, otherwise you have to pay an additional £2.40, therefore doubling the cost, and that would apply even if you were there for just a few minutes either side of 6pm.

Is this sharp practice commonplace? Is it lawful?

Also, what is this lost ticket charge? Are they saying if you lose the ticket, they don't know when you entered? So it's like a 'maximum fare' equivalent? If so, then someone arriving at 0900 and departing at 1900 (10 hours) is better off losing their ticket, to pay £12.10, rather than pay the cost of 10 hours plus the post-6pm fee (i.e. £12.10+£2.40=£14.50), is that right?

There’s a (privately run) car park in my town that does pretty much exactly this. Indeed the car park concerned has a reputation locally as something of a scam outfit, but plenty of people use it. As long as the Ts & Cs are outlined clearly then presumably it’s all technically above board.

Some railway car parks are a bit dubious if parking overnight. I remember Virgin had a setup where if you parked overnight at somewhere like Newcastle you’d pay for 2 days, which was a pretty hefty sum. Worse if you needed to park the following night as well, as you’d have to pay both charges again. Probably not how the car park was intended to be used, but caught out some people parking there from the adjacent station hotel - which is a bit rough considering the car park is pretty empty overnight, so wasn’t exactly causing any problem for rail users.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's sharp practice but perfectly legal
and surprisingly common.

Some railway car parks are a bit dubious if parking overnight. I remember Virgin had a setup where if you parked overnight at somewhere like Newcastle you’d pay for 2 days, which was a pretty hefty sum. Worse if you needed to park the following night as well, as you’d have to pay both charges again. Probably not how the car park was intended to be used, but caught out some people parking there from the adjacent station hotel - which is a bit rough considering the car park is pretty empty overnight, so wasn’t exactly causing any problem for rail users.

Station car parks usually charge per railway day but tweaked for 24 hour days due to the software (typically 0430-0430 or something like that depending on the service pattern) so indeed two charges would be incurred for an overnight stay. I'd be surprised if four charges would be charged for two overnight stays though, it would be three, one for the day of arrival, one for the day of departure and one for the day in the middle.

 

[Crossover]

I’ve had the same at Victoria Gate in Leeds although in a slightly different fashion. If for example, it’s £3 an hour (I can’t remember the exact numbers but it works for the example) during the day, but £5 for overnight parking

I popped in at the start of the year to return an item to John Lewis on my way home from work. Was there maybe 45 mins. Expected a cheap do and got walloped with a £5 cgarge

Then you see the small print that says you pay £5 overnight, even if you stay less than an hour

Annoyingly it is a useful car park (good for a night at the nearby theatres, for example) and a decent one when you’re not likely to scratch your car as it doesn’t have narrow ramps etc, so I have used it again since

I expect the same would apply as per the OP example if you stayed 2 hours that straddled the overnight charge time. That 2 hours would be charged at £3+£5, not whatever the 2 hour daytime rate is

 

[Titfield]

I dont think the information provided is sufficiently clear and therefore it is worthy of a complaint to Trading Standards about this practice.

It should certainly say that if you straddle both charging periods (day and overnight) that both fees are payable.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There are many tricks everywhere with parking charges.

Where I live, Epsom, the local council very generously allows blue badge holders one hour of free parking in the council car parks. The only catch is it's the third hour of their stay - the full normal parking charge applies for the first two hours...

 

[Bikeman78]

As far as I'm aware car park operators can charge whatever they like.

I do everything I can to avoid paying to park so haven't fallen for this particular one. I don't think the wording is unclear or unfair enough to infringe any consumer legislation.

Up to two hours seems straightforward enough to me. Assuming there was no help number to call, I'd have refused to pay and gone to court if required. I like a challenge!

At the opposite extreme, Weavers wharf in Kidderminster is free from 1800 to 0800. If you pay for two hours at 1700, the remaining time rolls over to the next day so you are valid until 0900.