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View Full Version : Ggggrrrrrr - parking fine - £120



Heaven Scent
09-09-2010, 11:35 PM
I got in from taking mindee to Library for rhymetime despite being ill with sinusitis. the trip out nearly did me in and found a letter on my door mat - I opened it cringing a wee bit thinking it was from the bank saying I'd gone over my overdraft only to find it was from a company called Parking Eye to say that I'd over stayed my welcome at McDonalds carpark when I took mindees there for a treat on my birthday.

I never usually take the mindees to McDonalds but thought I would for an end of holiday treat also had just come back from Dublin the night before and been out all morning so had nothing prepared for lunch so another minder and I had a brainwave before coming back to mine for birthday cake that one of my mindees mums had made for me.

Well it was the last day of the summer holidays and Mc D's was was jam packed with a queue right out the door. Other minder and I settled the kiddies at the low table meant for kiddies parties and I joined the queue I ordered fish fingers for my mindees - thought they were the least offensive of the junk they had on offer anyhow they were apparently special orders so I sat down and waited while the other minder joined the queue at the door and she ordered the same very special fish fingers then she came and joined me while we waited and waited for the super extra special fish fingers while the mindees used the crayons and paper some drew and coloured with them and others depending on their ages attempted to eat them. A female member of staff also gave them balloons to play with time passed and the ultra extra special fish fingers arrived and our mindees ate them one of my littlies ate them very slowly as she was so fed up waiting she was beside herself and cried all the way through eating them. Then we left having loaded our cars up with the 8 mindees we had between us.

As you can imagine the whole exercise took some time and we weren't bothered in the slightest but it came to light today that we should have been.

My demand said that we over stayed our welcome in the car park at McDonalds on the bypass of down town C in the a*** end of Cheshire AKA Hicksville by a whole 17.5 mins apparently the whole exercise should have been completed in 1hr15mins but not us we took a whole 17.5 mins more and for that we were both sent demands to pay £90 plus yes PLUS £30 for the pleasure of them writing to us to inform us (admin charges) without us incurring this extra charge I suppose we would have been informed by mental telepathy :rolleyes: .

Anyhow despite feeling like a bag of Sh** I read the letter which told me to ring the company to find out how to appeal and listened to their recordings that told me that I had to put an appeal in writing. Well this was like a red rag to a bull so I bundled poor auld mindee back into the car and made a dash to McD's where I asked to speak to the manager who said from the frying area that I would have to wait WELL that was not the best thing for him to say to the assistant - All he had to do was look in my direction and apologise that he was busy and would be with me asap. NO he said I would have to wait and not to me to the assitant Ggggrrrrrr.

Anyway I ranted and ranted at him and he had the blasted cheek to ask me to stop ?????:panic: - not likely, I told him I couldn't stop till I'd finished saying what I'd come to say.

I think I must point out that when I returned to the car park I noticed huge yellow sign all round the paramater of the car park saying maximum stay was 1 hr 15 mins then when I got to the rather small counter with just 4 tills I noticed another sign infront of a screen saying if I intended staying more than 1hr 15 mins I should enter my car reg on the touch screen, but having said that today the place was derelict whereas on Wednesday 1st September at 11.47.18 the place was crammed with noisey kiddies and their parents and said sign and screen were not visible to the naked eye especially to those who were being served at the tills situated at the opposite end of the counter. My point to the Manager who was hell bent to make me feel small was that his staff should have been trained to point out to customers that it as they were busy and as they have had the cheek to order extra special Fish Fingers that it would be advisable for them to enter their car reg details on the touch screen so that in two weeks time they would not be faced with a fine in the sum of £120 to be paid within 8 days.

The manager fella took himself round the back into the office bit and did something then told me it was all sorted so I scooped up my mindeed and bundeled her back into my car and dashed home on time for another mindee to come for dinner then rang my friend who took my letter along with hers for the Manager to deal with and got him to sign to say that he dealt with it and the sum was not infact due and owing - she ranted at him too!!!

Moral of the Story NEVER take mindees to McDonalds !!!!

Sorry put this in minding chat as it happened when minding.

Apologies but just flabbergasted by the whole thing and had to have a rant!!!!!

peanuts
10-09-2010, 04:28 AM
all i can say is OMG £120. I bet there will be more signs up from now on.

Monkey1
10-09-2010, 05:45 AM
Thats outrageous! Ring the local paper hun and get them to do a story on it, its the kind of thing they love.........then watch the customers stay well clear of that mcdonalds!:thumbsup:

sweets
10-09-2010, 06:42 AM
this was on watchdog last night! loads have people complained about the parking at Md's. after watchdog got involved they have changed the rules in MOST of the restaraunts but not all of them.

CHEEKY BEE
10-09-2010, 06:45 AM
Hi, I remember reading in my local paper about the samething that happened to someone at our local KFC. They were actually fined for parking there before it opened and weren't even buying food.
I think he got away with paying it but I can't remember why
Glad you got it sorted.

miffy
10-09-2010, 06:45 AM
You should have told them if their "fast food" had been faster you wouldn't have over stayed your parking time! :laughing:

I like Monkey's idea best!

Glad you've got it sorted

Miffy xx

littletreasures
10-09-2010, 06:47 AM
Well done for having a rant. Glad he sorted it and you don't have to pay not that you should have been fined anyway. They should take into account how busy the restaurant is on any given day!!!

Tinglesnark
10-09-2010, 06:53 AM
:panic:
glad you got it sorted x

The Juggler
10-09-2010, 07:06 AM
OMG, that's awful. good for you getting it sortedx

ajs
10-09-2010, 07:44 AM
phew i am exhausted after reading all of that, well done for sorting it although i was in no doubt that you would.

poor bloke i bet he didn't know what had hit him

cherry
10-09-2010, 08:04 AM
There was an article in our local paper recently about a woman getting a fine for overstaying by half an hour in the local fast food diner.

I never knew about these parking fines.

Good for you for getting it sorted :thumbsup:

Trouble
10-09-2010, 08:14 AM
It was on watchdog last night

i would write to the mcdonalds and explain that the lunch took longer than expected and that its not your fault it was the queue and the nice staff kept you there:D

caz3007
10-09-2010, 08:15 AM
If you google Parking Eye you will find the Consumer Action group and these fines are actually invalid and they cant enforce them. We got one after a shopping trip on a local out of town complex and have used the consumer action group for something else which I fought and won, I had a look and saw that if you ignore the letters they do go away and dont do anything, They have gone away and left me alone now and I have no intention of paying even if they rear their ugly heads again. Having said that I now know if I visit that complex again, not to overstay my welcome and park in Tesco cos they give you 3 hours :laughing:

Heaven Scent
10-09-2010, 08:38 AM
phew i am exhausted after reading all of that, well done for sorting it although i was in no doubt that you would.

poor bloke i bet he didn't know what had hit him

LOL I don't feel sorry for the slimey dog its his job to ensure that his staff's customer relation skills are second to none and he obviously hasn't - reason for that is because his aren't.

1) He should not have said in my hearing "she'll have to wait" when the assistant shouted over her shoulder in a disinterested tone that I was there about a parking fine.

2) He should have had the good grace to undestand I was distressed and should have just been patient and heard me out he was downright rude and condesending he also didn't explain what he was going to do about it he just went off and left me standing there then came back and said it was sorted.

3) He also tried to make out that it was our fault for being a Large party with a big order ????? What 2 adults and 8 children a LARGE party???? Give me a break!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm still seething - come off it 1hr 15 mins where did they come up with that length of time - whats the point in having an offer on of unlimited coffee with breakfast and free WiFi if you cannot take the time to avail of it - there is no choice but to use their car park as its an out of town branch with a petrol station next door right on the by pass - so they avail of lots of passing traffic so why penalise said passing customers - its a blasted cheek if you ask me!!!!!!!!!

aly
10-09-2010, 12:37 PM
not read the other replies but sorry if its been repeated.

if its not a council car parking one and just a company then you can ignore it as it is a scam.

check the money saving expert site and search for parking fines and theres loads of threads on there...the are not worth the paper they are printed..you may as well use them for blowing your nose.!!!

Alibali
10-09-2010, 01:16 PM
Saw it on watchdog last night too, apparantly they are going to do away with this in SOME of their restaurants!

Glad you get it sorted.

Heaven Scent
10-09-2010, 01:19 PM
not read the other replies but sorry if its been repeated.

if its not a council car parking one and just a company then you can ignore it as it is a scam.

check the money saving expert site and search for parking fines and theres loads of threads on there...the are not worth the paper they are printed..you may as well use them for blowing your nose.!!!

Now I know all this I could think of a better use than that - LOL!!!:blush: :blush:

Thank you all for your replies going to see if I can see Watch Dog on iplayer I'll tell my friend what you all had to say

aly
14-09-2010, 08:33 PM
Now I know all this I could think of a better use than that - LOL!!!:blush: :blush:


I did too but was being good on here ;)
:laughing:

xx