A “cowboy” car park management company in Greenwich is the subject of several complaints from motorists for allegedly distributing penalty notices without cause.
Drivers say they have had problems with the car park, located near a Sainsbury’s Local on Greenwich High Road, for more than five years and that they have complained to Greenwich Council. They say that the council is yet to take any action.
Despite paying the parking fee and returning ahead of time to reclaim their car, drivers have reported receiving a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) in the post within weeks. The fines can range from £60 to just short of £400.
Motorists have left unflattering reviews of the car park on parking space database Parkopedia, which calls itself the “Wikipedia for parking”. This particular car park has received overwhelmingly poor ratings on the platform from people who say they were targeted by the scam.
An anonymous user on the site said: “I have now been fined twice by these cowboys, both for no reasons and both for which I appealed. They refused the appeals, but did not tell me why. I have ended up twice appealing through a law firm called Private Parking Appeals which was recommended by Money Supermarket. I have won twice. They are a disgrace and I am now pursuing their unethical practices with Greenwich Council and the local MP. DO NOT PARK HERE.”
Another wrote: “No stars deserved! This company clearly has a pattern of fraud as described by most reviewers. I paid using the machine on Sunday 10 October [2021] and got a PCN. With all the complaints I’m reading, I don’t know how Greenwich council continues.”
The allegedly fraudulent penalty fares have led drivers to raise questions about the company and its legitimacy. The land is currently managed by Civil Enforcement Ltd, which operates under several different trading names.
During the 2020 lockdown, a wheelchair-user dropped into Sainsbury’s to “get a few essentials” and to his surprise, received a PCN through his letterbox nine days later. This despite, the council deeming all pay and display parking in the borough as exempt from charges for valid Blue Badge holders.
Attempts to appeal against the fines have been rejected by the company via an “internal appeals” process. When some drivers challenged the fine again with the help of an independent law firm, the penalty was removed.
Lisa, a volunteer at a charity shop that is close to the car park, told South London Lines that her husband recently received a fine for parking without paying. She said that he drove into the car park to drop off donations for the charity shop and was stationary for just two minutes before leaving. Later in the day, he did the same run again and once again, was stationary in the car park for just a couple of minutes before departing. A week later, he received a penalty in the post, claiming that he had left his car in the car park for the whole day without paying. Lisa said that when her husband demanded proof, the charge was immediately dismissed. She expressed concern about possible penalty fines being slapped on members of the public who are interested in donating clothes to the charity shop.
The private management company has hundreds of Google reviews from unhappy road users regarding fines at car parks across the nation. It is said that they may be using a ‘loophole’ in the BPA code of practice to unethically claim money, and allegedly blackmailing drivers, threatening to escalate the penalty unless they pay within days of receiving the notice.
