The 4 hour threat of a fine

[Sir Roger DeLodgerley]

How can parking in a free car park possibly constitute a contract? There is no offer or acceptance, there is no consideration, and there is no intention to create legal relations. As the man said, it's a load of half- pikey bollocks.
Park away old boy.

[fourbytwo]

Thanks to you all....I did not stay long enough for anyone to threaten me with anything, in case you thought I was some kind of Tesco Saddo......
What annoyed me was this wee guy going about looking at all the cars, in a way that would have been as 'casing-the-joint' in any other big centre, and the thought that this 'jobsworth' could actually frighten some wee woman into moving to another situation....left me bloody livid..!
The point about storing the licence numbers, even getting some kind of list of car owners using this facility, I think borders on the criminal, and obviously, if they do not, or cannot get fines to cover their work.....then it would seem to me that this company could sell-on information.....where would it end..?
I asked a pal about the Asda situation, and he was clear that football fans were to blame for Asda checking up on parked cars looking for a cheap and reliable parking space whilst visiting Ibrox.....and I can see why Asda would be unhappy about that.
However, with the Silverburn/Tesco scenario, I fail to see where it will end, unless these private security companies have some kind of 'fiddle' on the go......I makes no sense, however threats are threats...so I will wait and see...!

[Dave]

An interesting topic

[WeegieBurd]

Is the 4 hour rule only applied to the Tesco car park, rather than the Silverburn shopping complex car parks? If so, then I whole-heartedly agree with it. I've tried on two occasions to do my food shopping at Tesco during the day on a weekend, and had to leave again and drive to Asda because I couldn't get a parking space near Tesco. Now, there's no way that every car in that car park had someone shopping in Tescos at that point.
The fact of the matter is; there are two or three large (and free!) car parks specifically for Silverburn and then there is a car park specifically for Tesco. There's no excuse to use the Tesco car park for Silverburn - the multi-level car park is usually half empty.
I for one, use Tesco car park for Tesco and the other car park for the other shops when I'm there. But then, I'm obviously a model citizen!!

[Dugald]

Fourbytwo, might we imagine for a moment that you have acquired a high-paying job with Tesco and put in charge of Parking at places such as Silverburn shopping complex. How would you handle the problem of your parking lot being used by people who are not shopping at Tesco?

[krakow]

When I was a child, the Safeway near us had barriers and a manned booth at the entrance/exit to the car park. A bloke in the booth would check your receipt as you left; parking was free with a valid Safeway receipt, but was charged for otherwise. It made getting in & out of the car park a dreadfully slow pain in the arse on busy days (I remember Saturday mornings in particular), so they eventually abandoned the method.

[Bing Buzby]

They put the wee fanny in a nice bright coat and give him some 'important shpeel' to make him feel as though getting a tenner more than the broo would give him is worthwhile.

How much must somebody earn before they are allowed to feel worthwhile?

This is a guy who works for a living, in all weather. He deals with ignorant drivers, barrack-room lawyers and nutters so that you can conveniently park near the supermarket. By the nature of his job he is probably on the receiving end of threats and intimidation on a regular basis, why does he deserve such vitriol?

If you think fines are unreasonable, by all means direct your questions/vent your anger at Tesco or whoever owns the carpark.

In the meantime I would welcome you thoughts on how to deal with the able-bodied wankers who park in disabled bays.

[Reenie Bujman]

In the meantime I would welcome you thoughts on how to deal with the able-bodied wankers who park in disabled bays.

Easy peasy. Turn them into disabled wankers. Pass the putlog...

[Peekay]

He's getting 'more than a tenner' anyways. By my calculation he's on £390+overtime a week. Not bad for just wandering about a carpark.

PK

[fourbytwo]

There is no clear policy on cars parked at the Silverburn for extensive periods...however, I would bring one point to bear when considering where workers could park their cars...........
There is a very large and usually unused car park just beyond the end of the Silverburn site, and this was good enough for all potential staff and agencies when the complex was being built.
It is however some 100 yards from the front door, and of course, if you have a shiny new car, then the front door is where you want it seen, and as an example of what i mean........consider this...I have picked up my daughter from NEXT at 6am when she finishes her shift in the warehouse, and always expect to see at least 100 ( again I repeat 100) cars already parked at the front of the building...and funny enough, when visiting Silverburn some 6 hours or so later, most are still in the same spot....(and its not that I am spying, but Mercs, Jags and Beemers do tend to stick out in Pollok).

I am also amazed at the amount of large Transit vans that are parked for shopping, or are they...?, perhaps contractors finishing work...?
I admire anyone telling me that they park at Tescos for the shopping, then move to another parking area to go into the Silverburn....I don't specifically believe it, but i do listen......

As far a parking in disabled bays is concerned, I am an advocate of checking each bay, as I myself rely upon disabled access, which is scarce at any time, but as the police were quick to advise.....not everyone displaying a badge, is entitled to use it, and there are no facilities to check the authenticity of badges....but warned to be careful, as the blue badge thefts have gone off the scale in recent years, more valuable on the black market than car stereos....!
But the original point remains a concern, and was interested to see a comment added about similar problems in London from these private parking monitors, who had in fact issued letters threatening legal action/bailliffs unless the 'FINE' was paid....but again the general opinion is...let them take you to court, there is NO CASE to answer...!

[dansamin]

:roll: There is no clear policy on cars parked at the Silverburn for extensive periods...however, I would bring one point to bear when considering where workers could park their cars...........
There is a very large and usually unused car park just beyond the end of the Silverburn site, and this was good enough for all potential staff and agencies when the complex was being built.
It is however some 100 yards from the front door, and of course, if you have a shiny new car, then the front door is where you want it seen, and as an example of what i mean........consider this...I have picked up my daughter from NEXT at 6am when she finishes her shift in the warehouse, and always expect to see at least 100 ( again I repeat 100) cars already parked at the front of the building...and funny enough, when visiting Silverburn some 6 hours or so later, most are still in the same spot....(and its not that I am spying, but Mercs, Jags and Beemers do tend to stick out in Pollok).

I am also amazed at the amount of large Transit vans that are parked for shopping, or are they...?, perhaps contractors finishing work...?
I admire anyone telling me that they park at Tescos for the shopping, then move to another parking area to go into the Silverburn....I don't specifically believe it, but i do listen......

As far a parking in disabled bays is concerned, I am an advocate of checking each bay, as I myself rely upon disabled access, which is scarce at any time, but as the police were quick to advise.....not everyone displaying a badge, is entitled to use it, and there are no facilities to check the authenticity of badges....but warned to be careful, as the blue badge thefts have gone off the scale in recent years, more valuable on the black market than car stereos....!
But the original point remains a concern, and was interested to see a comment added about similar problems in London from these private parking monitors, who had in fact issued letters threatening legal action/bailliffs unless the 'FINE' was paid....but again the general opinion is...let them take you to court, there is NO CASE to answer...!

Surely you are not suggesting that workers should park their cars as far away from the entrance as possible? I certainly would not like to walk a distance to my car in that area either late at night or early morning when the place is practically deserted.

I think most people regardless of the type of car would choose to park near the front door of any building and I can't see the point you are trying to make...sounds as if you are a bit jealous to be honest. What has Mercs, Jags and Beemers parked in the car park of a large shopping mall, which serves a wide area, got to do with the same make of cars sticking out in Pollok? It is not like they are parked up in Priesthill is it? Wait a minute, is that not now full of big expensive houses? The real problem with parking at Tesco is that the poor layout of Tesco and Silverburn parking means that most people will assume that the parking for the main entrance to Silverburn is the Tesco car park. For a complex the size of Silverburn/Tesco 100 staff cars is hardly excessive in my view.

[dave2]

Had the multistorey been built where the foodcourt bit is, then it would have been perfectly positioned for tesco and the silverburn mall. however, it being the other end means that fewer people will push their shopping through the mall to the multistorey - which is fairly bright light open and has red/green lights above each bay to indicate if there is a car in the parking bay or not.

[mairead]

I think there is another side to this. Where there are store car parks near football grounds, genuine shoppers often can't get a parking spot when a game is on, because all the spaces are being taken up by the football fans.
My nearest big store is a Safeway which has a fairly small car park and people often park there for an entire afternoon and don't go near the store at all, so shoppers have to pay to park elsewhere, often a good distance away, and lug bags of shopping some distance. It's pretty annoying if you are carrying half a dozen bags of shopping.
The car parks provided by the big stores are there for the convenience of their customers after all.

[onyirtodd]

I think there is another side to this. Where there are store car parks near football grounds, genuine shoppers often can't get a parking spot when a game is on, because all the spaces are being taken up by the football fans.
My nearest big store is a Safeway which has a fairly small car park and people often park there for an entire afternoon and don't go near the store at all, so shoppers have to pay to park elsewhere, often a good distance away, and lug bags of shopping some distance. It's pretty annoying if you are carrying half a dozen bags of shopping.
The car parks provided by the big stores are there for the convenience of their customers after all.

Maybe the answer is not to go shopping when there's a football match on.

[Reenie Bujman]

Maybe the answer is not to go shopping when there's a football match on.

Quite. I hibernate on Saturdays. I take a siesta at 3pm with a radio tuned to 5 Live (a) so I know when my team score and (b) so I know when it's safe to come out again.