Letter to John Squires - The Parking Doctor
Dear John,
A TOWN WITHOUT PITY - thanks to EXCEL PARKING
After reading your Parking Ticket Newsletter - August regarding Roy and Angela Norris v EXCEL PARKING we felt you and many others would like to know our Town's problems with EXCEL.
BAWTRY, South Yorkshire is a beautiful, unique historic town dating back to pre c1200, visited by many from Lands End to John O Groats to enjoy designer shops and first class restaurants. It has over the years established itself as a high quality tourist town.
Against the wishes of the residents and business establishments (95.25% voted against a Pay & Display) Bawtry Town Council signed a 5 YEAR CONTRACT with EXCEL to operate on the Market Hill (previously a free parking zone) 2 weeks before Christmas when the town would be full of unsuspecting visitors Christmas shopping.
In the first 20 weeks of Excels Pay & Display 552 fines were issued in a 100 space car park. 204 fines were due to "no ticket". The majority of these were because innocent visitors were unaware of the Pay & Display, aggravated by the total lack of signs. There is only one visible information board approaching from the south. Two information boards face inwards into the Market Hill. Three Pay & Display machines (2 of these almost hidden from view by the parking attendants cabin and a fruit & veg stall).
Let us clarify this point:
This is not an enclosed one way in-one way out parking area. The Market Hill is open totally alongside the front on the A638 allowing access at 25 points and access from 7 other side road approaches (depending on which way vehicles travel).
The majority of fines for "overstaying their time" were largely due to the faulty pay & display machines not registering the correct amount paid by users. Tickets were issued to innocent victims who believed they had paid for more parking time, and returned to their vehicles to find a parking fine.
Bawtry Town Council have actually acknowledged to some appeal victims "they were aware the machines were faulty".
Of every appeal made to EXCEL regarding a parking fine - and remember there have been hundreds - we are not aware of any that have been overturned and as each week goes by the number of parking fines not paid increases further.
The seriousness of this problem has been brought to the attention of John Mann MP for Bassetlaw (John Mann is not the MP for Bawtry) as many of his constituents have been victims of Excel's pay & display at Bawtry, together with another car park operated by Excel at Worksop within the Bassetlaw area.
John Mann is determined to fight EXCEL's unscrupulous behaviour and we are so glad to have his continued support.
Excel appear to be judge and jury and have a license to extort money.
We would be pleased to hear from anyone with EXCEL problems.
There is much more to this unpleasant ongoing saga but we feel we have covered a horror story of Excel shared by many.
You may also like to log on to www.warsopweb.co.uk/articles/letters 19.03.03 "Are Kings Mill Patients and Visitors Ready for Excel Parking" from Dave Drury. We are going to e mail him ourselves and also Angela Norris.
Kind regards.
Elizabeth Reep
Chairman of the Bawtry Business and Residents Committee
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