MSA cars or coaches (1 Viewer)

Wizbangs

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On Monday lunchtime on the M1 southbound somewhere by Nottingham, we went into a Motorway Services Area with our MH. The car area looked very busy, so we went into the coach park. I parked in the bottom corner as far away from the coaches as possible. Another MH arrived and parked up closer to the coaches and an attendant moved them down to where we were parked. We were there for maybe 10 mins giving the dogs a quick walk, when to my horror I saw a sign for a £90 parking charge for any vehicle other than a coach. £90!!! Surely they won't enforce that will they? I am scared now what to do at the next services.

When you go to a MSA, which sign do you follow?
 

Jim

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Doubt you'll hear anything about it or the warden would have been down to see you. That said, their tickets are not enforceable outside of a small claims court and they never get there so forget about it:Smile:
 

slobadoberbob

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Shoe Lane Parking

Doubt you'll hear anything about it or the warden would have been down to see you. That said, their tickets are not enforceable outside of a small claims court and they never get there so forget about it:Smile:

I do not agree with you JIM.. the case of Shoe Lane Parking, which is still good law applies to this kind of issue.

I have seen these signs that say coach only parking and if you decide to enter the area and the notice is clear, which seems to be the case on the motorway services these days.. then you have entered in to a contractual agreement. The notice means you have acknowledged the agreement.
I have found it a real pain trying to park the RV and the trailer in a caravan area. The truck areas are normally full, but the coach ones are normally free. It all depends on what the notice says.

OK that is the legal issue... what happens next.

The company will request your details from DVLA - registered keeper of the vehicle.

You will get a request / demand for payment. you ignore it.

They get heavy.. threaten and may pass to a solicitor or debt recovery company.

More threats.. I used to be good at that:Blush:

They will say they will issue a summons.... (small court.. may be via a central county court such as Norwich or which one is currently doing bulk summons).

If you get a summons then you need to defend it. But as that has not happened yet and that is in the next chapter (when you contact me Mary) I will deal with that matter.

But now.. just sit tight and ignore and keep ignoring the letters. DO NOT ANSWER ANY.. at this stage. Sometimes they give up and go away, now and then they do go all the way.

I still represent a chauffeur in London that gets all sorts of tickets from Westminster Council and private one's like from the car park operators at Heathrow and Gatwick airport... so far we have a 98% record of defending... the odd one has to be paid as it is to blatant even for me to defend.

But .... that is the free legal advise from the one with the initials after his name LL.b:Blush::Blush::Blush:

Bob

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Apr 29, 2009
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Michael Woods Services on the M5 was one of those places where ALL the caravanners would park..ON THE TRUCK PARK..which left us poor truckers with no where to park...and the caravanners thought they were doing no wrong...No one ever moved em!!!

Mind you when I was running fridges I managed to get parked on there one night and a caravanner knocked on my door and asked me to turn off the fridge motor so he could get some kip..cheeky so and so!! another one asked me to move as I'd ruined his tele picture..of course I'll move..COBBLERS!!!
 
Dec 28, 2011
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While in North Norfolk a couple of weeks ago we were trying to find somewhere to park in a seaside resort, Cromer to be precise, and all of the car parks were full or the spaces too small. In the end I parked in the designated "coaches only" pay and display and paid the coach rate. When we came back after a couple of hours there was another MH parked next to us, also displaying coach rate parking fee. There was a warden on duty by this time, but he never bothered us.

I wonder how we would stand legally, having paid the correct fee to be parked where we were, but not being the correct vehicle ?

There were about 20 bays for coaches but only 2 parked there.
 
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old-mo

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On Monday lunchtime on the M1 southbound somewhere by Nottingham, we went into a Motorway Services Area with our MH. The car area looked very busy, so we went into the coach park. I parked in the bottom corner as far away from the coaches as possible. Another MH arrived and parked up closer to the coaches and an attendant moved them down to where we were parked. We were there for maybe 10 mins giving the dogs a quick walk, when to my horror I saw a sign for a £90 parking charge for any vehicle other than a coach. £90!!! Surely they won't enforce that will they? I am scared now what to do at the next services.

When you go to a MSA, which sign do you follow?

There are very few motorway services that have not got allocated parking area`s for "Caravans"....

Park in them, saves upsetting truckers and coach drivers that have a living to make.. :thumb:

And saves the problem of will I or wont i get a ticket.. ::bigsmile:

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John & Joan

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I recieved the following from MOTO, Customer Services.

Sent: 23 April 2009 12:26
Subject: RE: Moto response

Dear Mr Thompson

Thank you for your further correspondence.

I am sorry if my previous response did not clarify your query.

1) There are no specific spaces reserved for motor homes. At some sites we have designated bays for use by caravans only and it would be acceptable for motor homes to use this allocation of space.

2) If designated parking spaces are fully occupied or there are no designated bays on car parks then we would advise the driver to use the normal car park, provided and that if any overhang did not obstruct entry and egress to the car park or cause any obstruction to the routes around the car parks. It would be acceptable for vehicles that were oversize i.e. length wise to use 2 bays to accommodate the length.

3) Where car parks are small and access is not possible due to size or available spaces then we have no problem with drivers using the main HGV Park. Drivers would have to be aware that the area is a working environment 24/7 and persons would have to take care when moving about on foot, children should be chaperoned at all times and we would not accept any liability and it would be at own risk. Because of the types of loads using the park i.e. Highly Inflammable liquids or gases they would not be allowed to use cooking facilities in the lorry park for fear of explosion or fires.

4) Just for information drivers are entitled to 2 hours free parking and under no circumstances should motor homes or caravans be parked in restricted areas, coach bays or disabled bays without a badge and if they have a badge they must not cause obstruction or danger to other users of the park.

I hope this information is useful to you and may I thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Yours sincerely
Karen Davis
Customer Services

In many motorway service areas I have used this year caravans have been signed into the coach parking area. Bays for caravans have been designated there.

Mondo, from Karens reply it is acceptable for Motor Caravans to use the HGV area.

John
 
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slobadoberbob

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Pepipoo

i found this forum helpful for these sort of parking tickets http://forums.pepipoo.com/

This forum and there site was set up many years ago when people we fighting speed cameras and it grew.. but it is a forum.. as such you should not take what you read is gospel unless you have taken independent legal advice.

We need to remember when you park anywhere on private land you do so under a give licence.. same as you give a licence when someone comes to your door.. like the postman .. others are in effect trespassers ... the same law is applied to car parks, regardless if council owned, motorway services or a private car park. You will often see a two hour limit for parking...even on a Tesco car park or round the corner to me the M&S car park has that time limit. Some say two hours and then you pay. Others have signs that set out the terms and conditions of the licence such as if you are a coach you can park here... if you are not a coach you will have to pay £90. (that is a term of the offer and acceptance). If you park in the coach bay you have accepted the term and under contractual law the licensee (who owns or operates the car park) can enforce the contract.

Example.... I arrived at the channel tunnel 40 minutes before the 2 hour before departure time.. tunnel wanted £12 surcharge.. refused and went back to the service station (early arrivals for the tunnel) - parked in a caravan bay, along with other motor homes.. 1 hour.. bought a wimpy and then went back to the tunnel... licence was park up to two hours in a designated bay... now if I parked in the coaches area I would be outside the licence and could have had a parking ticket.. the sign was clear at point of entry... simples

Bob

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Aug 27, 2009
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Michael Woods Services on the M5 was one of those places where ALL the caravanners would park..ON THE TRUCK PARK..which left us poor truckers with no where to park...and the caravanners thought they were doing no wrong...No one ever moved em!!!

Mind you when I was running fridges I managed to get parked on there one night and a caravanner knocked on my door and asked me to turn off the fridge motor so he could get some kip..cheeky so and so!! another one asked me to move as I'd ruined his tele picture..of course I'll move..COBBLERS!!!
Funny thing hapend to me once, we arrived in the French ferry port on route to Spain. It was about 1am so we decided to sleep for two hours then get away before the traffic builds up. The lorry park was absolutly full, I found a tiny gap between two huge lorries, Pulled the blinds down and me the wife and three kids all shut our eyes.
I soon woke up, as I thought, and took a look outside. We were the only vehicle in this huge lorry park, all the lorries had left. Took a look at the time it was 12.30 the next day. We had been asleep for 11 hours and didn't hear a single lorry start or move on. I didn't sleep again until we arrived in Spain.:Cool:
 

pablomc

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Funny thing hapend to me once, we arrived in the French ferry port on route to Spain. It was about 1am so we decided to sleep for two hours then get away before the traffic builds up. The lorry park was absolutly full, I found a tiny gap between two huge lorries, Pulled the blinds down and me the wife and three kids all shut our eyes.
I soon woke up, as I thought, and took a look outside. We were the only vehicle in this huge lorry park, all the lorries had left. Took a look at the time it was 12.30 the next day. We had been asleep for 11 hours and didn't hear a single lorry start or move on. I didn't sleep again until we arrived in Spain.:Cool:

Must have been gassed. :Eeek:::bigsmile:
 

vwalan

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i drove fridge trucks for awhile . best place to get a place is next to the fridge lorries . they sing a song all through the night . sometimes wake up if one is playing up .check with the driver that its holding temp.
my mate i travel with also drove them so we never worry if we have to park on a truck stop . bit like the old days .
also in spain you usually get a good food restaurant there as well.

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slobadoberbob

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what Buttons.. no habitation check

I was thinking of posting it as a gas related episode but there might have been some confusion with this and the habitation checks.:winky:

There I was thinking that Buttons did not want to spend £120 for a habitation check.. must have been a gas attack then...:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:


But I still know a man that claims he was gassed.::bigsmile:

Bob:Blush:
 
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Wizbangs

Wizbangs

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Thanks everybody for your advice. Any communication from CP plus, the company involved will be ignored. Plenty of similar advice around the web. Having been in debt many years ago and nearly driven to suicide by the pressures applied for payment, I am no longer intimidated by such things.

As per one of my original questions, it still concerns me where to park though, if there isn't a caravan sign, which indeed there wasn't. A motorhome is not a car, nor is it a coach. So where do you go if needing services?

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pablomc

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As per one of my original questions, it still concerns me where to park though, if there isn't a caravan sign, which indeed there wasn't. A motorhome is not a car, nor is it a coach. So where do you go if needing services?

Most do have caravan (read MH for that also) parking. If they don't I normally park with the HGVs, but extra care must be taken especially with children as these areas can be very busy with traffic.

Best thing is if you see a parking warden is ask. :thumb:
 

slobadoberbob

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where to park? now that is the question .. my son

Now that is the question.. where to park in a service station.... if I have to I park with the trucks.. that is if there is any room.. otherwise I do not use a service area... to much hassle.. or find ones that have a caravan parking area.. mind you lorries are often in the bays in any case.

As said do not worry about threatening letters over the parking issue.. most are all wind and puff.. no one can do anything without a court order and they have to issue a N1 form to get the matter to court.. takes time, and money and as I said as and if that happens.. p.m. me or get John to call me... See repayment of the help on the electric issues Mary.

Regards

Bob
 

sedge

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Have to say - caravan area if there is one, otherwise trucks.

Likewise when we used to drive through France as 3 cars all with trailers we would automatically pull into the HGV area. (UK or France) Shedloads of room? - we'd all use one bay. Not much room? - 3 adjacent bays each behind one or 2 lorries.

Never had a prob with a jobsworth.

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