Motorhomes and Supermarket Parking (1 Viewer)

Jun 17, 2012
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Today I went out for a ride in my MH to fetch son from a skiing trip. On the way home I was asked (told) by SHMBO to stop at Morrison's. Now I've never had to park the MH in a supermarket car-park before so what do I do? None of the bays are suitable and parking in a non-designated area is Verboten ! The sign also says no parking outside of the bay. You will see I parked close to a kerb so offside wheels within the width but with a slight ! overhang into 2 "end to end" bays!

You know where this is going!

Am I outside of bays? Well yes as I straddle 2 bays but what can do I do?

Would I be a prize for the parking company or do they employ reasonable people with common sense.:ROFLMAO:

I covered myself a bit with instructions to son (25 years of age) to move MH if there is the slighest risk of ticket


What do you do and have you fallen foul of this problem?
 

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teddybard

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Today I went out for a ride in my MH to fetch son from a skiing trip. On the way home I was asked (told) by SHMBO to stop at Morrison's. Now I've never had to park the MH in a supermarket car-park before so what do I do? None of the bays are suitable and parking in a non-designated area is Verboten ! The sign also says no parking outside of the bay. You will see I parked close to a kerb so offside wheels within the width but with a slight ! overhang into 2 "end to end" bays!

You know where this is going!

Am I outside of bays? Well yes as I straddle 2 bays but what can do I do?

Would I be a prize for the parking company or do they employ reasonable people with common sense.:ROFLMAO:

I covered myself a bit with instructions to son (25 years of age) to move MH if there is the slighest risk of ticket


What do you do and have you fallen foul of this problem?

Left Morrisons (Kettering) went to Lidl
Sorry SWMBO.:winky:
 

GJH

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Most supermarkets are sympathetic to large vehicles like ours parking - after all, they want our custom. The general rule of thumb we use is to park away from the shop itself and where we don't cause an obstruction by virtue of size.

Unfortunately what has happened in some areas in the last couple of years is that people have started to abuse free car parks such as the ones which supermarkets provide for their customers (e.g. commuter parking, people parking for several hours in supermarket car parks near to town centres (which they then patronise) to avoid charges in other car parks). That is why companies have introduced restrictions in those specific car parks rather than generally (Morrisons at Teesside Park, for instance, has no restrictions).

In some cases, enforcement is by CCTV/ANPR so simply moving the vehicle if a risk is spotted doesn't work. All that can be done is to write to the company concerned explaining that you want to park for genuine reasons (spending money with them) and ask for dispensation, or go elsewhere.

It is frustrating when it happens but, at the same time, it is frustrating for the supermarkets and their genuine customers who are inconvenienced by selfish people.

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teddybard

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[HI]I've never had a prob, but must admit I tend to park so the arse is overhanging the grass verge if poss. [/HI]


:Smile: Yes but what about your van
?? Rangi

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camcondor

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If you check out specialist parking forums like Pepipoo and the parking board on moneysupermarket.com, you can read up about parking charges, and the companies that run these rogue operations.
Most of the supermarkets have what Martin Lewis commonly calls PPCs,(private parking companies) operating in the car parks and their "tickets" are nothing but speculative invoices which are not enforceable for many reasons and are NOT criminal offences as they would like to make people think - they can only be based on civil law. Out of around 1.8 million of these parking charges, only 49 were ever taken to court in the past year and only 24 were upheld. The charges are very disproportionate (about ÂŁ100 a pop) and not enforeable in civil law (only actual loss to the landowner (NOT the PPC) can be claimed) not a "fine" or a "punitive charge" .


So if you park your motorhome at a supermarket and end up with one of these scam "tickets" , ignore it, you will get several threatograms (check them out on pepipoo or MSE) and it will go away. Write a letter of complaint to the head office of the Supermarket as well about their rogue parking operators. Whatever you do, advice is NOT to pay the silly demand (its not a "fine" - only the courts or via devolved powers, the council or railways can issue "fines" or punitive charges )

A few supermarkets DO have council controlled car parks, though, so do check first.......these can be appealed, but ARE legitimate and WILL be pursued via courts etc.

Best take a look on the specialist parking boards - this is quite an ongoing hot potato. :Eeek:
 
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Larby
Jun 17, 2012
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There has been quite a lot of discussion recently about whether to pay or not to pay. Yes, I would contest it.
My query was would they ticket me or use common sense as I have tried to do? What do others do?
Hang their arse over the grass and shop at Lidl are good answers but what are you supposed to do when the spaces are only long enough for a Mini and wide enough for a motorbike?

de G4TEB
 

lorger

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Never mind the parking how did you get the pic the right way round :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

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GJH

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It's as well to remember that the law regarding parking on private property changed last year so, quite rightly, it is easier for people to charge abusers. If the spaces are only long enough for a Mini and wide enough for a motorbike then I would park elsewhere.

When it comes down to it we are talking about private property - just like your or my drive or garden. Why should we expect to support abuse against others that we would not tolerate against ourselves?
 

Mel

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Never had a problem on a UK supermarket.

There should be a site we could check if motorhomes are welcome

Simples just compare the supermarkets.com

Mel

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OP
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Larby
Jun 17, 2012
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I don't have a problem with the rules or conditions of the parking. I totally accept the need for landowners to protect their land. I would.
Maximum 2 hours and requirement to be a customer is perfectly acceptable especially as supermarket is near a mainline train staton.
I was just nervous of being ticketed as a genuine customer when unable to find a suitable bay. Yes I agree MH is bit long but my friend was given a ticket in Cornwall for taking up 2 spaces and he had bought and displayed 2 separate tickets! I was curious how the standard car size only bays and the need to park their MHs affects others. Yes the bays are bigger than I said, but when I drive a normal car it is tight at times especially if adjacent vehicle is over a bit.
 
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From personal view this would appear to be more of a problem the further south you visit, last year in Norfolk a jobs worth almost had a tape measure out, luckily as mentioned my ass was well over the grass.

Up here in the North outside of major cities or towns there is not a problem and the further North into Scotland I've never been challenged when taking up 2 bays. Though as mentioned we tend to park well away from the supermarket entrance. ::bigsmile:
 

drivingontheroadto

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Downsize

You could always buy a smaller van that fits in supermarket bays ::bigsmile: I am joking of course but seriously I downsized from a large coachbuilt to a 4berth van conversion and its the best thing I ever done with regards to camping. Each to their own I know but I came to motorhomes when I got rid of my far too long caravan and 4x4 ( which in length were the same size as a lorry trailer) and replaced it for a coachbuilt van. The change from caravan to motorhome was fantastic and I loved the freedom the motorhome gave me. When I downsized the motorhome to van conversion it was the same feeling of freedom all over again...... Next van for me ...... ... Scrap the van I'm going back to a tent (now I am joking) ::bigsmile:

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OP
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Larby
Jun 17, 2012
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I tugged a van for years. Heck of a lot easier to park a 25ft MH than 14 ft of car and 21ft of end to end caravan.

Bit of a one off today a it was getting late and shopping had to be done. Normally, local shops in car.
 

sedge

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Well we just try to park in the most unpopulated bit of the carpark, so as to cause minimum inconvenience.

And then you come back to acres and acres of space still all round you except for two chelsea tractors who have deliberately chosen to park so close either side of you you are unable to open either of the cab doors.

Well bollards to you then, the hab door is loads thinner than the cab ones - so we'll just get in via that door then and NP at all ! :ROFLMAO:
 

camcondor

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It's as well to remember that the law regarding parking on private property changed last year so, quite rightly, it is easier for people to charge abusers. If the spaces are only long enough for a Mini and wide enough for a motorbike then I would park elsewhere.

When it comes down to it we are talking about private property - just like your or my drive or garden. Why should we expect to support abuse against others that we would not tolerate against ourselves?

The law regarding parking on private property has NOT changed -it remains civil law, not self-proclaimed quasi-criminal law enforced by thugs, which is what PPCs are in essence. What has changed - in October 2012 - is that the PPCs can send their speculative invoices to the Registered Keeper of a vehicle if the driver at the time of the alleged errant parking is not disclosed to them. There is still no obligation to disclose the drivers details to them, but they can under the new legislation send the invoice to the Registered Keeeper. This makes absolutely no difference whatsoever unless you drive a Company Car or Hire Car, in which case the advice from Pepipoo is slightly different as to what to do next.

The change to the law in October makes NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER - check the specialist boards and you will see this stated over and over! So it makes no sense at all to spout nonsense about it, truth of the matter is, the CHANGES IN THE LAW DO NOT "MAKE IT EASIER TO CHARGE ABUSERS".

And actually, if you are providing the shop with your hard earned money, there seems little reason for them to act in an unreasonable manner. If a motorhome parks away from the closest spaces and does some grocery shopping for an hour, and takes up two spaces, so what??? What damage has the landowner suffered in this case??? Absolutely nothing!!! Zip!!! Zilch!!! So that is then the amount due in damages to the LANDOWNER (NOTE: NOT the PPC! They have NO rights in civil law to bring a case of this nature to court unless the LANDOWNER is involved, and the amount which can be reclaimed is limited to the DAMAGES suffered by the LANDOWNER by virtue of the alleged errant parking...............


These parasites prey on the general public and make quasi legal threats in the hope that most pay up without a whimper.......the "appeal" is turned down virtually instantly and it is a waste of time to make one other than to go through the motions so they end up having to fork out about ÂŁ30 for a POPLA reference number for you. And even after that, you can safely ignore the vermin.

I have no issue with landowners making money from parking on their car parks, but I do have an issue with the ratbags who fleece the public for parking an inch over a line or CCTV (They are NOT ANPR cameras - ANPR are official police / DVLA cameras which these are NOT) which shows skewed entrance / exit photos (a car could concievably have visited the car park several times in the day) and extortionate amounts "charged" to people who are intimidated into paying this lot.

Parking a motorhome in a considerate manner, using as little space as possible given the size of vehicle, is hardly comparable with with someone dumping their wreck on your driveway or garden. And I am not aware of supermarkets which have specific parking spaces in their car parks for trucks / motorhomes etc. - telling someone to go elsewhere is hardly helpful or reasonable. :Eeek:

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GJH

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I don't have a problem with the rules or conditions of the parking. I totally accept the need for landowners to protect their land. I would.
Maximum 2 hours and requirement to be a customer is perfectly acceptable especially as supermarket is near a mainline train staton.
I was just nervous of being ticketed as a genuine customer when unable to find a suitable bay.[HI] Yes I agree MH is bit long but my friend was given a ticket in Cornwall for taking up 2 spaces and he had bought and displayed 2 separate tickets! I was curious how the standard car size only bays and the need to park their MHs affects others.[/HI] Yes the bays are bigger than I said, but when I drive a normal car it is tight at times especially if adjacent vehicle is over a bit.

The basic factor is that car parks tend to be designed for just that - cars - rather than larger vehicles. That is especially true of parks created decades ago when there were far fewer motorhomes on the road. Some councils allow the use of multiple bays and some don't. It's always a matter of checking.

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GJH

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The law regarding parking on private property has NOT changed (snip for brevity)
If the change to the law does not make it easier to charge abusers then it needs to be toughened up properly. We are not talking about "parasites", "ratbags" or "vermin" (except in the case of some car drivers) but genuine business people.

The point is that supermarkets have introduced these measures not to fleece people providing them with their hard earned money but to try to preserve the parking spaces for those customers. As Larby has now pointed out, the supermarket in question is near a mainline train station. It has, no doubt, suffered from abuse by commuters parking for free who then go whinging to the likes of the pepipoo freeloader support groups when they are caught.

The fact that genuine customers who happen to drive motorhomes (or other large vehicles) are caught out by the rules is totally the fault of the freeloaders that the shops take action against (the innocent suffering from the actions of the guilty as often happens).

Car park owners require parking within lines quite properly because they want to be able to maximise use of the space. There can be very few of us who have failed to find a space in a busy car park because other, selfish and inconsiderate, drivers have parked right up to (if not straddling) lines, making it impossible to use a space.

If everyone parked in a considerate manner instead of simply leaving their vehicle where they want, for as long as they want, as if they had a right to do so rather than the privilege which it is then there wouldn't be a problem and supermarkets would not have to employ enforcement measures.
 
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Larby
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Today I went out for a ride in my MH to fetch son from a skiing trip. On the way home I was asked (told) by SHMBO to stop at Morrison's. Now I've never had to park the MH in a supermarket car-park before so what do I do? None of the bays are suitable and parking in a non-designated area is Verboten ! The sign also says no parking outside of the bay. [HI]
You will see I parked close to a kerb so offside wheels within the width but with a slight ! overhang into 2 "end to end" bays!

[/HI]You know where this is going!

Am I outside of bays? Well yes as I straddle 2 bays but what can do I do?

[HI]
Would I be a prize for the parking company or do they employ reasonable people with common sense.:ROFLMAO:

[/HI]I covered myself a bit with instructions to son (25 years of age) to move MH if there is the slighest risk of ticket


What do you do and have you fallen foul of this problem?

This is starting to go a little bit away from my original post.
I have no problem with rules and T&Cs (I parked near the sign!) my query was, I parked at the end of a row but used 2 spaces (end to end)
Would I be deemed to have fallen foul of the rules?
I used common sense, would the Car-park company do the same or ticket me?

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Feb 27, 2011
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Car park owners require parking within lines quite properly because they want to be able to maximise use of the space. There can be very few of us who have failed to find a space in a busy car park because other, selfish and inconsiderate, drivers have parked right up to (if not straddling) lines, making it impossible to use a space.

I was visiting my mum in Boston Pilgrim hospital and was struggling to find a parking space. A mini had parked directly over the line separating two parking bays using both bays.

I wrote a note informing him/her what I thought of them using some pretty florid language.

When I came back out after spending a couple of hours with Mum I passed the mini again to notice that the windscreen was absolutely covered in similar notes.. I wish I had a camera to take a picture.

Sorry for going off topic but this made me mad at the time. I wish I could have seen the drivers face when they got back though:ROFLMAO:

I fulltime in a small panel van and the advantages of being able to fit in a parking bay are brilliant.
 
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Larby
Jun 17, 2012
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I was visiting my mum in Boston Pilgrim hospital and was struggling to find a parking space. A mini had parked directly over the line separating two parking bays using both bays.

I wrote a note informing him/her what I thought of them using some pretty florid language.

When I came back out after spending a couple of hours with Mum I passed the mini again to notice that the windscreen was absolutely covered in similar notes.. I wish I had a camera to take a picture.

Sorry for going off topic but this made me bad at the time. I wish I could have seen the drivers face when they got back though:ROFLMAO:

I fulltime in a small panel van and the advantages of being able to fit in a parking bay are brilliant.

Taken from a site that is a bit like ! parks like a ****.com


 

GJH

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This is starting to go a little bit away from my original post.
I have no problem with rules and T&Cs (I parked near the sign!) my query was, I parked at the end of a row but used 2 spaces (end to end)
Would I be deemed to have fallen foul of the rules?
I used common sense, would the Car-park company do the same or ticket me?

Sorry if I've gone OT, I do realise you have no problem with the rules.

You probably would have fallen foul of the rules because the people enforcing them are not given latitude by their employers (CP PLus Ltd in this case) to be flexible. Even though you had parked as considerately as possible so many people do not so the rules are drawn up to reflect that.

Companies like CP Plus have their standard clauses and they will apply them unless told otherwise by the people who give them contracts. Supermarkets and others employ such companies (in common with other types of outsourcing) because they are not in the business of administering car parks and, consequently, often do not give much (if any) thought to the fact that they might have customers using larger vehicles because they are simply unaware that the situation might arise. That is why I said all that can be done is to write to the company concerned explaining that you want to park for genuine reasons (spending money with them) and ask for dispensation, or go elsewhere.

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chesterfield hooligan

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:Smile: if worried why not ask the shop manager if he says ok take his name and keep for further referance I do not think for a miniute he would turn away a customer who would then park with some common sence :Smile:
 

maz

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I invariably take up 2 straight-through bays but park as far away from shop entrance as possible and always park neatly within my 2 bays. :winky:

If there's a parking bod around I'll chat him up. If worried I'll pop in to see the guy on the security desk (usually just inside shop entrance). No problems so far ........
 
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I invariably take up 2 straight-through bays but park as far away from shop entrance as possible and always park neatly within my 2 bays. :winky:

If there's a parking bod around[HI] I'll chat him up[/HI]. If worried I'll pop in to see the guy on the security desk (usually just inside shop entrance). No problems so far ........

OK for you to do Maz. If blokes did it they'd get a black eye.:ROFLMAO:

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