Pay & Display

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sun 21 May 2006 23:24
Pay & Display - AlastairW
Why don't they give change? I had reason to visit Stockport town centre for the first time in a while, and had assumed parking was still £1 for the first 2 hours, but no it has gone up to £1.40 (presumably to encourage more shoppers!). As I didn't have anything smaller than a £, had to give the machine £2, for which I got the same two hours.
Bad enough the charges have gone up, but could the machine not be set to give a longer time if a higher amount is put in (there is no time limit after all - you can stay all day if you pay enough), or better still could it not give change?
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Sun 21 May 2006 23:40
Pay & Display - PhilW
Simple answer is that it is an easy way for them to make more money out of you. Be thankful that you didn't do as I did. In a similar machine I put in £2 for 2 hours (£1 coin and 5 x 20p pieces) Unfortunately the machine didn't register one of the 20p pieces (and I didn't notice)so it only registered 1 hour's parking. I arrived back after an hour and four minutes to find a ticket, I appealed but my appeal failed and I had to pay £60 fine! They didn't care that the ticket said I had paid £1-80 for an hour and four minutes (a "modern" machine would have allowed me 1.8 hours)- I "should have checked the ticket"!
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Phil
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Mon 22 May 2006 07:00
Pay & Display - L'escargot
Why don't they give change?


A machine that gives change would be much more complex and expensive. It would need to be monitored frequently and the cash in it adjusted accordingly. This would require someone with a vehicle with cash on board going round the various car parks. The crux of the matter is that it would cost money, and the cost would have to be passed onto the car park users in the form of increased fees. Would that suit you?
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L\'escargot.
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Mon 22 May 2006 09:37
Pay & Display - adverse camber
the ones in york give you the time you pay for. They dont give change but at least they pro rata the time to match however much you put in. Damned expensive parking though (OK not by London standards)
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Mon 22 May 2006 13:56
Pay & Display - cub leader
Some of the ones in marlow now allow you to pay for parking with a debit card, certainly handy when you not have enough change
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Temporarily not a student, where did the time go???
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Mon 22 May 2006 15:23
Pay & Display - SpamCan61 {P}
Most annoying I've experienced were the parking machines in Weymouth which wouldn't give change and wouldn't even let you overpay, the money had to be exactly right!
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Mon 22 May 2006 17:15
Pay & Display - just a bloke
It would surely be easy to calculate how long you can stay based upon a cost per minute. Checking for expirey would be no more complicated than it is now and would certainly be more popular than the licenced robbery that currently takes place.

How many people faced with the choice of overspending by a quid simply opt for the not paying and taking a flyer at it option?

I doubt if the fine covers the cost of prosecution.

JaB
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