Parked in a multi storey at Henley today. One where you take a card and pay in a machine on your way back to your car. Something like £1 for two hours, IIRC.
Came back to car after 75 mins, with sandwich in hand. Paid on the way up to the car. Phone went while I was getting in the car, so I sat and completed the call and ate my sandwich before moving off.
Sure enough, when I reached the barrier it said I had underpaid by 30p - because I had taken too long getting from the machine to the exit.
This would be OK if 1) someone had bothered to anwer the assistance button 2) the driver behind hadn't been deliberately obstructive when I tried to reverse (at him, gently! - he could see I was having some kind of trouble) or even 3) they had a excess machine alongside the exit barrier. Oh, and 4) I was still within the overall time (2 hours) I had already paid for, so why an excess anyway??
All my fault I know, it was mainly the driver behind who annoyed me....
Another lesson learnt...
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Sympathies - nothing that a nice bottle of wine won't put right though :)
All of the multi storey car parks I've used allow a fixed time (usually 10-15 mins. IIRC) for you to exit after you've paid up. So even if you've paid for 2 hours and only used 1hr 5 mins. once you've paid at the machine you've got to exit within the fixed limit or else. It seems a bit unfair and in your case very annoying but the people who run these places will point out that the charge you pay only buys "UP TO" 1 hr, 2hrs or whatever.
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So what happens if there is a genuine reason - such as happened in a pay-and-display car park near me a few weeks ago when some clowns think it would be fun to chain and padlock all the doors from the stairwells, so you have to return to ground floor and walk up all the "up" ramps on foot to get to your car?
And another one....dropped parents off at Heathrow T3 a few weeks ago - they are both in their 70s and not able to lift anything heavy so we stopped in short-stay car park - take ticket on entry. First 3 levels all full, find space on level 4. Look for luggage trolley - none around, have to descend 1 floor to find some, then push it to lift, wait for lift, use lift and return to car. Half an hour gone at IIRC £2.70, this is before we were even in a position to unload the car! Outrageous, especially as BAA do not recognise the blue (or orange) disabled badges and will not let you park at "street level" on yellow lines to unload - even if you have passengers who are obviously elderly and frail.
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IET,
don't worry, I've just contacted BAA and passed-on your concerns.
They assure me that the next time you intend to visit Heathrow they will tow away any vehicle occupying a space you wish to use and make sure that a trolley is no more than 5 yards away. If you give them a call 20 minutes before your arrival they will also reserve a lift for you.
Sarcasm aside, I understand your frustration with not being able to drop off passengers outside the terminal building. Unfortunately that's part of the price we are paying for the Al Qaeda hysteria.
Kevin...
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Now i understand this may not be possible with elerdly parents but im picked up my boyfriend and his mate from Stansted later today, What bugs me is that last week i dropped them off in the "set down area" this was free and in front of ther terminal, threw them out and their bags and off they went. Today if i followed the rules I would have to go in the short stay car park and find a space walk for ages, collect them back to the car, everyone in and drive out after paying about £4. It is a fortune to park here. Now I dont exactly see why I can't pick them up from where I left them? What exactly can I do on collecting them I can't do on dropping them off????
Sounds like another money making idea to me.
In future pull up outside the Terminal, dump your passengers and their cases and drive off, this may be wrong and yes you may get some jumped up traffic warden yelling at you but I for one am not going to pay highly unreasonable parking fees just to collect someone who has already paid a fortune for their holiday, its a joke and another fine example of R.O.B.
Sorry for ranting but it really does bug me!
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My brother gets to park outside any terminal at Heathrow in his company car. Mind you, the company car in question is of the armoured variety...... So be nice to those lovely chaps with a Heckler & Koch MP5 slung across their chests or I'll delete your posts!
;o)
No Dosh - Backroom Moderator
mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk
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I work at Stansted, Be nice to me or i'll ring my buddy at customs and you and your family will be declined air travel next time you go on holiday!
heh hee!!
Love ya, mean it!
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I park in a multi storey on a contract pass. There are ticket machines in every lobby and at the exit barrier. There are three exit barriers. The other day all three barriers were blocked by people who had walked past all the ticket machines, got in their cars, driven down the ramps, parked in the exit lane then left their cars to go and pay at the machine by the exit barrier!!! Why?????
The other day we saw someone trying to use the 'in' barrier to exit - highly amusing seeing them figure why the ticket slot was the other side of the barrier!
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Where I live, the multi-storey car park fees are not only half the cost per hour than parking on the town centre roads, you pay as you go out rather than on entry.
That means absolutely no worries in the event of unexpected delays in returning to your car.
A much more fair system that saves a lot of potential heartache.
A further bonus is free parking for up to two hours if you spend at least £5 in the supermarket on the multi-storey car park's ground floor. You just get your car park ticket stamped at the cashout.
The system also satisfies personal contempt towards my local council for charging to park on roads which I have already contributed to in the form of hefty council tax, not to mention road tax.
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Unless the terms and conditions on the machine stated that once you have paid you have to leave within X minutes, then I would say the car park company would be on shaky ground if you were still within the paid for time when you tried to exit.
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PM - To be fair I think they normally do - albeit in amongst the small print on the machine. It's only done to stop people taking liberties by paying up then wandering off to do a bit more shopping before they leave.
Stuartli - I've never come across a multistorey in which you pay in advance. They all seem to be pay on exit.
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Some of the ones in Sunderland (certainly the one by Park Lane bus station and I think the one at the Bridges) are pay and display, so you have to pay in advance.
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...I've never come across a multistorey in which youpay in advance. They all seem to be pay on exit.
I think the Haymarket one in the centre of Leicester is pay and display. There's also one in the centre of Northampton. Pay and display in multi-stories isn't common but it's by no means unkown.
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Strangely, all four multistorey car parks in Tunbridge Wells that I know of, are pay and display - no barriers, but plenty of wardens checking tickets.
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ND can I change my name to HWAMGOS? (and guess what it stands for?)
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When picking up (able bodied) mates at Thiefrow I wait on the approach road until they phone me to say they have just picked up their bags from the carousel.
They then head downstairs and stand waiting at the drop off zone, in the car and away.
(sexist comment ahead)
Works fine except when females are involved. For some reason they can not fathom 'in the car and away' apparently there is a need for some sort of compulsory introduction ritual before they can enter a vehicle...
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