Parking at St Michael's Retail Park a 'trap', resident says

The woman, who wishes not to be named, had visited Nando's in St Michael's Retail Park back in the autumn, and parked in one of the bays which has a 30-minute limit.

She parked there because her husband cannot walk the distance from the free bays to the restaurant.

However, she said she was unaware of the time limits because the signs were too high and out of her vision, and the writing was too small.

"The board for the parking was written in very small writing, it is so small you can't see it," she told The Gazette.

"It is a trap. We have never been caught by this camera before."

The Gazette has previously reported how residents were given a nasty shock when they were fined for parking there.

The Old Basing couple had gone to visit the Nando's restaurant back in the autumn, when tier restrictions permitted eating out.

The woman chose to park in the bays outside the restaurant because her husband cannot walk far.

He lives with peripheral neuropathy, a condition connected to diabetes that means he can only take 5-6 steps but not much more.

It is a type of nerve damage that can cause numbness in the feet.

His wife has accused the parking company of "entrapment" by not making it clearer that parking charges were in operation, as well as not prioritising disabled parking.

The charged enclave of the larger car park, which is directly outside of Nando's and Costa Coffee has two disabled bays - both of which were full on their visit.

"It is really deceiving," she continued. "If the disabled parking bays are full, we have to park elsewhere.

"If you park there and your food is ready in 30 minutes, you are fine. 35 minutes and the camera gets you."

Despite debt collectors being instructed to recover the fees and the initial fine almost tripled, the woman is adamant that she won't pay up.

"I am not going to pay," she told The Gazette. "I said to them that I would have paid if they were right.

"Everywhere else, disabled people are treated equally.

"If they don't want disabled people to park there, then they should specify it.

"They should say so, or if they don't respect disabled people and allow them to park their car there.

"If I pay, no one is fighting for the disabled people. And this disabled person is my husband."

The Old Basing couple decided to share their story with The Gazette in the hope that other people caught out by the charges will not have to pay the fines.

The small enclave of parking spaces has a maximum time limit of 30 minutes, whilst the rest of the car park, further from the restaurants, is free. PCM have been contacted for comment.

A RESIDENT has accused a parking firm of "entrapment" after she says it was not clear there was a time limit.

The woman, who wishes not to be named, had visited Nando's in St Michael's Retail Park back in the autumn, and parked in one of the bays which has a 30-minute limit.

However, she said she was unaware of the time limits because the signs were too high and out of her vision, and the writing was too small.

She visited alongside her disabled husband, and despite having his blue badge on display, the fine, from Parking Control Management Ltd, was almost tripled after she tried to appeal it.

"The board for the parking was written in very small writing, it is so small you can't see it," she told The Gazette.

"It is a trap. We have never been caught by this camera before."

The Gazette has previously reported how residents were given a nasty shock when they were fined for parking there.

The Old Basing couple had gone to visit the Nando's restaurant back in the autumn, when tier restrictions permitted eating out.

The woman chose to park in the bays outside the restaurant because her husband cannot walk far.

He lives with peripheral neuropathy, a condition connected to his diabetes that means he can only take 5-6 steps but not much more.

It is a type of nerve damage that can cause the numbness in the feet.

And his wife accused the parking company of "entrapment" by not making it clearer that parking charges were in operation, as well as not prioritising disabled parking.

The charged enclave of the larger car park, which is directly outside of Nando's and Costa Coffee has two disabled bays - both of which were full on their visit.

"It is really deceiving," she continued. "If the disabled parking bays are full, we have to park elsewhere.

"If you park there and your food is ready in 30 minutes, you are fine. 35 minutes and the camera gets you."

Despite debt collectors being instructed to recover the fees and the initially fine almost tripled, the woman is adamant that she won't pay the fine.

"I am not going to pay," she told The Gazette. "I said to them that I would have paid if they were right.

"Everywhere else, disabled people are treated equally.

"If they don't want disabled people to park there, then they should specify it.

"They should say so, or if they don't respect disabled people and allow them to park their car there.

"If I pay, no one is fighting for the disabled people. And this disabled person is my husband."

The Old Basing couple decided to share their story with The Gazette in the hope that other people caught out by the charges will not have to pay the fines.

The small enclave of parking spaces has a maximum time limit of 30 minutes, whilst the rest of the car park, further from the restaurants, is free. PCM have been contacted for comment.