Could pay, won't pay

[Brandane]

I persuaded her to walk because I knew we would be there for sometime.

We? Could she not have walked by herself? You've done your bit; what was wrong with getting out for a bike ride?

 

[steveindenmark]

Ive got agree with a previous comment.

This is just Freeloading. I appreciate Mcds "customers" have free use of the WIFI and car parking. But the OP is using Mcds as an office. Once he has taken a reasonable time to eat his meal he stops being a customers. To me over 2 hours for a Mcds meal is not a reasonable time, its excessive.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I can't remember all the details, but we had a car park company round here that were ruthless. They turned up with a tow truck to take one guy's car away while he was still there, so he refused to get out of the car, which meant they couldn't tow it.

He stayed in his car for days if not weeks.

At college, they clamped a vehicle belonging to a mature student, who flipped, went to the college store and got an angle grinder and chopped the clamp into bits.

The only one I've done myself was at a place I worked. One self imposed attendant got a clamp, and left it in a visibly prominent position in the car park as a deterrent, so I parked right on top of it.

 

[Pale Rider]

Ive got agree with a previous comment.

This is just Freeloading. I appreciate Mcds "customers" have free use of the WIFI and car parking. But the OP is using Mcds as an office. Once he has taken a reasonable time to eat his meal he stops being a customers. To me over 2 hours for a Mcds meal is not a reasonable time, its excessive.

The staff like me being there, someone to talk to, and a couple of them have an interest in my job.

If I'm in for a while I will usually have a second cup of coffee.

If the clear up ladies are not busy, they will sometimes fetch the second coffee for me, so I even get table service.

Your remark about freeloading - also made by @gavintc - shows neither of you know the half of it.

As an ex-copper you ought to know that a member of the establishment's staff can ask me to leave at any time, without giving a reason.

The fact the reverse is true and they make me - and others - welcome ought to tell you something.

But sadly, like a handful of other contributors, you are too busy grinding various axes to make a rational assessment of the situation.

 

[raleighnut]

I can't remember all the details, but we had a car park company round here that were ruthless. They turned up with a tow truck to take one guy's car away while he was still there, so he refused to get out of the car, which meant they couldn't tow it.

He stayed in his car for days if not weeks.

At college, they clamped a vehicle belonging to a mature student, who flipped, went to the college store and got an angle grinder and chopped the clamp into bits.

The only one I've done myself was at a place I worked. One self imposed attendant got a clamp, and left it in a visibly prominent position in the car park as a deterrent, so I parked right on top of it.

I'd have nicked it.

 

[gavroche]

Back to the hospitals - I don't think I have ever been to a hospital that does not charge for car parking, usually at an extortionate rate too. In fact my local hospitals charges are so high that when my wife was in the late stages of labour, I persuaded her to walk because I knew we would be there for sometime.

We don't pay charges at hospitals in Wales.

 

[Arrowfoot]

Generally people understand why there is a need to pay parking charges in areas where there are shortages and where the land owner takes the effort to provide the facilities.

The issue is operators who operate a business models where exorbitant charges are levied for exceeding the time limit. These operators have factored in that some are savvy enough to know the legalities. their rights and or are prepared to pursue the avenues and loss of revenue from these folks. Its the less aware and the vulnerable that end up handing over these exorbitant charges and the company still makes a sizeable profits.

As Pale Rider has stated that if it was reasonable he would have made the payment.

Sadly the authorities seem to be lost on what to do or cannot be bothered by these operators who have misrepresented the laws, issue documents that seem to imply that they are statutory in nature and make claims about their rights of recovery that is patently false.

The issue is not about avoiding the charges and levies that are fair. Lets not be mischievous and tilt to something which it is not.

 

[subaqua]

We don't pay charges at hospitals in Wales.

Or prescriptions, but sadly have some of the longest waiting lists in the UK . Several family members have been seen in English hospitals to reduce waiting lists in Wales.

Sad really considering the architect of the NHS was a Welshman

 

[Pale Rider]

Generally people understand why there is a need to pay parking charges in areas where there are shortages and where the land owner takes the effort to provide the facilities.

The issue is operators who operate a business models where exorbitant charges are levied for exceeding the time limit. These operators have factored in that some are savvy enough to know the legalities. their rights and or are prepared to pursue the avenues and loss of revenue from these folks. Its the less aware and the vulnerable that end up handing over these exorbitant charges and the company still makes a sizeable profits.

As Pale Rider has stated that if it was reasonable he would have made the payment.

Sadly the authorities seem to be lost on what to do or cannot be bothered by these operators who have misrepresented the laws, issue documents that seem to imply that they are statutory in nature and make claims about their rights of recovery that is patently false.

The issue is not about avoiding the charges and levies that are fair. Lets not be mischievous and tilt to something which it is not.

I'm bound to like this post, but it does sum up the matter nicely.

The only private ticket I've paid was at a private finance initiative hospital.

The scale of parking charges was clear, I did over stay, so in my mind I owed them for that length of time.

The demand was for £15 - a lot more than my over stay - but not entirely unreasonable.

 

[Pale Rider]

Lots of complaints about the charges at the hospital I use.

No big deal for me, I can afford to pay for my occasional out patient appointments.

But were I, say, on regular visiting duty for weeks or months I might think differently.

 

[steveindenmark]

The staff like me being there, someone to talk to, and a couple of them have an interest in my job.

If I'm in for a while I will usually have a second cup of coffee.

If the clear up ladies are not busy, they will sometimes fetch the second coffee for me, so I even get table service.

Your remark about freeloading - also made by @gavintc - shows neither of you know the half of it.

As an ex-copper you ought to know that a member of the establishment's staff can ask me to leave at any time, without giving a reason.

The fact the reverse is true and they make me - and others - welcome ought to tell you something.

But sadly, like a handful of other contributors, you are too busy grinding various axes to make a rational assessment of the situation.

I have no axe to grind, I am just expressing my opinion. An opinion other people obviously have.. I still cannot see how it takes over 2 hours to have a Mcds meal and 2 coffees. The fact that you cannot see you are taking advantage is really not my problem. Its yours.

 

[mybike]

Lots of complaints about the charges at the hospital I use.

No big deal for me, I can afford to pay for my occasional out patient appointments.

But were I, say, on regular visiting duty for weeks or months I might think differently.

My wife was taken into A&E with high blood pressure, eventually released after 6 hours with the comment that a high BP in a busy A&E was to be expected. At one point the nurse was taking the reading over a cannula, which she found extremely painful! All in all that cost me £12-40, a rather stressful sequence of feeding the meter as I had no idea how long we would be. Good job they weren't taking my BP!

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I got a ticket in Spain. It was my fault as I'd misread the sign. People were telling me to just ignore it, but I decided to go and pay.

It was confusing, because there are two or more bodies that can issue tickets, and each has a different scale for the same offence.

I trekked from public building to public building, eventually finding someone that explained I could pay the fine at one of the parking meters because they were part way through modernising and I'd got to them before their system kicked in.

Funny thing was, the fine at the meter was less than I would have paid originally for parking.

 

[NorthernDave]

If you fancy free WiFi, and inexpensive coffee get to Wetherspoons.
99p for a coffee with unlimited free refills between 8am and 2pm.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...with-free-refill-coffee-for-99p-10106220.html
Not sure what their car parking arrangements are like though...

 

[Rural Spaceman]

[QUOTE 3913101, member: 259"]The sausage McMuffins are good though. [/QUOTE]
Can't beat those artificial flavours