We’ve received this message from one of our readers:
Hi , I’ve just had notification from Wirral Council Planning that Parking Eye the company that issues parking ‘fines’ for Aldi in Prenton have been operating illegally. Parking Eye have never applied for planning permission for the ANPR? Cameras and/or signage.
Therefore anyone who paid £40 for an overstay should request their money to be returned.
Wirral Council are granting Parking Eye retro planning but no mention of prosecution for illegal operations over the last ten years.
CLAIM YOUR ‘fine’ MONEY BACK NOW
ANPR = Automatic Number Plate recognition. If Parking Eye didn’t have planning permission for ANPR is that a Data Protection breach on the part of Wirral Council?
But then Wirral Council surely wouldn’t let someone operate without planning permission for 10 years would they ? Of course they would ! As we’ve previously reported on the illegal marquees at Thornton Manor , this would seem to be par for the course when it comes to the impotent and incompetent Planning Committee. Read the fully story here
Wirralleaks 
Instead of granting retrospective planning permission, Wirral Council surely should be taking some enforcement action.
If I am not mistaken, planning permission lasts for 5 years so taking a decade to seek planning permission must mean that the scheme was illegal.
It is deception, and fraudulently demanding money from unsuspecting members of the public.
This ‘retrospective’ approval emphatically states Wirral Council’s view of deception and fraud, and it’s total disregard for protecting the public it is there to serve, and protect.
Absolutely and totally wrong.
No change there then!
Surely if it currently hasn’t got planning permission, it is illegal and has been for 10 years.
If planning permission has to be granted to ‘legalise’ the last 10 years, all previous fines have been collected illegally.
Yup.
We need to spread the word far and wide.
We’ve had quite a few people been in touch saying that when they challenged the ‘fine’ at Aldi, Prenton it was unusually and meekly accepted.
We wonder how many similar non – arrangements are out there?
Someone with a ticket should report it to the police, and see what excuses they come up with for not taking any action.
Again – no change there then.
Not good PR for Aldi if a consumer watchdog got hold of the story?
Ironically Wirral Council ‘Trading Standards’ were on the telly last night.
If Wirral Council grant retrospective planning permission wouldn’t that make the Council complicit to fraud and a party to deception?
No change there then……
Jeezus Dr Bob – are you trying to give us a RSI?
Sorry! WBC condoning wrongdoing is just endemic…you could try massage?
G’day Leaks
As I can’t afford a car since they made me a despised whistle blower I couldn’t give a stuff about this issue……………. other than.
The reason I keep piping up saying they are scum bag arseholes is that………….
Wirral “Funny” Bizz is classic of their incompetence and their having control of everyone.
They tell the cops there is no case to answer……
Ans so it be……..
Ecca you fucking numpty if you think the clowncil has improved you are as deluded as the Leader.
Ooroo
James
Mate they are a law unto themselves and if the people don’t revolt they will continue.
HOLLAND L XXXXXXXXXX
Reblogged this on Wirral In It Together and commented:
YUP. This needs to be spread far and wide.
HAVE YOU BEEN FINED FOR “ILLEGAL” PARKING ON WIRRAL IN THE LAST 10 YEARS? YOU MAY BE IN A POSITION TO CLAIM FOR FULL REIMBURSEMENT, BECAUSE WIRRAL COUNCIL DID NOT GRANT PLANNING PERMISSION UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE AND FAILED TO CARRY OUT THEIR OBLIGATORY DUTIES WITHIN STATUTORY PLANNING LAW.
THEREFORE, AS IT’S THE COUNCIL FITTING THE DESCRIPTION OF “ILLEGAL” RATHER THAN YOU, THERE IS A VERY GOOD CHANCE YOU WILL HAVE A STRONG CASE FOR REDRESS.
MORE HERE FROM LORD LEAKY AT WIRRAL LEAKS.
READ ON >>>>>>>>>>
Before granting retrospective planning permission, should Wirral council not force them to return all parking charges collected over the past ten years, if they have been operating illegally. Who is responsible Aldi, Parking eye or Wirral council.
In order to make a difference we need to vote out all sitting council members and have a fresh start. Lets do it at the elections in May.
We’d prefer lethal injections but democracy gets in the way.
Further clarification from our source :
I just need to correct some things but they don’t distract from the issues or those raised in replies.
1. The 10 year period is my guess but ultimately I don’t think it matters. The wider issue is operating without permission, what about all the other Aldi sites or sites where Parking Eye is used in Wirral, or nationally!
Plus Data Protection issues, Tax etc
2. WBC haven’t granted Retro Planning just yet however a retrospective application has been made for the retention of signage at the site.
here’s the Planning number APP/18/00026 to make comments on the application.
They say all imminent enforcement action will cease pending the outcome of the retrospective application.
Here’s the RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION NUMBER APP/18/00026
It’s due to appear imminently
Comments are welcome
If I open a shop without planning permission, are all the contracts to purchase entered into by my customers rendered null so that they can demand refunds? IANAL but I suspect not. (Declaration of interest: had a parking charge at Aldi Prenton canceled about a year ago by Aldi CS after supplying a redacted credit card statement showing I’d shopped there on the date in question).
A fine is not the same as a purchase.A purchase involves ‘consideration’ – an exchange of money for goods.
Quite a few people have been in touch to tell us that a parking ‘fine’ (not a charge) had been cancelled at Aldi,Prenton with very little hassle.
A fine is not the same as a purchase, but a parking charge from a private company is not a fine – the clue is that it’s enforced through the civil courts. The legal basis for the charge is that you’ve entered into an implied contract by parking where appropriately worded signs are displayed. My question would be whether or not the absence of planning consent for the signs would render that contract void. I hope you’re correct, but it may be worth running it past the collective wisdom of pepipoo.com.
At the time I got my PCN (“parking charge notice” – a fine comes as a “penalty charge notice”) I read a bit about Aldi’s parking practices and it seems cancelation by Aldi – not Parking Eye – is quite common and not peculiar to Prenton.
But isn’t the legal authority to make a charge only given by planning permission?
We presume that Aldi sometimes make the pragmatic decision not to alienate potential customers and choose to cancel charge instead.
Our message therefore would be always to challenge regardless of the planning permission issues.
A very tardy response to your point about “consideration”, Mr Leaks – a parking company would argue that by parking where their signs are displayed (with or without planning consent) you enter into a contract to pay a charge of £x if you park for more than y hours, and that charge IS the consideration.
We disagree. But then we would.
In this case ‘consideration’ would involve the exchange of money for the right to park as in the contentious issue of parking meters all over the borough.
As far as we’re concerned it’s an ‘invitation to treat’ – you can park at Aldi (or wherever) as long as you accept certain conditions. As you and others have proved -this is negotiable later but does not involve the exchange of money ( ie consideration) from the outset.
Yet in private parking cases the courts do rule that contracts have been entered into. Whether the contract is formed at the time of parking or only when the vehicle has been left for longer than the free parking period I don’t know.
G’day Leaks
Who said the clowncil doesn’t run the world.
The rubbish paper over Kev and Stella’s Stinking Stagnant wirral Waters.
Confirmed: Two police forces HAVE been contacted by Joe Anderson over Ross Barkley transfer
Ha ha only two police forces?
Puts a new meaning to the “boys in blue”.
Ooroo
James
Mate on 5 July 2011 AdderleyDadderleyDooLally boasted to me of contacts in police, HMRC etc., Everpeel runs the county.
Luv your blue eyes Leaks XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
My Lord, I was speaking with my daughter the other day and I asked ‘Where exactly is social media?’ (0bviously Facebook is social media) My daughter suggested that Wirral Leaks is social media…. I replied surely that is just using your fecking brain…
Anyway…..this is my contribution for today….. xxx to the Aussie…
I reckon Aldi should refund everybody who have been fined or Parking Eye should give all the fines collected illegally to local charities. I was sent a PCN which stated I had parked for 7 hours which I disputed and told them to review their CCTV footage, I received a revocation of the notice with no apology they
are a bunch of crooks.
And here is the BOOMERANG…
‘We have given them almost six years to own up and say it was all wrong, they’ve lied, cheated, hidden stuff, obfuscated and told bare faced lies.’
(The Aussie, on the Wirral Biz/Council scandal.)
Yo Pfiddy of Oxton
Fine charge invoice whatever word you choose to use it’s not the point.
So you sent your redacted credit card in and got it cancelled we’ll done you.
Others won’t. They’ll just pay it. Many probably have already.
It’s the law that such parking control needs Planning Permission.
My not very well made point about my own experience was that it was Aldi head office not the Prenton branch that cancelled the charge. It’s reported on the Pepipoo forums that Parking Eye are generally slow to apply for planning consent and generally do so retrospectively if at all. I doubt they’d be so cavalier if they risked having to repay charges as a consequence.
“It’s the law that such parking control needs Planning Permission”. Well some aspects of a parking control operation do certainly – signs above a certain size and APNR cameras that are on poles rather than fixed to buildings. But it’s a bit a of leap from that to saying that people will be able to reclaim the charges – a bit like saying that if I signed a contract with you then discovered that you’d stolen the paper it was written on I could cancel the contract.
I think the distinction between a fine levied by a statutory authority and a charge claimed by a private company is an important one. The local press tend to describe private parking charges as “fines”, which doesn’t encourage people to challenge them – there are plenty of grounds on which they can be challenged and anyone facing a parking charge would do well to look at the Pepipoo or Moneysavingexpert forums before paying.
So in short if you’ve had a parking charge issued by Parking Eye for parking beyond 90 minutes at the Aldi Prenton branch, please contact Aldi Head Office. Ask for fine/charge to be cancelled or money returned. This might also apply to other Aldi sites or Parking Eye operational sites. YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK.
As Pfiddy has alluded too if you can prove you are a card using loyal customer you can provide transaction evidence. They’ll most likely accept this and cancel it.
If you are a cash paying customer then this might be more problematic if you don’t have receipts.
If you’ve time to waste visit other sites and read waffle about types of tickets stories outcomes and all sorts of opinionated distractions.
Planning Permission is required for signage and cameras on a column such as Aldi Prenton.
END OF CORRESPONDENCE
Interesting discussion at http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/parkingeye-and-planning-consent-or-lack.html including this gem “Government guidance indicates that for serial offenders there should be prosecutions. Once prosecuted the Local Authority can then apply to the Magistrates for a confiscation order, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to take from them all of the parking charge income they have derived from their crime. Wouldn’t you think that Councils would find that extra income useful? After all they can keep 37% of that income.”
Ok anyone up for a test case?
No thought,not .
An interesting discussion is all very well but all know Wirral Council would just use the proceeds for bungs to shut people up.
G’day Leaks
You avin a laugh.
They all hide behind an alias.
Can you imagine going into battle with them?
The place is full of cowards. (and/or crooks)
Ooroo
James
We need to get rid of “Philly Liar” and his fantasy of a golf resort.
His uncle Joe can build billion pound football stadiums and the club wins and the clowncil wins and there are no losers
We want Joe
We want Joe
We want Joe
Ha ha “Phil the Very Very Very Very Slimy, Elusive, LYING and Deluded Dill”
OUT and take yer stupid golf foot/golf ideas with ya.
Luv ya L XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
That is the key, isn’t it…somebody actually doing something about it. Asking for a refund won’t change anything.
More than just a coincidence?
Wirral Council have delayed the rollout of car parking pay machines in Wirral Country Parks ‘due to an error’.
The ‘error’? The Council has had delay in getting the legally required signage!
On the upside let’s hope the vandals do the right thing instead of breaking the swings.
Guess what? There is a very strong rumour (but yet to be confirmed) that one of the famous ‘Giants’ is coming to the Wirral in Oct.
I think it’s going to be a Giant Aussie with corks hanging down from his hat. And he going to stop at Wallasey Town Hall and spue all over it.
Sounds like my kind of public art!!!Ha ha
Foulkesy and Lainey would emerge covered in vomit and the giant Aussie would declare, Jeeezus Christ, fair dinkum, but I don’t remember eating those bastards………………….
G’day Doc
Must admit my life has turned somewhat to shit since I blew the whistle to Adderley and Basnett on 5 July 2011.
I would rather have my shit than live the lives and lies of Davies Davies
Foulkes Jones Jones.
Karma
Ooroo
James
May the local government god shit all over their orrible existences.
Happy New Year Doc xxx
Hope you take over from The Leaks if we can’t talk him into doing it remotely.
Hello James
Happy New Year to you also…is it gonna be a ripper?
When you do your ‘duty’ as a responsible and professional employee, and a decent respectable person, and follow a formal, adopted ‘whistleblowing policy’, the expectation, and the guarantee, is that it will be followed up and followed through by equally responsible, professional, decent and respectable persons, in accordance with that same policy. You didn’t validate the adoption of that policy, Wirral Council did.
The issue is that all of those that you name in your posts who have done their utmost to humiliate and ‘neutralise’ your efforts (as has happened to other genuine whistleblowers as well), are the individuals who have (mis-)managed and overseen the conditions develop, and in some cases covered-up and contributed to the misdemeanours and malfeasance. And been highly rewarded for doing so.
Sadly, for all the decent and honourable staff at Wirral Council, many of whom do sterling work in extremely difficult circumstances, the ruling group and senior management display the most successful ‘cascade’ of self-preservation, self-serving conduct, and behaviour that is an affront to public service and the positions and offices that they occupy.
They make their own rules and don’t even abide by them…but they have a bottomless pot of public money with which to ‘protect their reputations’…you don’t.
All credit to you for not giving up…that is what they rely on…
Thank you for the kind comment.
Ooroo
Doc x
Encore Encore Doc
So Doc I went to the clowncil six and a half years ago just to report a £2,000,000.00 knock off.
Didn’t ask Addles for anything just to act after two weeks.
They must have spent £250,000.00 defending their cruddish reputations.
Should I now take them to court over breaking their whistle blowing policy and cost the wirral taxpayer more money?
Ooroo
James
Get a grip Robinson.
Comment Time
https://planning.wirral.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage
Q1. WBC will all ‘fines’ ‘charges be returned’?
Q2. Was this illegal?
Q3. How many other companies throughout Wirral will need retro planning?
The the huge number of parkinging signs will spoil my shopping experience!
Pingback: Public Service Announcement : Parking Signs (Retrospective) | Wirralleaks
I got a fine from these for being 20 min over the time at Christmas when I was doing my shopping I paid it so how do I go about claiming a refund
Write to Parking Eye – address is on our update post Public Service Announcement : Parking signs (Retrospective) post from earlier this week. Include links to our blog and state that they had no legal authority to make charges.
Failing that contact Wirral Council and ask them. Again details (including contact telephone number) are in above post. Good luck.
I had the same thing after an extended shopping trip at Aldi at Christmas 2016 and got it cancelled simply by emailing customer.service@aldi.co.uk with a copy of my credit card statement showing that I’d shopped there. If you can produce a receipt or a card or bank statement that may be the simplest approach. You could of course try the Prenton store as well as emailing.
Failing that you’ll need to appeal first to Parking Eye, which will probably be unsuccessful, and then to POPLA (which you can only do after appealing to Parking Eye). There’s lots of advice on this at forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4816822
If at the end of the day Parking Eye do take you to court (which would be the County Court, you haven’t got a “fine”) they’ll be seeking to establish that you entered into a contract by parking where their signs are displayed. I’m not a lawyer but I’d be surprised if the judge considers the absence of planning consent to be relevant, as it has no bearing on whether you would have seen the signs. It seems that Parking Eye generally begin operating at a site before obtaining planning consent for the signage and a modest amount of googling hasn’t found any reports of a successful challenge to their charge on those grounds.
As far as I’m aware the council’s only role is in granting planning consent for the signs (and presumably for the car park itself?) and they have no role in otherwise regulating a parking company’s operations, but it can’t hurt to ask them.
We’d love to see this challenged in court – of course it would never reach there.
Our advice (for what it’s worth) is to always challenge before paying up. But then that’s what we do with everything.
Some private parking companies never take people to court – but Parking Eye do.
Which as recent debate on the subject matter proves is why the whole system of private parking companies needs overhauling to include consistent regulation.
Enforcement has ceased at Aldi Prenton pending their retrospective application. I figure this to be parkingeye have ceased their Parking control duty pending their retrospective applications. This suggests they don’t have the legal yet and never had had the right to issue fines charges invoices etc
Nuff said!
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