BS: Greedy PVB

Subject: RE: BS: Greedy PVB
From: GUEST,John in Kemsing
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 06:19 PM

Another aspect of parking problems we have in the UK is that certain companies that clamp in the course of their business employ "gorillas" to do the dirty work and extract the fine.

Subject: RE: BS: Greedy PVB
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 05:51 PM

"It's a nuisance to go and move the car out and back into the space so that the tire marking is in a different place"

How about having some friendly passer-by use a bit of chalk to mark the tyre in lots of other places?

Subject: RE: BS: Greedy PVB
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 03:00 PM

Members of the city parking mafia have a long stick with chalk on the end to mark tires. If the car has not been moved by the end of the time limit, they write a ticket.
It's a nuisance to go and move the car out and back into the space so that the tire marking is in a different place. The meter then can be fed safely again.
They could take license numbers, but plates are difficult to see without stopping.

Subject: RE: BS: Greedy PVB
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 06:53 AM

Driving to work in London is madness! I'm a petrol-head but the idea of fighting in up the Old Kent Road and thereby knackering myself before I even get to work is intolerable.

I did drive to my office in Fulham - under an hour on quiet roads (leave home before 6 am, leave office after 7 pm) but nearly double that by public transport.

Subject: RE: BS: Greedy PVB
From: GREEN WELLIES
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 05:54 AM

In this mornings news the government (UK) are considering a scheme whereby companies with more than 11 employees who come to work in their own cars and park in the company car park, will now be charged £250 per parking bay for the priviledge of parking on land which they have already paid business rates for!

So the company's who working hard and scrimping and saving and are managing to ride out the recession and keep people employed are going to face yet another tax for doing so.

Only in the UK do you get penalised for hard work!

Subject: RE: BS: Greedy PVB
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 03:09 AM

In the IK it is almost always prohibite to feed meters. YOu have to move the car and stay out of the same slot for an hour before you are allowed to put more coins in - so a good citizen doing as suggested above and adding more time to meters would have been committing an offence.

Subject: RE: BS: Greedy PVB
From: DMcG
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 03:05 AM

In downtown Calgary - as in Toronto, and no doubt other cities - they have replaced meters with machines that you pump money into to be given a chit to put on your dashboard. In Toronto, people would give chits with remaining time on them to others, or leave them in obvious spots - the evil geniuses of parking-machine manufactury have defeated such attempts at neighbourliness by creating machines that require you to input your license plate number, which is printed on the chit.

There is a mildly amusing variation of that in parts of the UK. Years ago that sort of system was introduced in some places, but in the interests of keeping the machines cheap they only had a numeric keypad, and you typed in the three digit numerical part of the licence number. So far, so bad: there was only about 1 chance in a thousand of your being able to give your ticket to someone else. Not very long after, the whole scheme for allocating licences changed to a two digit system, where the digits encode the year. This meant (providing your car is less than about eight yesr old) you are now nearly certain of being able to give your ticket to someone again.

Subject: RE: BS: Greedy PVB
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 01:28 AM

So, what's a PVB?

Googling PVB brings up nothing. Googling PVB parking brings up the fact that PVB is used widely in the United States as an abbreviation for Parking Violation Bureau. We don't have Parking Violation Bureaus out here in the wilderness.

Gee, you go to Mudcat, you learn new things all the time.

-Joe Offer, enlightened-

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Peace
Date: 30 Jul 09 - 02:41 PM

Super glue.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: meself
Date: 30 Jul 09 - 02:39 PM

In downtown Calgary - as in Toronto, and no doubt other cities - they have replaced meters with machines that you pump money into to be given a chit to put on your dashboard. In Toronto, people would give chits with remaining time on them to others, or leave them in obvious spots - the evil geniuses of parking-machine manufactury have defeated such attempts at neighbourliness by creating machines that require you to input your license plate number, which is printed on the chit. So now the municipality can not only make money off both people who overestimate and underestimate the amount of time they will need, but they can also, in contravention of elementary business ethics, charge twice for the same product. In other words, if I pay for the use of a parking space for an hour but only use it for five minutes, the municipality thinks nothing of renting it to someone else for the remaining fifty-five minutes that I have already paid for, and in fact has made it impossible for me to allow someone else to use the space that I have paid for. If your landlord rented out your apartment while you went away for the weekend, the judge would rightly throw the book at him ....

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Maryrrf
Date: 30 Jul 09 - 02:11 PM

Back in the nineties, my brother was harrassed about a supposed parking ticket he got on his truck, supposedly parked in Alexandria, Virginia. He'd never parked in Alexandria, and certainly hadn't been there at the time the supposed parking violation occurred. It got to the point where they were threatening to garnish his wages. He finally got it straight, but not until he'd been through hours of phone calls, registered letters, etc. Some meter maid must have transposed a license plate number.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: SINSULL
Date: 30 Jul 09 - 12:09 PM

Even morwe aggravating when you are legally parked and they tow you anyway. It took months to get the towing fee refunded and that only after missing work to appear in court to fight the ticket. The real bitch is you have to sign a form saying you will not hold them responsible for any damage done to your car in the towing.
Remember the little ditty?
I-I-I-I Love New Yo-o-o-o-ork!
Right.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 10:02 PM

Looks like that $115 is not unusual.

Leadfingers, those clamps also can do damage if not put on carefully.
Here (in Calgary) tow-trucks are around when rush hour comes and parking ends on some streets. The vehicle is towed to some inconvenient lot, and the fine plus tow fee is over $100. Plus taxi to go and claim your car.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 09:43 PM

pics of maeve & her sister!

Parking fines are expensive here, too, tho the only dollar values I could find were for Melbourne where they range between $58 and $117, depending on the offence.

Sometime in the 90s we were having coffee on a Sat morning & one friend overstayed & ended up with a $70 fine, the most expensive cup of coffee he'd ever had!

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Leadfingers
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 09:17 PM

Try the (In some areas) UK scene where there is a MINISCULE warning notice about parking , and if you leave your car there it gets Clamped ! And it can cast £150 to get the clamp removed ! CASH !!!

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Bobert
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 07:44 PM

Go talk with the town (city) council about the situation... No, it won't erase the ticket but it may bring about some changes that are more friendly... Prolly not, but you'll at least have made an attempt to communicate a frustration that you, as well as many others, have about the situation... Never hurts...

Hey, these folks work for you... In theory, at least...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 07:35 PM

Not a big problem anymore.
Most of our shopping, except groceries and prescription drugs, is done by internet.
No driving, prices are reasonable, delivery is fast, and most everything one could want is in the mail order or net catalogues.
Occasionally go to a restaurant. Not to the theater; it is cheaper to order a DVD movie, and the selection is almost unlimited.

Seldom fill the parking authority's coffers- only necessary when going to some doctor-hospital centers.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Peace
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 06:06 PM

Yeah. And then the parking meters will be filled up with Super Glue. Sheesh . . . .

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 06:03 PM

The downside of free parking is when you can't find anywhere to park because all the places are used up by people who are parking there all day.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Peace
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 06:00 PM

Put Crazy Glue in the parking meter slots.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Gurney
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 05:58 PM

One of our local malls has parking officers working only at Christmas "because of congestion." The parking is council administered and the shops are private and not happy about it!

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: maeve
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:46 PM

It was a long time ago, Maryrrf, before such tactics were used where we lived at the time. Pennies took care of it then.

m

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:46 PM

Bless you Maeve. Let me know when you're in MY town. (That big apple with the rotten greedy core in the middle) as Maryrrf says, I just will give up shopping downtown.

And I can speak again peace. thanks for letting me vent.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Ebbie
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:44 PM

Isn't it true that when many communities removed parking meters it was because they discovered it was a good trade off? In other words, meterless shopping brought more shoppers to the area?

I can't imagine a $115 parking ticket.

Now, parking in a 'handicap' zone is different. The price of that violation should be high. But regular parking? Sheeeesh

Perhaps that city should simply advise everyone that each month or perhaps each year, every license holder should stop by the municipal office and submit a nonrefundable fee. It would be less frustrating.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Maryrrf
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:31 PM

Ah but sometimes even that's not enough, as when there's a one hour limit and even if you put more money in the meter, they've marked your car and if it's there over one hour - bingo. More money for the municipal coffers, one more person who is discouraged from shopping downtown, and will just give in and go to the mall.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:29 PM

The city needs the money.
Please sign my petition to put parking meters in mall parking.
(running to bunker)

Here in Calgary the hospitals and medical clinics have some of the highest fees. The fines for over the time limit parking are as high as moving traffic violations.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: maeve
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:20 PM

My sister and I used to walk along the row of parking meters; if the meter was about to run out we'd put in a few coins. The most fun was when we saw the meter person about to write up a ticket and we got there first.

Simple pleasures, eh.

maeve

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Peace
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:15 PM

I know first-hand how POed that can make ya. Listening to how angry you were reminded me of a time I couldn't formulate any words whatsoever.

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:10 PM

lol

Subject: RE: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: Peace
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:06 PM

Say what you really mean, LHG.

Subject: BS: GREEDY PVB
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:00 PM

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN DOLLARS for a PARKING TICKET!!!!    Can you believe it!!!!?????

And if there hadn't been so much traffic across the street where my car was, I coulda stopped the overeager s.o.b. traffic b*(&(&**(&(d who gave me a ticket the SECOND my meter ran out. Hovering there like a VULTURE!!!! and pretended not to hear me across the street.

Well I hope the PVB is proud of themselves for driving business away from the little downtrodden district that the local businesses are trying to promote, instead of going to the mall.Where I can park ANYWHERE and ANYTIME I want for FREE... because I will NEVER and I mean NEVER park in their seedy, greedy little shopping strip for the rest of my days on earth!!!

SKUNKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!