BS: Parking ticket payments in UK

Subject: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 02:19 AM

So cars and other vehicles in UK are getting more and more by the minute

A recent trip to Sheffield was a night mare ~ roads blocked off and parking meters that I have not seen the like of and a major parking lot being effectively mobile only

I am past 75 years old ~ I have no mobile phone ~ I park daily and coins, card payment and mobile are all available ~ it is frustrating when a card payment facility is not working and have no coins ~ find a different car park ~ no costly mobile is out of the question

Mobile only is preferred by the parking people, but this is indicative of the mad rush to collect payments and the drivers are simply cash cows ~ where in heaven has the humanity gone

IT technology is a tortoise and hare case ~ I do not like being ripped off and facilitis should not be there for the well off and or savvy people # keep it simple and try to avoid early death of the old drivers


The car park signs in Sheffield refer to basic but then go on to refer to web site information ~ as I say I do not have a smart phone and just how can it be that simple payment of a ticket becomes so difficult?

Ray

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: DaveRo
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 03:52 AM

r.padgett wrote: I have no mobile phone

No mobile phone or no smartphone? You don't actually need a smartphone to park with many operators, RingGo for example.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Helen
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 03:57 AM

Ray, that is a very similar issue to when we were in the COVID pandemic here in Australia. We all had to show an ID to get into supermarkets and other public places. It was a QR code and the government seemed to be acting on the assumption that we all had smart phones.

I choose to keep my phone dumb. I don't access data on it, I just use it as a phone and to send and receive text messages. It was only after people like me jumped up and down that the government decided on an alternative, i.e. download a QR code from their website and print it out, or go to their shopfront in person and ask for one.

It's the first time in my life when I felt that I was being discriminated against for being old. The other funny thing was the way the young-uns looked down their noses at me when I said I didn't have a smart phone. I used to wait for that and laugh quietly to myself because they were so predictable. :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 04:42 AM

I don't go to Sheffield anymore.

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 06:03 AM

I’m 79 and you guys are making me feel like a kid again!

I’ve had a Smartphone forever - Android, I’m not getting dragged on to the Apple bandwagon - and as well as the usual calls ‘n’ texts, I use it to pay for shopping, posh coffees in posh coffee shops (as a teetotaller/non-smoker, posh coffees in posh coffee shops are my personal indulgence!), and, when I’m away from home, for sending and answering emails, PMs etc., getting directions to places using Google Maps, and…(Gasp!)…paying for PARKING!

I very much prefer paying for parking by phone. No need to fart around searching for change, pissing off others who are in the queue behind me while I fumble around in my trousers’ pockets, and the frustration when I don’t have enough - just hold my phone to the reader and it’s ‘Job’s a good ‘un’. I also like the PayByPhone app, where you enter the car-park’s unique code into the app, tell it your car Reg. and how long you want to park for, and confirm the payment - job done, simples!

As my (28 years my junior) wife constantly tells me, “Get with the program, grandad!”. :-) ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 06:09 AM

Yes Robin Sheffield pubs like Kelham Tavern ~ KIT and Shakespeare
(Gibraltar St) are of the past ~ folkie venues

I will stay at home and out of the big bad city

Ray

Helen yes my phone is for me to make and take phone calls and text messages only and emergencies

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: DaveRo
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 07:14 AM

You can pay for parking with RingGo, once you've created an account, by sending a single text message.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 09:39 AM

OK yes I have a simple mobile phone ~ no smart phone/cell phone

The simplest way is by Car reg and the debit card imv

Ray

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 10:13 AM

I have resisted adding a payment method into my phone for near field (NFC) payments because it seems like one more way to trip yourself up. Turn off NFC if you're not using it is good advice until you forget.

There is a parking lot at a favorite restaurant that displays a QR code in the lot, connecting you with the payment system. If I wait to get into the restaurant and scan the parking QR code in there it knows I'm a diner and gives two-hours complementary parking. I have to remember to "un-park" when I leave. I still have a few coins in the console of the SUV for parking if needed, but haven't actually seen a coin-fed meter in years.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: DaveRo
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 12:26 PM

There have been many cases in the UK of scammers pasting false QR codes on top of the ones on car park signs, which take you to a fake payments site. I've seen them myself. If they took more trouble to fix them straight they'd catch more people. But I think they employ youngsters to put them up who are not incentivised to do it carefully.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 12:40 PM

I don't use the QR codes on car park signs - I either use the code or let the app search my location and give me the actual address of the car park I'm in (this is on PaybyPhone). In our local car parks, you put your number in the parking machine, select the time required, and hold your phone (or card) to the reader. Been doing this for several years now, no problems.

The benefit of the apps is that they text you when your parking is about to expire, and give you the option of extending your stay - if you choose the latter you get an email to confirm.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 12:42 PM

"I either use the code"

By which I mean the existing car park ID stored in the app on my phone.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: DaveRo
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 02:09 PM

The plethora of different parking apps seems to reducing around where I live - Ringgo is everywhere. I read recently that a single parking app might appear
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/may/21/uk-wide-parking-app-to-be-rolled-out-by-industry-bodies-after-pilot-scheme

I think a country-wide prepaid contactless card - like Oyster (London's prepaid underground card) - would be a good option for those without smartphones. A reader would be very cheap compared with most carpark machines. It would include the car reg, so no need for a keyboard or display beyond a one-line LED one that confirms the transaction.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 05 Apr 26 - 04:00 PM

I have a smartphone but it has nothing to do with banking or payment on it, that is for my peace of mind and I'm not changing that just to park a car.

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 11 Apr 26 - 10:16 PM

Yes I agree Robin

Ray

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 14 Apr 26 - 09:14 AM

Sorry further developments Sheffield is a total no go area for me ~ I am out of touch and simply "they" have the area stitched up

By by Sheffield

Ray

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 16 Apr 26 - 04:13 AM

As a holder of a Blue Badge one has to be very careful to read any signs related to parking and payment or not. It many places parking is free for Blue Badge holders, and maybe even not time limited - but it doesn’t apply everywhere. Different Councils have their own rules, as do many private car parks, so reading the signs is mandatory.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 16 Apr 26 - 08:50 AM

Familiarity with Parking is easier when you know the area

Tourists and visitors are not so lucky

Forget Sheffield it is sewn up like a prison bag ~ not worth going anyway by car

Trains currently flow well

Ray

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Nick Dow
Date: 20 Apr 26 - 04:58 AM

The other night, when Ray and I were in Sheffield, I turned right round the island, then left up a side road, parked outside a bar, paid two quid to cover me to 8.30 pm in cash, walked 100 yards to the pub, to find that there were three or four parking places across the road I had missed, did the job, then returned to the car at about ten to eleven and drove home to Laneshawbridge. What is all the fuss about?

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 20 Apr 26 - 09:11 AM

Nick the problem I had was regarding payment for parking at sessions festival

The parking opposite KIT needed a phone call mobile ~ plenty of room ~ I have not got such a mobile and no other method of payment was available

check comments above too

next time I went to Shakespeare days later I went by train

Ray

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: cujimmy
Date: 22 Apr 26 - 06:31 PM

I took my 84 yr old Mother in Law for an appointment at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds a few weeks ago, and the car park there was being run by Ringgo as well and they wanted me to download their app, then input my bank details to pay the fee. I do have a phone which can do this, but I absolutely refuse to - the only time I would possibly ever use it again is if I was at one of their car parks which is not very often. My Mother in Law would never have been able to do this on her basic phone. So I dropped her off, then went and parked in Asdas car park and waited for her to ring me to say she was ready to be picked up again.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Helen
Date: 22 Apr 26 - 08:07 PM

Interesting cujimmy. I wouldn't agree to that either, but there might be a workaround if necessary.

I've told this story in other discussions here, but I was checking my debit card account statement a few years ago and saw that I had - extremely surprisingly - paid for something at a chocolate shop and a Pizza Hut in Atlanta, Georgia and the total was just under $200. (I'm in Oz and I have never travelled overseas and also, the last time I went to a Pizza Hut was maybe 40 years ago. We make our own pizzas at home - much healthier.)

So, I contacted the bank and they were extremely helpful including cancelling that card and replacing it with another one. The contact centre person on the phone also made a very good suggestion, which was to create an extra account, keep very little money in it until you need to use it for something specific like an online purchase, only put in as much as you need, and then keep the account balance low until the next purchase is due.

When I contacted the music shop in the US from which I had bought something online I then had a lovely email back-and-forth chat with the owner of the business and told her that tip. She said it was a good idea in her opinion. Note: I have been dealing with that music shop for decades and they are very reliable. It appears that someone hacked their data and then cloned my debit card and used it in a couple of shops over there.

So, if you really, really have to use an app on your phone for something important, you could set up a special account for it so that even if scammers access it they will get very slim pickings and you will get to laugh at them.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 23 Apr 26 - 01:50 PM

Sheffield Forum is praising its maze of road blocks, bus lanes and lack of user friendly car parking methods ~ having car parks dependent on modern mobiles certainly is not in my sorry experience good thing

I will certainly the car at home ~ leave Sheffield to its natives

Ray

it is no good unless you KNOW Sheffield ~ I do not

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 23 Apr 26 - 02:22 PM

Went to Lincoln Folk Club last night, drove into the City Hall car park nearby, sat in the comfort of my car and opened the ‘PaybyPhone’ parking app on my phone, the car park I was in showed at the top of the list, I selected it and indicated the number of hours I wanted to park, and paid by my debit card via Googlepay on my phone. Took about a minute and I received a Text confirming my payment. No buggering about, an absolute piece of piss. Twenty minutes before my time expired I received another Text reminding me and asking if I needed to extend my parking time.

Moving with the times makes life so much easier, and it’s much more effective than yelling “Get off my lawn”.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Helen
Date: 23 Apr 26 - 02:39 PM

Yes but having a dumb phone is so much fun when I watch the scornful looks from the young-uns. :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 23 Apr 26 - 03:34 PM

LOL! Well I guess it’s a case of to each his (or her) own, Helen! But, at the age of 79, I found out long ago that moving with the times brings much better results than any amount of obstinacy and yelling “Get off my lawn”!

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Helen
Date: 23 Apr 26 - 06:41 PM

Yeah, thanks BWM but my name is not Karen! LOL

As a matter of fact, I have a phobia of making and receiving phone calls so I only bought the mildly clever phone for emergency use and text messages, and I mostly use emails to communicate remotely.

It is possibly related to my dyslexia, or maybe not but I prefer visual rather than audio cues. Also as I progress further into my 70's my hearing is not as good as it used to be, so listening to people on phone calls is still possible but it will only go downhill from here.

The worst is noise in public places, e.g. having lunch with the "Girls" I went to high school with 50 years ago is ba-a-a-d because we all talk at once at one big table. You know the scenario: pleasant café, lovely lunch with friends or loved ones, good food - and a table of raucous old women laughing and talking over the top of the music playing on the speakers. :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 24 Apr 26 - 02:40 AM

I have that hearing problem too, Helen - old age and too many years playing in very loud electric bands, I guess! I hate going out to social events because my inability to hear what people are saying in crowded places means I feel excluded, and I’m often embarrassed by having to ask people to repeat things several times before I ‘get’ what they’re saying.

BTW, being a Karen is just about the last thing I would ever accuse you of!

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Helen
Date: 24 Apr 26 - 03:47 AM

We're going a bit off-topic, I know, but my Hubby has the habit of starting a sentence in a crowded place with music playing, e.g. a supermarket and then walking forward away from me so I only hear the beginning and not the end of the sentence. If I ask him to repeat what he said, he just repeats the first bit and not the bit I missed. Note: he is getting old too, but not quite as old as me. My visual clue for people is to cup my hand over the back of my ear. It's the gestural equivalent of [old lady voice] "what's that you are saying, Sonny?" and it seems to work.

I try my very best not to be a Karen so I'm happy that you realise that. LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: r.padgett
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 02:36 AM

Parking should be easy and minimum need a debit card and reader bee plus a reg plate inputter key board ~ no fancy phoning at your cost

Ray

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: cujimmy
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 03:41 AM

So my 85 year old Mother in Law should buy an updated phone that can download Parking apps, learn how to imput her bank details then learn how to pay using the parking app before her next appointment at Seacroft Hospital, is that reasonable thing to ask. Its not only elderly people who are not very up to date with Mobile phones, I would think there are much more important things to think about in life. I found out by chance that Sky Tv had been scamming her out of £71 a month for Sky sports, Movie channels, childrens channels etc, all she watches really are Christian channels, News and not much else - myself and her son helped her get a refund and complain ie she is vulnerable, as so many elderly people are. Ive written to the hospital to complain about this also.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Helen
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 03:57 AM

Yes, complex technology leaves us all open to scams, but any of the people who have had little or no need for high-tech are much more vulnerable to scams. The older we get, the less likely we grew up with computers, IT and other technology.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 03:57 AM

Have those damn kids got off your lawn yet?

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 03:59 AM

At the age of 79, I’m happy to say I’m still a ‘do-er’, not a moaner.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Helen
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 04:12 AM

No they haven't but I've installed a lawn-invader deterrent: a wasp nest near the back gate. And the CCTV is aimed directly at it so we'll get some funny videos to put online so everyone can laugh at the young-uns trying unsuccessfully to invade our territory. LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: DaveRo
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 05:01 AM

cujimmy wrote: So my 85 year old Mother in Law should buy an updated phone that can download Parking apps, learn how to imput her bank details then learn how to pay using the parking app before her next appointment...

The NHS website says that parking at Seacroft is by debit/credit card OR pay-by-phone. That might be out of date but I suggest you check. In my local hospital they promote phone parking but still have machines - one of which is inside the hospital.

Also, payment by phone does not mean you have to have the app, or even a smartphone, as I wrote upthread. (Though an app is much easier - especially if you're hard-of-hearing.) In a carpark you usually have to pay before exit; if you have to ring up you can wait until you can find a quiet spot to do so.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: cujimmy
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 05:30 AM

ok I will pass that information onto my Mother in Law, im sure she will be enlightened.

Subject: RE: BS: Parking ticket payments in UK
From: Helen
Date: 25 Apr 26 - 06:53 AM

I hope you all realise I was joking about the wasps etc.

Going to one of the two big hospitals in our city is very stressful, mainly from trying to navigate through all the roads to the correct building, then navigating through the huge buildings with lots of wards and departments, and on top of that there is the parking, and it is so confusing. There seems to be different parking payment methods for different car parks relating to the different buildings. As if I am not stressed enough already being at the hospital myself or for my Hubby, the roads, buildings and car parks just top it all out for me.

Most of the car parks at both hospitals have pay station boxes which take cash or card but that means getting to know which system applies at the time of parking the car otherwise we get back to the car and then find out we need to go back and find the pay station. Other car parks have number plate recognition and pay by card at the exit. I haven't had the added stress of finding one with mobile phone payment required.

Unfortunately, the older we get it becomes a geometric progression on the number and frequency of visits to health centres and hospitals. It just gets worse over time, not better and therefore more stressful.