pay by phone

[news shopper martin]

Bexly council has removed sevel tickit machines and replaced them with pay by phone system with has upset a lot off people and resulted in bexly giving out more pcns as people generally the elderly don't know how to use the system or dont have mobile phones to ring and pay for parking 

[news shopper martin]

Link to newsshopper with a story on it and some more details www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/9197848.pay_by_phone_parking_angers_bexly_drivers/

[Nigel W]

Taken from The AA:

Benefits

The main benefit, especially in expensive places, is that you needn't have the right money.

Arrangements can also be made to text you to remind you your parking time is up. Once registered it is an easy process.

Downsides

People are concerned about their personal security – standing on the road using a mobile phone looking at a sign.

There is also some concern about the security of the system itself. You have to give credit card details by mobile phone to a call centre.

Another concern is that there are several different providers of the service and in London for example you may have to be registered with several to be sure of being able to park.

Currently registration is not interchangeable of transferrable.

What we think of pay by phone parking

Opposition seems to be lowest in areas where schemes have already been introduced – especially London. Obviously this means that the AA can't oppose it totally, but neither can we support its wholesale introduction.

The AA is calling on local authorities to take the following issues into account when they look at introducing a scheme. This can overcome the inflexibility, mistrust and confusion that are the key concerns for drivers:

The removal of the cash option, as is happening in Westminster, is deeply unpopular. Pay-by-phone parking should be accompanied by payment machines for those who don't want to use the system

[The Bald Eagle]

This shower definitely need looking at. If anyone in Bexley, or indeed anywhere else fancies stirring things up, why not try this?

I have just written to my local council (email below) and have asked to see certain documents, as is my right under the Audit Commission Act 1998. It is under this act that all councils MUST provide you access to any documents that fall within the scope of the council's accounts for any given year. This access is granted during a twenty working day window each year and it so happens that my local council's window is currently open. If you want to know when your own council's window is open, simply phone the council switchboard and ask to be put through to the department dealing with Audit Commission Act 1998 requests. Please feel free to copy and paste the contents of the email below if you think it appropriate.

Here is the request I sent to Enfield council:

Dear Mr xxx

Further to our recent telephone conversation I now write to request sight of the following documents pursuant to the rights granted to me under the Audit Commission Act 1998. Please contact me when these documents are available for viewing so that I can make an appointment to come to your offices.

1.  All parking enforcement contracts together with any deeds of variation and/or extensions of those contracts.

2.  All invoices relating to the contracts at 1 above.

3.  All pay by phone parking contracts together with all invoices relating to those contracts.

4.  All bailiff and/or debt recovery contracts together with any deeds of variation and/or extensions of those contracts.

5.  All invoices relating to the contracts at 4 above.

6.  The detailed accounts for the parking place reserve account.

7.  All invoices generated pursuant to requests for electoral role lists.

Kindly acknowledge safe receipt of this email.

Yours sincerely

xxx

In this instance, and following some earlier investigations, I'm fairly certain they will not be able to supply me with item 3 because they haven't even got the contract in question. 

I wonder what the local press will make of that particular snippet of information if I'm right?

[news shopper martin]

Just missed bexly council open window