Author Topic: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012  (Read 4604 times)

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Offline The Bald Eagle

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First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« on: 14 June, 2012, 08:21:21 PM »
Most people would say that it was sheer luck that we chose the first sunny day in weeks to go down for our first $chunting visit to Southend. I prefer to think that it was the sun shining on the righteous.

Six $chunters managed to find time in their busy schedules to come down and meet with some of the locals who are in the process of forming their own protest group. They were (in no particular order) Tom Tom, Newshopper Martin (picked up and delivered home by Tom Tom :aplude:), Parking Warrior, Peperami, Coco, and me.

We met the locals at a café to explain exactly what we are about and the help we can offer them in relation to their endeavours to make the parking contractors (APCOA) act in a reasonable, proportionate and COURTEOUS manner.

I have highlighted courteous because we had already been alerted to the way that CEOs had been seen to treat members of the public, i.e. being rude and arrogant to the point of actual bullying (one person was surrounded by four CEOs who made him remove photos he had taken on his phone of a CEO issuing a PCN). During the course of the day we were treated to some equally harrowing accounts of bullying by CEOs, including one by a 91 year old woman who, after suffering a fall at home had been forced to walk across the road to an ambulance because the operator of the $car that was parked in front of her house enforcing the school zig zags up the road, refused to move to let the ambulance get closer. And to add insult to injury the $car operator scolded her because of her choice to live so close to the school in the first place! :bashy: :bashy: :bashy:

However, I digress. Back to the café where we had a nice long chat with a local activist and some of his chums. Whilst we were there a local councillor turned up and started expressing her disquiet about the council's use of the $cars. After about an hour of discussions and an interview with the local press we had just started readying ourselves to go to the police station when the shout went up as a $car flashed past the end of the road. PW and Pep were first to react and they were off like greyhounds from the starting traps. The $car that they followed was never without an escort for the rest of the day and PW assures me that it did not issue a single ticket. Job's a good 'un. :aplude:

Those that were left went back to our original plan which was to visit the local nick to let them know what was happening. There were three officers behind the counter when we arrived and our explanation as to what we were about had all three intrigued. Whilst we were chatting my hands free answered itself. It was PW calling from the pen, which was where they had followed the $car to, having been led on a merry dance round Southend by the driver once he realised they were being followed.

It transpired that whilst driving in circles the camera operator and $car driver (they operate in pairs in Southend) must have been in contact with their office, because when they arrived at the pen there were two managers equipped with cameras who videoed/photographed PW and Pep as they came in behind the $car. Once the $car had scuttled away into the pen behind some automatic gates, Pep and PW (who was wearing his mask) went to park in the designated M/C bay in the car park where the pen is situated. They got off their bikes only to be confronted by one of the camera bearers who demanded (yes demanded!) that PW take off his mask. Unfortunately they picked on the wrong guys to use their strong arm, bullyboy tactics. :pmsl:

We know our rights.

While this slight altercation was progressing, the gates opened and one of the $cars (both $cars had returned to base) bolted. Pep and PW jumped on their bikes only to be confronted by the jumped up, camera wielding, little Hitler waving his arms in front of them like a deranged windmill in an attempt to stop them from following the $car. He did manage to stop Pep from going about his lawful business, but thought better of trying to stop the quarter of a ton of motorbike propelled by more than 50 horses that PW was riding. Once the $car driver realised that particular ploy hadn't worked he quickly returned to the pen, followed by the wind-milling fascist.

That must have been when they called the police.

In the meantime I had received the call from PW telling me of what was happening at the pen so we set off to meet up with them. Not long after we arrived, two plod turned up in their car and the particularly brusque more senior officer (let's call him Off 1) demanded to know what naughties we had been perpetrating. We tried to explain that it wasn't us who had broken the law, but our explanations (including us handing him our statement of intent which was quickly discarded) fell on deaf ears. It seemed that he had already made up his mind that we were guilty of harassment and he stomped off to talk to our accusers. After hearing from the Gestapo for about 10 minutes behind the automatic gates, the door opened and Off 1 beckoned to our group to come and and join him and our accusers inside. PW was first through the door, but when me and some others  tried to go in, Off 1 quickly closed the door, telling us that he only wanted one person from the Mob to undergo interrogation (which it turned out was conducted by both himself, his fellow officer and about half a dozen staff from the APCOA office). Obviously he thought that by cutting one from the herd, that one would quickly be bought down and devoured by the waiting pack.

He was wrong. :pmsl:

Their mistake was to claim that their staff felt harassed because we were taking photos and videos of them which might end up on youtube or being published for all to see. Obviously they had convinced themselves that we had no right to take photos of the $cars in a public place. PW tells me that once he explained that they had orchestrated doing exactly what he had been accused of upon his and Pep's arrival at the pen, I am given to understand that Off 1's mood started to soften. Once PW had finished explaining that what we do is completely legal and the statement of intent had been read and understood by all parties, it was handshakes all round and only a slight bollocking for us from (the now not so) Off 1 for not having gone to APCOA's offices as well as the police station, to notify them of what we had planned to do. Personally, I blame PW and Pep for being too quick out of the traps before we, AS PLANNED, had a chance to visit APCOA's offices. :P

Anyway, we hung around for an hour or so to see whether they would come out to play, and to our surprise, and to their credit, they did. Unfortunately, I was on a pee break when they emerged, and it turned out that Coco got caught on the hop too. Fortunately PW and Tom Tom managed to follow the $car that had been caught earlier, and Pep followed the other one. After some frantic communications we finally caught up with Pep at one of the honey pot locations on London Road that the locals had informed us of. Proper $chunting commenced, but not for long because the $car was quickly off, with us in pursuit.

After a few stops we were led to a school where the $car parked up at the end of a cul–de- sac and started to enforce the zig zag lines outside the school.

We were not keen to assist with their enforcement at the school because we didn't know what the reaction of the parents would be, but as it turned out it wouldn't have mattered anyway, because the $car had been properly positioned so that it had the deterrent effect it should, and no tickets were issued as a result.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that we were at the other end of the cul-de-sac we were all caught out because we were so engrossed with chatting that none of us spotted the $car had ceased its enforcement activities and driven off until it passed us and went onto the main road. We lost it. Or at least me and Pep did. Coco on the other hand must have some bloodhound in the family because he managed to find what we couldn't. Fortunately we were in radio communication and after some time we found him, the $car, the other $car and the rest of the $chunters at a council car park near the town centre.

After getting the run down on everything that had occurred, I thought I would check the car park to make sure there was not another way out for the $cars. There wasn't but you can imagine my surprise when I saw one of the $cars parked where it shouldn't be (see photos attached). Once they realised we had taken such reputationally damaging photos, a driver emerged and hurled some abuse at Martin before quickly moving the $car to an ordinary bay.

At our meeting with locals earlier in the day we were reliably informed that the $cars regularly issue tickets to cars legally parked and displaying a blue badge. It seems that hypocrisy is a word missing from APCOA employees' vocabularies in Southend.

After a while we headed off for a bit more $chunting of both $cars, after which we were all taken back to the pen where they bedded down for the night.

After a debrief where we all agreed that it was a most enjoyable day's $chunting, we headed off home for a well deserved ale and a bit of scran.

I think we need to pay them another visit soon to make sure that the message is well and truly rammed home that they have to start behaving themselves and stop acting like a bunch of arrogant bullies. Anyone care to join me?

WE ARE WATCHING YOU

Offline kiwi

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #1 on: 14 June, 2012, 09:31:14 PM »
Let em Fcuk'in av it!!  I think i can round up at least 8 biker mates that don't like to be bullied  , bring it on!!!!
ITS A BIRD ITS A PLANE NO ITS BALD EAGLE   ha ha

Offline Pat Pending

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #2 on: 14 June, 2012, 10:48:39 PM »
PW was first through the door, but when me and some others  tried to go in, Off 1 quickly closed the door,

2 X Coppers + 6 APCOA staff members versus 1 X PW  :pmsl: :pmsl: :pmsl: that must have been a real education for them, Oooooh to have been a fly on the wall for that one, PW must have had them like Rats trapped in the corner. I bet they will not be too keen to try that little stunt again. :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:
Sounds like a good old school $chunt guys, well done in helping Southend pop their cherry. :aplude: :aplude: :aplude:
And APCOA you nasty B*stards you will be changing you're ways that you can count on. :-ev-:
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Beer in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up,  totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a  ride!!"

Offline jonesy

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #3 on: 14 June, 2012, 10:56:09 PM »
What a fantastic account  of the cherry breaking $hunt in Southend, I was beaming from ear to ear whilst I read that report, It certainly makes up for not being there. Now that the mob has made some new friends and broke the ice so to speak it is only right and proper that we pay them another visit,just to let them know that we are and not a flash in the pan fly by night group, but a dedicated hard core bunch pf guys and galls who wont stand for any of their shite

Offline peperami gsxr

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #4 on: 15 June, 2012, 09:05:53 AM »
Non members, please note you have to be a member to see the pic's of the scamera car parked in the disabled bay.

(can we make these available for all to see?) 
Sworn to fun, loyalty to none

Nigel W

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #5 on: 15 June, 2012, 10:50:04 AM »
Sounds like you all had a very worthwhile day.  PW's discussion with everyone behind closed doors would have been music to anyones ears. :aplude: :aplude:

Offline Ewan Hoosami

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #6 on: 15 June, 2012, 12:18:00 PM »
Wished I'd been on that one, sounded like a cracking beano to the seaside. I don't know why the APCOA weasel hurled abuse at Martin, I thought his photographic skills were quite good. As the door slammed shut, PW thought "Excellent, the bastards can't escape now."

Appealing to the council is like playing chess with a pigeon. You might be a chess grand master but the pigeon will always knock all the pieces over, shit on the board and then strut around triumphantly.

Offline DastardlyDick

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #7 on: 15 June, 2012, 01:42:36 PM »
They (the APCOA staff) obviously don't know that it's perfectly legal to take a photograph of anything, so long as it's in a Public Place, which I believe would include the Street outside their depot. You might be on slightly dodgy ground if it was inside their depot though!

Offline dodgie1

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #8 on: 15 June, 2012, 06:49:45 PM »
Great read about the Southend $hunt.  You might be interested in reading a letter from the local Evening Echo tonight [15th June] It goes as follows
'SPY CAR MAN WAS JUST RUDE'. 'Until now, I had little sympathy for motorists who have been caught by Southend's spy cars, but I was so upset by what I saw recently I now agree they should be banned. I saw the spy car parked on double yellow lines at aboput 5.15 pm in Southchurch Road. It was on the wrong side of the road, right outside Tesco, and was waiting to catch motorists who stopped on the lines outside the Sainsbury's store on the opposite side of the road. Many people walked by and saw the spy car. They were asking how it could possibly be right for the spy car to prosecute drivers who park on double yellow lines when the spy car was doing the same thing. This caused much genuine resentment. About six pedestrians stopped and stood quietly on the opposite side of the street, watching the spy car. The man in it grinned at them then started to slowly clap in a jeering manner. Is this any way for him to behave? He obviously enjoys the power he has to make other people's life a misery and thinks he is above the law. I want parking rules upheld in a proper and fair way not by spy cars parking on double yellow lines with thir operatives sneering mockingly at Southen residents. Please ban spy cars and bring back more traffic wardens on foot'
It's great to get another convert to our cause. To give you an update on what I am doing in Southend after my victory, I have decided to go it alone on my fight with these cars, but I am working along side Bob and the new committee that has been formed. I have been offered a meeting with the councillor in charge of roads and parking, together with senior officers from Southen council. I have suggested to Bob that I would like the members to come to this meeting with me. I don't really expect to get any where but perhaps we should give it a go. If we don't go or I don't go, it could weaken our fight. What do you think out there?

Offline Pat Pending

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Re: First Southend $chunt - 13/6/2012
« Reply #9 on: 15 June, 2012, 06:55:50 PM »
I have a feeling you will be taken a little more seriously now Dodgie1. I have no doubt others on here will want to offer some advice probably by PM as opposed to open forum. Keep you're powder dry mate.
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Beer in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up,  totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a  ride!!"

Nigel W

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