McDonalds parking fine problems and Care Parking

The problems with McDonalds parking fines seem to be gettting worse. We received this email from a distraught reader, who is battling with a parking fine from Care Parking when, as a legitimate McDonalds customer, she inadvertently over stayed her time in the car park.

A busy car park

Lisa B is a wheel chair user who takes longer to do the things others take for granted, which partly explains how she over stayed the parking limit. She was also unaware of the parking restrictions in force and the consequences of contravening them.

She asked us to help, which we are very pleased to do. Here is her email:

I have received a parking fine from Care Parking whilst visiting MacDonalds Charon Way St. Helens on Good Friday.

I am a disabled customer who visits with my children roughly every couple of months and I have never seen the 2 hour parking limit.

I rang MacDonalds and spoke to a manager explaining that I am a wheelchair user and how it takes longer for me to get in and out of my car as well as use the toilet all adding time onto my visit. I was also meeting a friend with her child so the kids could play and eat together (her child also has a disability)

I was told the car park has nothing to do with them and wouldn’t even try to get it revoked for me. I have never heard of this Care Parking before and can’t find an email address to appeal.

Any help you can give me would be great
Regards
Lisa B

The McDonalds restaurant staff were helpful

I phoned the McDonalds restaurant in Charon Way, St Helens and spoke to an Assistant Manager. She was very helpful and referred my enquiry to the Business Manager, who was in a meeting but I was promised that she would return my call later that day.

As promised, the Business Manager did phone me that afternoon. She went to great lengths to explain that their restaurant is on land leased to them by their landlord, who also owns the car parking surrounding the restaurant, which is for use by the restaurant patrons.

The landlord has outsourced the parking to Care Parking who enforce the regulations. Whoever Lisa B spoke to at the McDonalds restaurant, is correct.

This McDonald’s restaurant in Charons Way, St Helens has no control over the parking restrictions or enforcement. There really is nothing that they can do.

So I spoke to Care Parking

If you visit the Care Parking website you are met by rotating images, one of which proclaims that they offer an “Innovative, fair approach to disabled drivers” – see this screenshot.

Care Parking disabled drivers screenshot

This sounded very promising, given Lisa’s circumstances.

The lady I spoke to in their parking department was patient and courteous, but, quite rightly, could not offer me any direct help on this case as I am not the person who has been served the parking charge notice.

She did strongly recommend that Lisa B lodges an appeal and she gave me this email address : appeals@careparking.co.uk

There is also a form on their website in which you can enter your registration number and the parking charge reference number that has been sent to you, and begin your appeal from there.

Care Parking appeals form

It will be very interesting to see if Care Parking do live up to their name and meet their promise of adopting a fair approach to disabled drivers.

What I have learnt fom this

  1. That at least one McDonalds restaurant offers parking that they do not own or control. There must be more in the UK so take great care when you park at a McDonalds restaurant. Look out for, and heed, any parking restrictions.
  2. If you receive a parking fine and have a justified cause for complaint, always talk to the restaurant manager, but be courteous and polite. In my experience, they are willing to protect their brand reputation and to help if they can.
  3. If the restaurant has no control over the parking then you have to accept that there really is nothing that they can do and you have to take your grievence up with the parking management company who sent you the parking charge notice.
  4. Car parking is a big, highly profitable, business. Remote camera technology, number plate recognition and legal access to the DVLA registration database allows this busines to thrive in a highly scaleable and profitable way.
  5. We, the motorist, are funding that business and may fall foul of their legal operations and restrictions quite by accident. This happens in many places such as retail parks, fast food restaurants, cinemas etc etc.
  6. Motorists are prey for the car parking hunters and it really feels like it!

PLEASE ALWAYS LOOK FOR, AND OBEY, PARKING NOTICES WHEN PARKING YOUR CAR. YOU ARE THE PREY.

Useful resources

McDonalds restaurant locator : to find the contact telephone number for a restaurant

Care Parking website

Care Parking telephone number : 01244 354 700 (do not use their 0845 number as it is a business rate number)

Care Parking email address for appeals : appeals@careparking.co.uk

POPLA website : POPLA is the independent appeals service for Parking Charge Notices issued on private land

Facebook group to help fight parking charges

Useful article on the Daily Mail about how to tackle parking charges

5 Comments

  1. Beverley Riley 12th August 2021
  2. Graham Temple 17th April 2019
    • Frank S 17th October 2020
  3. Lisa B 1st May 2017
    • Chris 1st May 2017

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