No, not THAT Ringo. Just one of my only too frequent little rants.
Each night I park in a public carpark. I always put a quid in the ticket machine, which takes me ten seconds to do and buys me 30 minutes. I see the ticket inspector perhaps twice a week, not predictably of course, and there's a £60 penalty for not having a ticket, so I do it.
Last night, both machines were out of service, with an note to the effect that "due to criminal activity these machines no longer take cash. You need to use Ringo on your mobile. This is your only option. Note that 10p per transaction will also be added to the car parking fee".
This made me grumpy. I didn't bother to pay and took the risk. I also watched a number of people approach the machine, get their mobile out and off they went. One woman was there for fifteen minutes, I imagine trying to set up an account, create a password, register her card, and do whatever else you have to do.
Ok, next time she might press two buttons and be done, but really. Sigh.
I suppose if I want to keep parking there I'll have to do it, but I need to read the terms and conditions first to make sure they're storing my card details in the EU and not the States, not selling my data, not signing me up for spammy emails, not got a licence to send me texts at 10p a go forever, and so on and on.
Anyone else been "forced" into using apps and websites, or even Ringo, just to pay a few bob in a car park? I can't say I see this as progress for the customer, and they even make you pay a premium for doing it.
A quick Google this morning inevitably throws up negative stuff about the company and the experience.
I've also asked the council about it- no reply as yet.
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I've used it by choice a couple of times and it was easy but I don't think there was a surcharge as I don't think I would have used it if there were.
I am all for making life easy, especially using new tech. For me, I felt Ringo did that though I can't really remember why.
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Not had a problem with Ringo yet (touches wood). First registered with the company 5 or 6 yrs ago through an App. Works faultlessly every time I've had to use it.
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>.> due to criminal activity
In my book it is criminal activity to force customers use mobile app only.
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Our council has adopted? There must be something in it for them! The RinGo system was activated on 1st March but the cash machines are still working. If (when) they withdraw the cash machines how will the non smartphone users pay? My smartphone is in a drawer somewhere in the house, I don't need to Twitface the world every time I go to the loo. My dumb phone can text and voice communicate, good enough for me. When travelling I have a tablet for internet, email, etc.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 21 Mar 17 at 10:08
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Howls about peeple who don't 'ave a mow bile phone. Neither I or the ole woman are possessed by one.
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I have used Ringo for many years, it's a good system the only problem was when I booked in advance online and the car park was closed when I got there, on it's own a simple error though the next time I went to book they still offered the closed car park. I called them and they said that the landowner had not informed them of the closure.
BTW most spell checkers recognise "carpark" these days though not on here, a car focussed site ...
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Just to balance my technogrumps, at the local P&R sites they also have online payments. You have the choice there of a rather complex system to pay cash, that often results in long queues of people trying to pay a pound in a confusing machine and missing the next bus, or registering your payment card and car with a website (not Ringo).
If you do the online thing, there is nothing to do at all, as arrival and departure are photographed and they just debit the card. Works fine.
I was happy with the t&c for that one and find that much more convenient than cash. So it can be done in a good way.
But the town centre carparks don't have this facility.
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Is that Cambridge?
I was quit impressed with the online payment system. As you say the cash payment machine is a pain. Very reasonable charge too - only £1 and free bus travel with my bus pass! Certainly not worth trying to park in the centre of Cambridge.
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>> the local P&R sites they also have online payments.
>>
You pay for park and ride parking!!!!
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>> You pay for park and ride parking!!!!
Yes. Stagecoach run the bus. Stagecoach were being paid an annual very large amount of money in "departure fees" to service the p&r.
The council said "no more".
Stagecoach said "we're not doing the service then"
The council said "ok, keep your fee, and we'll charge the punters to make up the shortfall"
The punters stopped using the bus.
Stagecoach complained it's no longer economical - not enough passengers.
The council are now saying this is a big problem. They hope that in the fullness of time they will be able to set an agenda for a pre-meeting about an idea to hold an enquiry that will appoint a commission to look into the possibility of producing a plan that addresses the outcomes of making a fully diversity trained job appointment whose responsibility will be to say "get rid of the fee again".
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>>
>> >> You pay for park and ride parking!!!!
>>
>> Yes. Stagecoach run the bus. Stagecoach were being paid an annual very large amount
>> of money in "departure fees" to service the p&r.
>>
I expect it is the same here, but we are subsidised by you lot down south for most things, something the SNP are too narrow minded to acknowledge.
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Wasn't there another factor, the growing number of free car park users who were cycling rather than bus riding into town?
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>> registering your payment card and car with a website
>> (not Ringo).
>>
Though if your wife, child, parent, friend uses your car you pay for their parking.
With Ringo it links your mobile number with the car and the last car park you used so as you dial it says "do you want to park your red Ferrari reg no. 458FER in car park number 123, Newtown?" That makes it very easy to repeat park though you can easily change the car (you can register more than one car) and the car park, and you can change the mobile number online, and you can get PDF VAT receipts online.
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I had to use the Paddington Station car park on Saturday in order to attend a celebration lunch.
3 hours parking was not enough so next option is £17 for 6 hours.
Only accepts coins or call them. My parking meter coin supply is not that big:-)
So its a call to an automated ( sort of) system.
A god awful dim car park, a well worn CC and then to try to do as I am told with a GWR train rumbling by a just few feet away did not help.
After I had done all that, end of call.
I was pleased that it was tuned to allow old folks with steam phones time for fat finger inputs.
Finished ? Oh no, then a text message arrives with format instructions to send the car reg to xxxxxx.
It was a great lunch and gathering for my grandson's " New Moon" naming event.
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Never heard for ringo before. All our local car parks have had the pay machines turned off and they are no free to park in with no restrictions at all.
Last time i was out and about and the machine wouldnt take cash, i rang the council and they said thanks for letting us know, they then let the local ticket inspector know so as not to fine us and we parked all day for free. Fair play to them.
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>> All our local car parks have had the pay machines
>> turned off and they are no free to park in with no restrictions at all.
I am so relocating.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Tue 21 Mar 17 at 11:17
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Might be a plan Crankers, but don't forget to factor in the cost of the cubes of raw meat you'd need to scatter some distance from the car to keep the locals off whenever you wanted to get in or out of it.
;-)
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>> Might be a plan Crankers, but don't forget to factor in the cost of the
>> cubes of raw meat you'd need to scatter some distance from the car to keep
>> the locals off whenever you wanted to get in or out of it.
>>
>> ;-)
>>
Presumably in Cheshire you have to scatter organic, fair trade quinoa?
;)
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Our local lot, at great expense implemented ANPR controlled, pay as you leave parking. Then they realised that they could not get the owner details from DVLA ( a little strange as everybody else and his dog appears to be able to :-) ) so were not able to chase non payers, so they have now, at even more expense, had to go back to a pay and display system.
Still its only taxpayers money, eh?
Last edited by: commerdriver on Tue 21 Mar 17 at 11:25
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Bah. Just registered with Ringo, reluctantly, as the t&c's I could live with.
I've been putting £1 into the machine, and getting 30 minutes. That isn't an option with Ringo.
I can pay 70p plus 10p "convenience fee", so 80p for 20 minutes.
20 minutes isn't going to be quite enough.
Or I can pay twice the parking fee, £1.40 plus 10p, so £1.50 for 40 minutes.
40 minutes is more than needed.
My only option here then to be safe from ticket inspectors is £1.50, so my costs have increased by a whopping 50% overnight.
As I do this every work day (I'm waiting for Mrs C after work and there's flip all parking anywhere else nearby), it's not a completely insignificant monthly amount.
Grumpy mode back on now. I'll have to live with it or rejig my routine, which actually isn't that easy for various reasons.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Tue 21 Mar 17 at 14:55
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>> >>
>> As I do this every work day (I'm waiting for Mrs C after work and
>> there's flip all parking anywhere else nearby), it's not a completely insignificant monthly amount.
>>
You obviously wait for less than 40 mins, can't you sit in the car with a paper and only pay if you see an inspector?
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>> You obviously wait for less than 40 mins, can't you sit in the car with
>> a paper and only pay if you see an inspector?
>>
They sneak up on you like Shelob, and the structure of the thing is such that you never know which direction they will appear from, including behind you. So I could sit and swivel, which of course many of you would recommend anyway, or I can pay up.
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Parking is one of these things that can be a stress if you let it.
Do you wait in the car for just over 20 minutes? If so delay your journey either somewhere en route or change your leaving time. If not then pay the money and stuff the stress or ask SWMBO to alter her routine slightly to fit.
I shall be parking in central Oxford on Saturday night, I know it will be expensive but we will be coming back to the car late and it's easier to have it close than use the park & ride late at night, in the scheme of things it's a minimal cost as part of the evening
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>> >> All our local car parks have had the pay machines
>> >> turned off and they are no free to park in with no restrictions at
>> all.
>>
>>
>> I am so relocating.
>>
They used to be free for two hours, but i assume no one was staying past two hours so they binned off the whole idea of charging. The car park is busier than before but then so are the village shops.
Land and houses are cheap around here. I saw a 3/4 bed the other day with several acres of paddock land for 300k. Cheaper than Cambridge? ;)
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>> Land and houses are cheap around here. I saw a 3/4 bed the other day
>> with several acres of paddock land for 300k. Cheaper than Cambridge? ;)
>>
i think we did this recently, but yes. There are six (actually I think one is repeated) properties for 300k in Cambridge at the moment. All two bed terraced.
Here's the rightmove link.
tinyurl.com/kxjy2t8
There are advantages to living here, but the cost of living, as I've said too often, feels more Londonish without the Londonish salaries.
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I just hate paying to park :-)
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My now deceased father in law would drive me nuts. Refusing to pay 20pence for parking. He would drive around and around and around looking for a free space, burning much more than that in petrol and wear and tear!
Last edited by: zippy on Tue 21 Mar 17 at 20:59
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I have a colleague who is a very keen runner. Out most nights pounding the streets, does marathons etc. But if he's in a car he'll circle for ages trying desperately to get a parking space as near to where he's going as he can. Gets quite wound up if it means walking a couple of blocks. Weird.
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Last year I needed to park on-street in Portsmouth, but didn't have any suitable change for the machine for the time I needed so decided to give the "pay by phone" service a whirl. When it got to point of telling me there was a £2 surcharge on a 50p parking ticket, I hung up and decided to risk paying for a shorter time with the few coins I had as I only wanted to buy 30 minutes or so. Council-sponsored rip-off.
Last edited by: Mike H on Tue 21 Mar 17 at 22:10
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I make a phone call to pay for parking at the train station rather than use the machine. I got fed up with the machine rejecting fake £1 coins (which are surprisingly common!). I pay a surcharge of 20p on a £5.50 charge, which for me is worth losing the hassle.
There was some software quirk last week when instead of charging me £5.50 (+ 20p) it charged me only £2.00 (+ 20p).
But in principle, I do not like being reliant on machines for day-to-day transactions (I avoid contactless payments).
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Ringo - smokie
