How do chargeable drop off areas work legally?

[Bletchleyite]

My understanding after watching a YT from a barrister is that private car parks have to give you a grace period where you can read the terms and conditions, and decide if you want to stay or not.

I wonder how the "pay to drop off" places work around that? Are they legally toll roads rather than parking?

 

[Gaelan]

I wonder how the "pay to drop off" places work around that? Are they legally toll roads rather than parking?

My guess would be that the "grace period" is a best practice arising from the general principles of contract law - you can't be taken to have agreed to a contract you never had an opportunity to read - rather than being a specific ironclad rule. I think if there are very clear "drop off £x" signs, and you drop someone off, it's reasonable to assume you agreed to pay £x, even if it'd be harder to enforce some more specific term of any T&Cs (for example that you pay in a certain fashion, or a specific penalty for not paying in time).

 

[Tetchytyke]

I wonder how the "pay to drop off" places work around that? Are they legally toll roads rather than parking?

The places which operate pay to drop off (airports, mainly) generally operate under their own byelaws so they’re subject to different rules. Parking there isn’t based on contractual terms, it’s based on the law, so there’s no need for a grace period.

There are pros and cons to this. The big pro is that, as statutory land, they’re not allowed to presume that the registered keeper of a car was driving it. So it is easier to challenge tickets sent relating to statutory land by simply not saying who was driving the car.

The big con is that statutory land isn’t subject to the ban on clamping. Nottingham NET take great pleasure in using clamps to enforce their car parks.

 

[AlterEgo]

The solution to clamping is to buy four clamps of your own and clamp your own car before leaving.

 

[zwk500]

The solution to clamping is to buy four clamps of your own and clamp your own car before leaving.

This seems a rather time-consuming "solution".

 

[sprunt]

Haven't there been a number of people on here previously saying that they don't work legally, and you can safely ignore the requests for payment?

(Whether that's correct or not I have no idea.)