York Station Rip-Off

[HaxbyTraveller]

I found a post along the lines of what I'm about to write, but it was closed to further replies.

We parked in York station car park on a Thursday night (because they were expecting bad weather on the Friday and expecting trains not to run). I expected to pay late entrance on Thursday, plus full day for Friday, plus two weekend rate days. But since the car was still there at 3:59am Friday morning, we were charged the full day rate for Thursday.

I pointed out what the sign says and was told 'no that was correct'; I replied how could it be that I could be charged for parking all day on Thursday when the sign says any time after 9:30 is the lower rate. The reply didn't quite say 'tough, we've got your money and we're keeping it' but it was almost as brusque as that.

I even wrote to the CEO on LNER; writing to the CEO usually causes people to spring into action, not so with LNER. He ignored my email and my subsequent email.

The point is, the sign is misleading at best, and downright dishonest at worst. LNER clearly have absolutely no interest in good customer care. I'd say they should be privatised, but experience of Cross Country suggests that private companies have no more incentive to deliver a good service.

It's a pity, LNER is not doing a bad job at running the trains, but the theft of £10 for parking (£17 instead of £7 for Thursday I think it was) leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Absolutely nothing I can do of course.

 

[hkstudent]

Tats

I found a post along the lines of what I'm about to write, but it was closed to further replies.
We parked in York station car park on a Thursday night (because they were expecting bad weather on the Friday and expecting trains not to run). I expected to pay late entrance on Thursday, plus full day for Friday, plus two weekend rate days. But since the car was still there at 3:59am Friday morning, we were charged the full day rate for Thursday. I pointed out what the sign says and was told 'no that was correct'; I replied how could it be that I could be charged for parking all day on Thursday when the sign says any time after 9:30 is the lower rate. The reply didn't quite say 'tough, we've got your money and we're keeping it' but it was almost as brusque as that.
I even wrote to the CEO on LNER; writing to the CEO usually causes people to spring into action, not so with LNER. He ignored my email and my subsequent email.
The point is, the sign is misleading at best, and downright dishonest at worst. LNER clearly have absolutely no interest in good customer care. I'd say they should be privatised, but experience of Cross Country suggests that private companies have no more incentive to deliver a good service.
It's a pity, LNER is not doing a bad job at running the trains, but the theft of £10 for parking (£17 instead of £7 for Thursday I think it was) leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Absolutely nothing I can do of course.

That's not nothing you can do, there's always avenue for going to court for pursuiting your rights if you feel unhappy about.

 

[toffeedanish]

Assuming that this is still the current signage and policy...

"Where an off-peak session continues past 04:29, both the Off-Peak and the following session are charged at the full day rate" (An image of the signageage is easily googled)

...then LNER's policy seems clear and you have been charged correctly. I am very glad that the CEO of a large company does not have the time to respond to a disputed parking charge.

 

[gnolife]

Assuming that this is still the current signage and policy...

"Where an off-peak session continues past 04:29, both the Off-Peak and the following session are charged at the full day rate" (An image of the signageage is easily googled)

...then LNER's policy seems clear and you have been charged correctly. I am very glad that the CEO of a large company does not have the time to respond to a disputed parking charge.

But 3:59 is half an hour before 04:29

 

[AlterEgo]

But 3:59 is half an hour before 04:29

Yes and the car remained there past then and for a further two days.

 

[jupiter]

Just because someone says they are going to do something, doesn’t then make it ok to do it.

Charging someone for parking during an extended period before they even arrived does seem a little unfair to me.

 

[toffeedanish]

Just because someone says they are going to do something, doesn’t then make it ok to do it.

Charging someone for parking during an extended period before they even arrived does seem a little unfair to me.

In general terms I agree with you. In this specific case though the fees are both relatively flat and designed to discourage overnight parking. As the OP wished to utilise overnight parking it was this he was effectively charged for, not the time brfore he arrived.

 

[Deafdoggie]

I even wrote to the CEO on LNER; writing to the CEO usually causes people to spring into action

it really doesn't!
I spent many years working in Customer Service. They'll be a small team who deal with people who have written to the CEO. But they are treated identically to those that haven't. If they got better service everyone would write to the CEO!
CEOs are rather busy and don't have time to be dealing with Customer Service, they pay underlings like me to do that for them. We can't go running to them everytime we get an email.
All companies have procedures for dealing with things. Someone answering the CEOs emails will just check it's been dealt with correctly.

 

[greyman42]

In general terms I agree with you. In this specific case though the fees are both relatively flat and designed to discourage overnight parking.

What makes you think the LNER car park at York discourages overnight parking?

 

[Wolfie]

I found a post along the lines of what I'm about to write, but it was closed to further replies.
We parked in York station car park on a Thursday night (because they were expecting bad weather on the Friday and expecting trains not to run). I expected to pay late entrance on Thursday, plus full day for Friday, plus two weekend rate days. But since the car was still there at 3:59am Friday morning, we were charged the full day rate for Thursday. I pointed out what the sign says and was told 'no that was correct'; I replied how could it be that I could be charged for parking all day on Thursday when the sign says any time after 9:30 is the lower rate. The reply didn't quite say 'tough, we've got your money and we're keeping it' but it was almost as brusque as that.
I even wrote to the CEO on LNER; writing to the CEO usually causes people to spring into action, not so with LNER. He ignored my email and my subsequent email.
The point is, the sign is misleading at best, and downright dishonest at worst. LNER clearly have absolutely no interest in good customer care. I'd say they should be privatised, but experience of Cross Country suggests that private companies have no more incentive to deliver a good service.
It's a pity, LNER is not doing a bad job at running the trains, but the theft of £10 for parking (£17 instead of £7 for Thursday I think it was) leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Absolutely nothing I can do of course.

Really nothing that you can do? You could take legal action against LNER and make sure all of the local media and MPs know..... I'm not sure that you would win though, nor indeed how you arrived at your expectation given what the sign clearly said.

 

[Bluejays]

Don't mean to be rude, but have you actually tried a more reasonable and polite
letter/email? It's human beings just like the rest of us that are reading these letters, and I've always found that a polite email/letter is a lot more effective. The reason I ask, is because your post here contains things like 'should be privatised' , 'theft' , that they are misleading people etc. I can understand why someone receiving a letter/email containing similar would not be particularly incline to go above and beyond.

 

[Titfield]

Don't mean to be rude, but have you actually tried a more reasonable and polite
letter/email? It's human beings just like the rest of us that are reading these letters, and I've always found that a polite email/letter is a lot more effective. The reason I ask, is because your post here contains things like 'should be privatised' , 'theft' , that they are misleading people etc. I can understand why someone receiving a letter/email containing similar would not be particularly incline to go above and beyond.

Having spent some time dealing with customer issues I always try to be absolutely objective and only deal with / make decisions based on the facts. However if I am allowed to use discretion then a polite request may result in a better outcome. I am very sure that this is the case almost universally.

 

[robbeech]

In general terms I agree with you. In this specific case though the fees are both relatively flat and designed to discourage overnight parking. As the OP wished to utilise overnight parking it was this he was effectively charged for, not the time brfore he arrived.

Perhaps, whilst it is clear they were charged the correct fee (justifiable or otherwise) the idea of discouraging overnight parking seems odd to me. By discouraging overnight parking you are encouraging people to just go in the car.
I can park in London for only a few quid more per day than I can park at my local LNER station, so by the time I’ve added anything from £100 to £250 for my rail tickets it makes little sense doing it that way. I don’t think they ARE discouraging overnight parking here, just trying to make more money.

 

[Haywain]

Perhaps, whilst it is clear they were charged the correct fee (justifiable or otherwise) the idea of discouraging overnight parking seems odd to me. By discouraging overnight parking you are encouraging people to just go in the car.

They are not discouraging overnight car parking, just making it clear what the charges will be. If overnight parking wasn’t wanted the car parking would be closed.

 

[185]

CEO of LNER - is technically a state employee. May as well write to a Mr Johnson of SW1A 2AA.

 

[DelayRepay]

LNER clearly have absolutely no interest in good customer care. I'd say they should be privatised...

I think they were, twice, and it ended badly both times.

CEO of LNER - is technically a state employee. May as well write to a Mr Johnson of SW1A 2AA.

Better to waste his time and let the LNER CEO get on with trying to run a railway. Mr Johnson will have plenty of time on his hands shortly but you won't reach him at the address mentioned above

 

[Dai Corner]

For future reference, their are websites such as Parkopedia which help you choose the best/cheapest places to park.

Personally I'd have gone for one of the Park & Rides which only charge the bus fare.

 

[toffeedanish]

What makes you think the LNER car park at York discourages overnight parking?

The pricing structure. The fact that staying overnight turns off-peak stays into peak stays as the OP discovered. I have no insight into whether this is deliberate. It may of course not be.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Assuming that this is still the current signage and policy...

"Where an off-peak session continues past 04:29, both the Off-Peak and the following session are charged at the full day rate" (An image of the signageage is easily googled)

...then LNER's policy seems clear and you have been charged correctly. I am very glad that the CEO of a large company does not have the time to respond to a disputed parking charge.

It is fairly bizarre, but having parked there once myself (yes, only once!) I was aware of this and so the signage can't really be said to be deficient. I guess it's because of limitations of the ANPR system they are using?

 

[HaxbyTraveller]

Thanks for all the replies. So, concerning the wording:
"Daily Charge (Off Peak) Valid until 4:29 the following day
Vehicles entering the car park after 9:30. Charges per day or part day"
If you can interpret that as meaning 'but if you stay beyond 4:29 we will charge for a full day' then you have a better grasp of language than I

As to the suggestion that I tried being polite - I was very polite. When I was refused, I asked, politely, for an explanation of where on te sign it said I would be charged as if I had arrived before 9:30 because I stayed into the next day. Customer Service failed to provide any proper justification, twice! Then I wrote to the CEO - when B&Q completely messed up an order for us, their customer service was poor until I contacted the CEO. I'm not sure what else I could have done to be polite and respectful; my issue is that LNER were not polite and respectful to me.

Going to court? Yes, of course I could ... but my time is worth more than that so I will give up.

I agree - in principle I would renationalise the railways in their entirety. Privatisation has been a race to provide the minimum service the companies can get away with. However nationalisation should be what it says 'for the nation' not for the workers; but that would be a different argument to be had elsewhere.

 

[greyman42]

The pricing structure. The fact that staying overnight turns off-peak stays into peak stays as the OP discovered. I have no insight into whether this is deliberate. It may of course not be.

It is not unusual for cars to be parked at York for a number of days without moving. I assume the owners live in York and work away for part of the week.
The ones i notice are high end cars and York station car park is relatively secure.

 

[SussexMan]

"Daily Charge (Off Peak) Valid until 4:29 the following day
Vehicles entering the car park after 9:30. Charges per day or part day"
If you can interpret that as meaning 'but if you stay beyond 4:29 we will charge for a full day' then you have a better grasp of language than I

But that isn't what it says.

"Mon to Fri off Peak. £5.00 Valid from 09:30 - must depart before 04:29 the following day."

You didn't leave before 04:29 so you were charged according to the contract you accepted by parking there.

You can view the sign here.

 

[yorkie]

The LNER car park at York is empty at weekends, and and only really well used at times of very heavy demand for such parking when more reasonable alternatives are full. It's literally a cash cow and they know that people only use it as a last resort and aren't going to be interested in providing a good customer service response to any complaints.

It is not unusual for cars to be parked at York for a number of days without moving. I assume the owners live in York and work away for part of the week.
The ones i notice are high end cars and York station car park is relatively secure.

I think York station car park is just for business people and wealthy people and LNER want to keep that exclusivity as that makes it more attractive to their core market.

They have realised there is more money to be earned by having a small number of people paying high prices than for it to be cheaper and well used.

And if anyone complains, well the company doesn't need their custom and so they can just fob them off.

Doesn't affect me as I cycle to the station in less time than it would take to drive and park, even if there was no traffic.

I wonder what they'd charge if you arrived on a Friday after 0930 and stayed over the weekend? Is it cheaper to "split" by driving out and immediately back in between 0000 and 0459 in the early hours of Saturday morning? Edit: just seen the long weekend thing; let's change that to arriving on Friday after 0930 but departing on Saturday evening. Does that cost £10 covering two off peak days, or is a surcharge applied for not "splitting"?

 

[Haywain]

I wonder what they'd charge if you arrived on a Friday after 0930 and stayed over the weekend? Is it cheaper to "split" by driving out and immediately back in between 0000 and 0459 in the early hours of Saturday morning?

They’d charge the advertised weekend parking rate.

 

[yorkie]

They’d charge the advertised weekend parking rate.

So you don't get charged a surcharge for not leaving by 0429 if the following day is a weekend, but you do if the following day is a weekday?

(I'll tag @ainsworth74 here as I think he may have some thoughts on LNER car parking charges?)

 

[Western Sunset]

It's not the clearest of signs to understand, that's for sure. Especially with so much being in small print.

Suppose you park at 10am on Friday and leave at 10pm on Saturday. Would you be charged £10 (£5 off-peak Friday and £5 for Saturday) or £22 (£17 for Friday and £5 for Saturday)?

 

[yorkie]

It's not the clearest of signs to understand, that's for sure. Especially with so much being in small print.

Suppose you park at 10am on Friday and leave at 10pm on Saturday. Would you be charged £10 (£5 off-peak Friday and £5 for Saturday) or £22 (£17 for Friday and £5 for Saturday)?

Yes that's my question.

It sounds like the peak price was charged on Thursday under the same circumstances but is unclear if the same would occur on a Friday.

This would be a similar concept to split faring when using smart cards such as Oyster/Contactless PAYG where it can be cheaper to tap out and back in again.

If the higher price is charged, you can get around it by "splitting" the fare which can be achieved by driving out and then immediately back in again.

Perhaps there is an opportunity for a company based near the station to arrange for people to drop off their car keys to them, and during the night, they could move cars out and back in again, thus incurring the cheaper rate

 

[Western Sunset]

Yes Yorkie, that's it.
I can just about understand parking on the Thursday would attract peak fees for the following day, but for a Friday (as the following day doesn't incur peak fees), it's unclear.

 

[lkpridgeon]

It's not the clearest of signs to understand, that's for sure. Especially with so much being in small print.

Suppose you park at 10am on Friday and leave at 10pm on Saturday. Would you be charged £10 (£5 off-peak Friday and £5 for Saturday) or £22 (£17 for Friday and £5 for Saturday)?

£17/day (except if a long weekend advance permit is held) "where a parking session other than a long weekend extends into a weekend or weekday" as the parking runs past 0429 Saturday and the parking session extends past 0429 "both the off-peak and following parking session" are charged at £17/day.

The sign posted by @SussexMan seems to be very clear about this. Is it a rip-off most likely but the correct charge? It seems so.

 

[wilbers]

thats pricier than Avanti car parks are around here, though the charges are somewhat of a moot point for me as Penrith station is in walking distance, and the very few times I'd use Carlisle instead the council car park just the other side of the station is £3.10 weekdays, and free at the weekend.

Even easier at the other 2 stations I'd possibly (and indeed have) set off from - Langwathby is free, and Hexham is £2 (and I think there is still a free option a short walk away).