Southwark Council parking "shop"

[Pierre]

I fully admit to not paying enough attention while driving and contravening the No Entry sign at the South end of Rye Lane where you're supposed to turn left and follow a lengthy one way system. I won't dispute it.

What currently enrages me is the way Southwark Council treat parking and traffic offences as revenue-generating enterprises in such a blatant way as to call their payment office the "Parking Shop". I'm further wound up because "We are sorry but your card details cannot be processed at this time." when trying to pay online (by adding the penalty charge to my "shopping basket" for pity's sake!) and their customer service number seems to be permanently engaged.

Perhaps everyone else has received wonderfully smooth service and is pleased to donate to Southwark Council in this way; maybe it's just me...

: P

[AnotherPaul]

No Pierre, it's not just you their service is terrible and the whole 'shop' and 'customer' logic is so out of place as to be insulting. I can hear the discussion in the council now 'fines office is too realistic, we need a softer more likeable name. Let's call it a 'shop' and our mugs 'customers' will be happier', er except you're fining ?50-?100 a time for doing tiny little things wrong. Blood boils etc.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Whilst I agree that the whole "shop" thing is wrong it is only car drivers (and again I AM one so bear with me) who bleat about "only doing tiny things wrong"

As the Tindersticks sang .. "tiny tears make up an ocean.."

The reason motorists are so targeted is because there are so many of us - TOO many... parking on a yellow line is only a tiny thing and wouldn't have been that much of an issue even 10 years ago - but these days so many of us do it it has major repercussions -

I drive but am not being milked for cash by any council - because I know the score and make sure I don't do anything wrong - is it THAT difficult??

[blinder999]

I'm with you on this Sean - I've never had a parking ticket or a fine in twenty odd years of driving, cos I play by the rules. I don't find it difficult.

[Pierre]

Fair point; as I said, I'm not complaining because I did something wrong. I failed to notice a no entry (except local buses and cycles) sign on a route that I cycle through almost every day. I don't dispute that my tiny misdemeanour needs to be discouraged or everyone would do it.

My point was born of the frustration I felt at being treated more like a "customer" than a punished law-breaker, how much like buying books on Amazon it was, yet how awkward they make it actually to make a payment.

I'd never had a parking ticket or fine until I moved to ED. Now I've had two in the space of a year (one successfully contested, they burned the feeble remainder of the yellow lines off the road a week later). I'm ashamed.

: P

[AnotherPaul]

Ok, tiny tears do make an ocean. I'm quite recently passed which kind of accounts for the two errors I've made. I think more like a cyclist than a car driver so must remember to stop driving straight through red lights, mounting kerbs and swearing at cabs.