Thank you Greg Pope.
 

I've just recieved today's post and I'm chuffed to little mint balls.:)

Baically I was issued with a parking fine last year in Accrington, and have had no success myself in resolving this matter myself, but thanks to the help of Greg Pope the matter is now at an end.:)

Long story, and should serve as a warning about the 'firms' who police private car parks on behalf of the firms who employ them.

The following are extracts from an original letter sent to both the retailer and the car park firm.

'This fine was issued whilst shopping at Style Furniture, Grange Lane, Accrington on 22nd January, 2008. We left the car on the carpark, with the owner’s permission, only to go to the bank so we could return to purchase furniture from your client’s store. On our return we found a parking ticket attached to our car.'

'I immediately asked the owner of Style Furniture why we’d been issued with a ticket, as we were customers and had permission from them to park there. He took the issued fine off us, and said he would contact the company and explain that it had been issued by mistake. The ticket, and all the relevant contact details, were left with the owner of Style Furniture.'

(A year later I)'...received a letter demanding £100.00 to be paid within 28 days, after which time the fine would rise to £135.00, and if it wasn’t paid a threat that the matter would then be passed on to a firm of bailiffs.'

The letter was sent to a company called CPM, Carpark Management UK Ltd, PO Box 201. Accrington BB5 6WP, who demanded the money. No number to call to query any matter, and just a P.O. box as a contact.

I recieved the new fine, after presuming it had been dealt with over a year previously. It actually arrived on my birthday.

I did panic, fearing I was about to be visited by baliffs, or to appear on a credit blacklist, and paid the £100, not wanting to have any more hassle in my life than I already have.

Although Style Furniture were pleasant they insisted that my problem was with the firm they paid to police their carpark. My letters were ignored and I was at my wits end what to do next.

I know that without the help Greg Pope, and the influence and pressure he has at his disposal, I wouldn't just have recieved a full refund and a letter saying the matter is now resolved.

Thank you so very much for your help.:)

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

I got a lovely letter from Greg Pope a few weeks ago :D

glad its all sorted Rindy :D

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

M.P.'s can only help with the small things in life. You try and get them to change something major such as policy and they ignore you. P.M. Gordon Brown won't even give us the right to vote and have a say about the EU, which will take away our rights to have a say over major issues. Brown is prepared to sign away our democracy to a central European President.

This country is becoming less and less of a democracy.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Libertas enter EU elections in UK

Kestrel X

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

Happily I've never felt ignored by my M.P. Greg Pope.

I've only contacted him once before, and that was concerned with 'policy', in as much that the House was about to have a free vote on an issue relating to health and medical research.

I told him my thoughts and experiences, and he promptly replied with his own thoughts and experiences, and how he was likely to vote.

He offered to come and see me at home if I thought I had more I wanted to tell him. I declined the offer, happy that I'd told him everything I wanted him to know by email.

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

Greg Pope has helped me and my ex partner before (this was obviously when me and my ex were together) and also tried to help on another matter too, granted was not successfull on that occasion but did try to help us.

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

I agree, i think he will do everything he can to help and then keeps you updated afterwards as well so you know he hasnt forgotten about you :D

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

I've had all that with my MP, letters, e-mails, information, offers to come round for tea and biscuits, she even invited me up to the House of Commons, bought me a cup of tea and biscuits and then took me into Questions with Harriet Harmen in the House of Commons. But when it came to a really serious issue relating to policy, she couldn't help me. So the most important thing I needed nothing could be done about it.

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

With out you giving any details about what policy you were trying to influence it's a little difficult to comment on how much help a Member of Parliament could be. If you were trying to make Britain a tax free haven, for example, you were probably wasting both your's and your M.P.'s time.

When I lived in Glasgow I requested the help of my M.P. on a civil liberties question of law, and again was very happy with the help and influence I recieved as part of the democratic process we have in place in this country.

Perhaps I'm just better at getting the right help I need, or am a little more realistic about what can be achieved by one M.P.;)

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

I have never needed to ask for his help, fortunately, but it is good to know we have an MP who cares.

Euro MPs are a waste of space - mailed two of them about the European Food Directive, and never even had an acknowledgement

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

Glad Greg helped you to get it sorted. However this makes very sorry reading for a retailer;

I could make assumptions about the relationship between retailer and car park management but I won't :rolleyes:

Lousy attitude and one will should put people off shopping there.

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

I know a lot of people who have been helped out by Greg Pope with great satisfaction, glad to hear he got your problem sorted too Garinda

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

I agree. They were pleasant when we went in to try and sort this out. He did remember us from the year before, when all this started, and he said he'd had lots of complaints from other of his customers, and had a pile of letters on his desk to prove this.

However he employs this 'firm', and was very unwilling to take any responsibility.

Further research has revealed this Accy based car park policing 'firm' have been causing worry and mayhem all over the north west, and there are many disputes with them, and their threatening behavior.

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

on reading this thread, this is one local firm i definitely will not support, enough hassle in life, without using their car park. might be n idea to e-mail em a link to this thread, may just shake em up a bit, so others will not share your fate.;) but fer a good M.P. ya would be £100 worse off.

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

Well it certainly is`nt a good advert for `Style Furniture`...................

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

Is the firm housed in what was the old Coop store on Grange Lane Rindi, if it is then parking problems go back a long way, can remember the ex wife getting caught up in a parking fiasco, so you can say there is form, but the firm is definitely one to miss in the future

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

I can't say if it was the old Co-op store, being a mere whipper snapper, but before it's current furniture store usage it was a plumbers merchants.

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

don't think it is, think the owd co-op was across grange lane, round a bout were sauls used to be.:confused:

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

My letters went unacknowledged, and were ignored.

Nothing shook them up until Greg got on their case.

I even said in the letters I'd go to the press and warn other people about the fines. A fine it was impossible to even pay because it was taken off me, and I didn't know how much it originally was, or where to pay it.

I would have put on my best poor victim grimace in the paper, if Greg Pope hadn't sorted it for me.

It spoilt my birthday, I got it a right old state.

Today made up for it.:)

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

seems a bit of a sad state of affairs where it was necessary to have to get the local MP involved , would have thought with all the stuff I read about devolving more power to the regions a "local ombudsman" should have been available thru either the local Borough or County Council to sort this "trivial" stuff out ( not trivial to you , but in the greater scheme of things) .


Hopefully one of the local councillors (the elected folks who are supposed to represent your local interests) who regulary reply Accy-web threads will reply to this thread and offer an easy local solution to you and other Accy web users who find themselves in a similar predicament without the need to having to go to Westminster . :confused: :confused:

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

Its surprising what a letter with the old green portcullis on the top does to concentrate the mind of these sharks:rolleyes:

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

cacked myself when i got my letter from the house of commons!! :D

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

that's great news Rindy... glad it's been sorted...def thumbs up to our MP :)

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

It was about an organisation that you can complain to about the council the Local Government Ombudsman, who is supposed to stand up for justice against the councils of this land but all I got is a whitewash!

LGO Watch - watching the Local Government Ombudsman's office

I'm not saying I didn't get help I did get help, but when it comes to the big issues your MP can't do that much. They are good at the small things, as you have experienced and myself experinced.

Kestrel X.

Note in the "Alan Clark Diaries" currently being shown on channel Yesterday he refers to fellow politicains as "Sharks waiting for the smell of blood!" In other words how these people get to be the party candidate for a constituency is by back stabbing and so on.

Re: Thank you Greg Pope.
 

Benefit fraud again :p:rolleyes::D:D