More Rank Rage

A couple of comments made on Fridays post “Rank Rage” deserve to be answered as a post in their own right, Wil asks” How can a private company assess fines? They have no court authority and no way to collect if the violator refuses to pay.” Meanwhile the blonde bombshell Peggy comments “I don't get that one either. ASDA is not a sovereign country just yet, but some stores are large enough to declare independence.”

Well it seems that we already have the legislation in place over here, on any private land you can and often will be clamped and charged for release. But under new rules all it takes is video evidence of a so called parking offence, and the landowners or their agents are then able to access the government’s police national computer database. The first you will know is when the ticket arrives in the post, if this is not paid on time you will then receive a visit from bailiffs who will charge you several hundred pounds on top of the fine for the privilege. So it seems that all you need for a licence to print money is a vacant piece of land, a sign and a video camera. This point is proven by a case going through the courts at the moment involving just such a scenario. Car owners who had driven on to the land and stopped just long enough to read the sign have been sent parking fine demands. The giant junk food chain Mc Donald’s has also jumped on the bandwagon by introducing fines for motorists who take too long to eat their takeaway meals on their car park. In certain UK branch’s ¾ of an hour is the limit, any more and you get a ticket in the post, again solely using video evidence.