Being fat and ugly doesn't count as being disabled

dowie · 6 May 2015 at 20:51

yup it is a daily fail story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-windscreen-Tesco-car-park.html#ixzz3ZO1BOp3H

A woman who suffers from chronic pain was devastated to find an offensive note on her car after she used a disabled parking bay in a Tesco Extra car park.

Sarah Metcalfe, who also experiences severe muscle stiffness, discovered the message on her windscreen when she left the supermarket in Clifton Moor, York, with her 13-year-old son, Jack.

Written on paper printed with two large high-heeled shoes, the note said: 'being fat and ugly doesn't count as disabled - park elsewhere)'.

Seems pretty harsh, granted she is a bit of a chub but no need to be rude to her about it. What is it about disabled parking spaces that winds people up so much? OK she isn't a blue badge holder but she appears to have a reason to want to use one and it is a private carpark anyway... if you see someone using a disabled bay but they're not visibly disabled it doesn't mean they're not.

dowie · 6 May 2015 at 20:53

tbyeah said:
Get a blue badge - fine.

If not - stop being an absolute ****.

Story says she has applied for a blue badge, anyway in a supermarket carpark it isn't necessarily relevant.

dowie · 6 May 2015 at 21:24

dirtychinchilla said:
That's a horrible thing to do to someone. Having said that, if you don't actually have the badge then you shouldn't be in the space.

you don't need a badge to park in a supermarket disabled bay

dowie · 6 May 2015 at 23:13

Efour said:
So if you don't need a permit to park in a supermarket disabled bay is it down to honor or just a free for all and go Full freeman of the land know your rights, when you get grief for it ?

tis down to 'honour' I guess, generally as you can see from the thread, the expectation would be that people would have blue badges anyway - though as with the case for this woman - if you've got a legit reason to use it then there shouldn't be anything stopping you

yes technically someone could be a bit of a tool and just park in one regardless and give it the whole 'I know my rights'... then again the supermarket are entitled to request you move your vehicle

dowie · 8 May 2015 at 17:03

fendi said:
Just to confirm. We can park in disabled bays in Tesco etc without getting a ticket? If so that is good to know.

well it isn't 'illegal' per say

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/misuse-of-parking-spaces-for-disabled-people

The Blue Badge Scheme does not apply to off-street car parks, for example supermarket car parks. However, off-street car parks may provide bays for Blue Badge holders. Please check with notices before parking.

Apart from local council car parks, most are likely to be privately owned and managed by the individual business.

In the case of local council off-street car parks, it is normally an offence to park in a parking bay for a person with disabilities without displaying a valid Blue Badge. Drivers who misuse such spaces may also have to pay an 'excess charge'.

There is a difference in privately owned car parks. Charges and conditions of use in off-street car parks are a contractual matter between the car park owner and the motorist. Enforcement of parking bays for people with disabilities is therefore a matter for the individual owner or operator of the car park.

If a non-disabled motorist has parked in a bay reserved for people with disabilities in a private car park, for example a supermarket, an employee of the store can ask the driver to move their car from the reserved space - but they cannot legally insist on it.

but it has the chance of turning into a civil matter with a parking charge notice

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring...ists-who-abuse-supermarket-disabled-bays.html

His appeal for tougher action has been backed by seven chains: Aldi, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and Lidl.
They have said that able-bodied motorists using the bays will be issued parking charge notices - the private equivalent of a parking ticket.

though in the case of this woman she could complain to the manager of the store and explain her situation - medical condition, application for blue badge in progress etc.. and get them to waive a ticket if she was issued one:

http://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/supermarket-parking-tickets/

So, what should you do if you receive a parking ticket from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, or Morrisons? Firstly, if you think it’s been issued unfairly, tell the shop – ask to speak to the manager and tell them – quite often they can get the ticket rescinded. From the shop’s perspective it’s much more important to keep you as a customer than to lose you over a parking ticket.

though in general they're enforced more by threats and only a couple of companies will actually bother trying to pursue unpaid charge notices in the courts:
http://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/ticketing-and-enforcement/

At the time of writing (November 2014), some parking companies attempt to enforce tickets via the courts (e.g. ParkingEye, Civil Enforcement Ltd), some threaten it but don’t follow through, and some do not bother with court at all. It should be noted that it would likely cost the parking company more to enforce a ticket in court than they would actually stand to win. It is the authors belief that by threatening to go to court, this causes a large proportion of defendents to pay up, making it cost effective overall.