i gave up on APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area) to respond sensibly to my emailed complaints (only one of 3 was even acknowledged) and called them

You get what you pay for (except with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) where you should get at least 2 journeys per ticket) and i suspect APCOA dont overpay their staff but the net result was that the customer advisor didnt know why they were overchargin me and didnt seem overinclined to find out why.  But he did credit me the 40p

on another note i appealed against a ticket i was given in January and refused to pay up in spite of the Roxburghe and Graham White letters.  Just after the first Graham White letter (c4 months after the offence) i received a reply to the appeal and, unbeleivably, my appeal was upheld and the ticket quashed.  i wonder whether that would have happened had i paid up after one or more of the letters and, if it had, whether i would have got my money back.

Bottom line is that they will huff and puff but won't actually take you to court for non-payment so, if you are in the right, stand firm

Apcoa have, at last, responded - i am not sure to which of my 3 messages as there rather direct/blunt email doesnt refer to the date of my message.

Thank you for contacting APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area) Connect.
 
The additional 10p that has been charged is the text message reminder/confirmation fee.
If you do not wish to receive this then please log into your account and change your preferred settings.
 
Best regards
 
APCOA Parking Customer Service team
UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Head Office


As i have advised them i have never asked for or recieved a test message reminder/confirmation - as my account preferred settings continues to show.

it's still their move!!

i've now sent a third complaint pointing out that i had made two prvious complaints and that i have had neither response nor acknowledgment

The bizarre thing is that a colleague parks in the same car park but is only charged ^2.80 - maybe I am being singled out?

Does anybody have a way of trying to contact Apcoa other than through their website?

Chris - did you get a response from FGW?  THey arent the best communicators either

i've still not had an acknowledgment or response from Apcoa

at Kemble the charge is ^3.20 if you pay at the meter but ^2.80 (according to the Ringgo voice message and the Apcoa website).   There is no mention of a convenience charge or the like

on that basis the cost is ^2.80 - they are not authorised to take ^2.90 but continue to do so.

My patience with this is wearing thin - it's only 10p but if it happens to everybody who pays to park at Kemble each time they pay then it adds up..................

there have been 4 incidents - i asked for the SMS confirmation on just one

i have reported the problem through the Apcoa connect website on 2 occasions (Tuesday and yesterday) but received neither acknowledgement or reply.  Apcoa/FGW^▸ (First Great Western) customer service is, in my view, so poor that communicating with them is a waste of time and effort.

My thought was trading standards on the basis of overcharge/theft of my money

Thoughts?

I have split this topic off a discussion about Ringgo and the switch to Apcoa - this is a discussion that's worthy of carrying on in its own right , and (it turns out) deserves its own thread.   Original thread at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=8524.0 - Graham


i have just read much of this thread

i have had problems with Apcoa Connect becuase, when asking it to remember my card details, the call fails - although they have taken my money and, because they know the car I drove last time I was there (fortunately the same as this time) they won't ticket it

But the concern expressed here did lead me to look up their website and register my car details.  I reviewed my parking history - an interesting experience.  Although the locations page suggests that a ticket for Kemble car park is ^2.80 for a day they have taken ^2.90 for today and the last 2 times i have paid (but ^2.80 before that).  the voice recording says the cost is ^2.80

The question is - have the charges gone up by 10p but nobody has either the Apcoa voice or website or have they nicked 10p each time?  I have asked the question.

Edit by Grahame to explain splitting of thread