Excel Parking: Ex-patrol officer reveals his 'horrible' ticketing tactics at Sheffield firm
A former Excel Parking patrol officer has revealed the tactics he would use to “hammer tickets no matter what.”
The former parking attendant said: “I felt horrible doing it, I really did, but I needed a wage.”
Tactics included going out early before residents had time to change the date on permits. He would also issue tickets if permits were obscured by snow.
He would patrol car parks incognito and do ‘10-minute observations’, taking a photo at the start of the period, he said.
If, when he returned after 10 minutes, the driver had not paid, he would issue a £100 ticket, even if they were “obviously attempting to pay.”
The patrol officer said: “I witnessed a lot of people try to download and pay by app, which takes ages. People who rang the Excel hotline were told it was a third party issue.”
The Connect Cashless app would also take time to communicate with Excel’s systems, adding to the apparent delay in payment, he added.
At Aldi at East Point Retail Park, Nottingham, he says he would ticket people parking in the parent and child spaces even if they had a child with them.
He said: “If they didn’t have a booster seat in the car I had to give them a £100 ticket, there was no leeway.”
Signs at the site confirm the rule.
He added: “We would hit Leen Gate car park at Queens Medical Centre three or four times a day and get up to 10 tickets.
“I felt horrible doing it, I really did, but I needed a wage.”
Excel Parking posted record profits last year.
The self-regulating private parking industry this month abandoned the ‘five-minute rule’ after pressure from MPs.
It means parking firms can no longer target drivers who take more than five or 10 minutes to pay.
A government crackdown on rogue parking firms was shelved in 2022 after protests from the sector.
The company was approached for comment.