And ,but , also , The machines in R.B.K.C , with which I have no problem , give you exact time for our money , e.g if 1hr =60p , if you put in 70p you get 1 hour and 10 minutes etc etc , Fair enough . If you put in coins after 6.30 pm , the cut-off time say it gives you a ticket for the next day , can be annoying but its little machine heart is in the right place , that s an example of a fair machine , I cannot recall if it gives change will let you know . My point is again why do not all councils use a similar machine /system ,I think its even solar powered . No security concerns there or would they not be just the same as other change giving machines as they fill up with coins . I remember recently when Westminster got rid of all their old-fashioned parking meters because people were topping them like dandelions , the council leapt at the chance to install phone text machines , very handy if you don't have a mobile phone , or charge on one , or credit or if you are an older person , I wonder if that was more cost effective for the council , those thieves might have done them a favour . As J.los accountant said , its all about the bottom line .

But with all due respect , So What , should shops not give us change because we are 'lazy;' and its a hassle for them to send staff to the bank to queue up to change up, which it is . My point is why should the councils profit further from us than nessercary . If they have to send someone around to empty/ top-up the machines , I am sure it would not be that costly , and would address the Security concern you raise , Oh 'security ' , why does modern life conspire to make me so insecure , by the way thank you for your input.

It seems Green and mean we are on the same page , do you by any chance work within these industries or for the council perchance? The article I presume you refer to is The 'cash cow 'myth , yes I have perused it , although some inept councils do seem to have , apparently, lost money . The ones I have issue with have generated a lot of it and are massively in profit, Westminster 84million quid , R.B.K.C 39 MILLION , Hammersmith and Fulham 21 million , and I know for a fact their machines don't give change . Please don't try and say this is a Public service , If councils are losing money , its not because they care about us, its because they haven't worked out how to make a profit yet . The magazine we are talking about is a real insight into the whole parking/ debt collection business mindset and in my opinion is a massive affront to civil liberties , trying to justify its own industry , its a wee bit biased because the players in it are making a lot of money , two Balls a year at The Dorchester , Party on Dude . By the way you might have guessed but I for one am not involved in this racket .

Flicking through my copy of 'Parking Review' , the magazine for the parking industry , incorporating 'The Enforcers' , the magazine for the debt -collecting industry , illuminating reads both and how thoughtful to package them together, I came across adverts for pay and display machines ,incl {change giving option ] ,standard non change machines , i.e the ones I am upset about are cheaper , there fore a case of double bubble for the councils , do costs supersede a duty of care ? Is there a lawyer in the house , bring me my bow of bristling brief , in Englands Green and pleasant carpark facility !!!!

Yes well then it must be a loss leader to lead us poor flies into the trap of p.c.n s relying on human fallibility . The whole thing is setup like a game of musical chairs where I live ; Not enough pay and display bays for demand so without us worthless offenders they wouldn't have an industry and there would be tens of thousands of people in parking depts throughout the land with no jobs , they should throw us a thank you party. The point is regardless of how much money they do or don't make ., that they are still overcharging and under changing

Well some change would be nice , I would expect same if I bought some chocolate in a machine , after all we have put a man on the moon allegedly, so the technology is there . The point is these machines are cynically allowed to be fundamentally unfair to maximize revenue , in my opinion . The question is whether by buying a ticket are you engaging in a contact of any sort ? If so could one seek remedy as the contract is unfair , I am obviously not a lawyer , so I would welcome any input from anyone who knows better . I would definately ask for my money back even if it was 10p as I do not like to be ripped off by so called public servants . Its the Principle , if someone picked up the loose change in your house , would you think 'its only 20p'.

I wonder if anyone has a view , In several London boroughs the pay and display machines only issue tickets in 20 minute units , e.g 30p for 20 minutes , 60p for 40 minutes etc. Now if one were to pay 40p one still only gets 20 minutes and no change !!, surely this is wrong ; If you were 2 minutes over the 20 minutes you would get a p.c.n even if you had paid for it . Kensington and Chelsea council have machines that give you your exact minutes for the coins , so it is not a technology issue . Now I know the councils need our money but why are we topping up their pensions with our tips ?