So is parking in a disabled bay when you are not disabled acceptable? Is parking in a Parent/Toddler parking bay when you haven't got a toddler with you acceptable? If it is free parking throughout the car park there is no loss (apart from a parking bay designated for a particular use) so how do you deal with it?

Yes my part time job is with a PPC and I was intrigued, doing a bit of research etc. when I found and subsequently registered with this forum. There are always at least two points of view and I was surprised to learn that private land parking isn't enforceable by law but on the other hand uncontrolled parking leads to chaos and fisticuffs. as born out last week week by an elderly disabled gentleman charged with affray when he punched a builder for parking in a disabled space.

Parking in a dangerous position is another 3 pointer

No not really. You would be surprised how many drivers park on double yellow lines and, on or nearly on, the pedestrian crossing, blocking traffic, next to the cash machines with their engines running , hazard lights flashing, while they get the money that they desperately need to save someone's life. That last bit is silly but you get the idea

Trying parking on or within the zig zags at a pedestrian crossing it's a 3 pointer

I don't think I have missed the point. The point is that the majority of tickets issued are for drivers failing to comply with the contract. Whether the penalties are fair is a separate although important argument. I believe if you park in a disabled parking bay without the requisite badge you deserve a ticket. If you park in a Parent/Toddler parking bay when quite clearly you haven't got a toddler with you deserve a ticket. If you park your car for over 4 hours (in the store I work at) it is quite obvious you are not shopping for groceries and you'll get a ticket. The majority of these tickets are for local office workers trying to avoid paying in public car parks. I for one would be quite happy for retail car parks to become part of the public road system but then not only would tickets be issued (admittedly with a bigger burden of proof) you may also get points on your licence. It may then force you to think. In almost all cases it is drivers parking without due consideration for others. As far as fulfilling my life I am quite happy studying for a BA (Hons) Ceramics and supplementing my meagre student income with a part time job thank you.

Hands up! I work for a major PPC contracted to one of the major supermarkets and one of its competitors situated next door. Physically the car parks are separated only by a different exit off the business park entrance roundabout. However the rules (dictated by the store management) are very different. In one store we issue a warning notice, which is subject to the discretion of the PPC employee at the time and in the other an immediate £70 'fine'. Even issuing a warning results in abuse. In the first store in over 4 months I cannot think of one instance where a PCN has been issued. In the second it is a regular occurrence because that it what the store management demands. However the biggest problem/bugbear is you the drivers. Each and everyone one of you seem to think that you have a god given right to park where the f**k you want. We have a proportion of Disabled Parking and a proportion of Parent-Toddler space, but give out a warning let alone a ticket for 'I'm only here for 30 seconds' to someone taking a space meant for genuinely disabled customers or a young mother struggling with a baby buggy and a shopping trolley and I'm f**king Hitler, Pol Pot, and Robert Mugabe in a hi-vis jacket. That's without even going into the seemingly increasing numbers of individuals who seem to have gotten their blue badges in a 'Free in the Daily Mail this Sunday' promotion. And then there are the incredibly busy individuals who must drive up to the ATMs park on double yellow lines with their hazard lights flashing and block everyone else while they queue to get cash they aren't even going to spend on site. If they were, they would park, shop, and get cash back. If you get a ticket speak to the store's customer service desk first... Comments anyone?