A scammy football parking racket outside Old Trafford is still ripping off drivers, even after Ocean Parking’s decades-old criminal enterprise was exposed in the media. For no less than five years, scammers have flooded the market through a smart scam. Criminals go further than us – they impersonate these parking stewards and mislead drivers to park on a fake street.
Ocean Parking, the company that enforces parking regulations in the area, has known about the scam for months. Until now, they’ve only testified as if they knew about it. The counterfeit stewards dress in fake bright hi-viz jackets that read “official match day parking.” This lulls drivers into thinking they are parking in an acceptable place.
And together, with the scammers often acting in tandem with legal parking enforcers, the scammers have made a killing off clueless drivers. Ocean Parking sincerely regrets the hardship imposed on anyone who fell victim to this scam. They understand the terrible effects this duplicitous move has had on their community—and on innocent drivers.
Business as usual allegedly the company has confirmed that on match days it issues PCNs only for a small number of contraventions. While it conducts patrols to identify illegal popup parking operations, its actions have not been sufficient to prevent the ongoing scam. Ocean Parking has recently agreed to notify the police when its patrols run into the fraudsters.
As part of a wider initiative to tackle this problem, Ocean Parking works alongside Greater Manchester Police. Together, this partnership hopes to improve surveillance and enforcement in the area to reduce illegal parking activities.
“The council undertakes patrols to identify and prevent the use of illegal popup car parks and takes part in joint operations with Greater Manchester police,” – Old Trafford council spokesperson.
In the real world, marked double-yellow lines are the most conspicuous markings on a road. In addition, contractual red flags read, “No Stopping or Standing at Any Time” to further educate drivers about the bans. Yet, a majority will likely still be taken in by the con.
“However, we recognise that drivers who are deceived may mistakenly believe they are parking legally,” – Manchester United spokesperson.
Even in the face of these glaring warning signs, this multi-year scam has led many to question whether existing enforcement measures are sufficient. Right now most drivers are unknowingly enriching the very people who are keeping this scheme going.