What does a parking permit buy?

On Mar 21, 8:28 am, ian.david...@unn.ac.uk wrote:

> When applying for a permit, the following disclaimer is used.
>
> "The issue of a car parking permit does not guarantee a car parking
> space. It is the responsibility of the holder of a permit to find a
> suitable space and to park in a responsible manner".
>
> So, is it legal to charge for a service that the provider cannot
> guarantee deliviering?

A "permit" is just that -- it gives you "permission" to attempt to do something that you would otherwise not be allowed to do; but you still may not be _able_ to do it, for various other reasons having nothing to do with permission being granted.   It does not lease you a private space, just lets you compete with everyone else for the available spaces.   Similarly, a fishing "permit" doesn't guarantee you will catch a fish.

I don't know if such things are common in your area, but around here, many residential areas near commercial centers have "parking by permit only" signs posted on the streets, and such permits are issued only to residents of that neighborhood, for a fee, by the municipality.  The purpose, of course, is to deny permission for daytime business commuters to take up the available spaces, which would leave the residents with nowhere to park. As in your situation, the permit does not guarantee the residents a reserved space; it just gives them permission to park in that neighborhood.

Noting that old favorite of prescriptive grammarians, the confusion of "can I" with "may I", all your employer is saying is, "for the price you pay, you may park in our lot, if you can find a proper space to do so".

A question you don't ask is whether it is legal for your employer to _require_ you to pay for this privilege if you decide it is a rotten deal and want to take your business to some other parking-space provider, or just park on the street for a separate fee as you indicated you sometimes have to do anyway.  As long as they don't compel even their pedestrian employees to contribute to this Russian Roulette parking scheme, what harm is being done to you?   You can buy a permit, knowing that it doesn't guarantee a space, or you can take your parking business elsewhere.
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