Lend me your stories of Welcome Break

Has been a bad week for me guys and gals.

Sunday night, (and all day while I was out at Oulton Park) the lorry sat fine and untroubled at Lymm.
Monday night we slept peacefully at Monmouth Services.
Wednesday night I parked at my dad’s work in Luton so both free and secure!

Tuesday and Thursday were the problems.
Tuesday was Chorley Services and as is the usual way, just after I parked up nicely between two curtain siders, one of them left and was replaced by an EE with a running fridge. The joys of MSA parking.

Woke up the next day to find the Renault had an AEBS warning light but no other warnings on the dash. No ABS warning, no sensor blocked warning, just the AEBS light. Did my walk around checks, cleaned the radar sensor just in case and set off. The light didn’t clear but it was pulling and braking fine so I called the dealer to let them know I had a light on but no symptoms and could they check it out on inspection this weekend.

Thursday night I was at Newport Pagnell as I had domestic appliances on the back and figured the insurance company would be happier if it looked like I’d tried to park secure rather than just dumping it on an MK industrial estate for the night if something went pete. Woke up to three half moons in the side of a brand new trailer.

Later on Friday while fault finding a tail lift that felt a little down and wouldn’t get up, I finally climbed up on the catwalk, where I found the cause of the AEBS problem. Some monumentally oversized sphincter had accessed my catwalk in the night on Tuesday and stolen my EBS suzie.

Of course find this out three days after the fact meant I couldn’t report it at the time but I reported the half moons to Thames Valley Police and to a chap introduced to me as ‘The Big Boss’ of Welcome Break. Mr Big Boss asked what I expected him to do and really didn’t like it when I said that Pagnell North has 100 marked truck bays at £27.00 a night. Perhaps he should take his duty of care to his customers and their property seriously and spend some of that £16,200 (assuming 50% occupancy on weekends) a week on a bloody security guard. Apparently its not his problem.

So, what I am looking for from you is stories like mine. Stops at welcome break sites which have resulted in damage, theft, intimidation, abuse (Not the abusive quality of the hot wings at KFC at the moment,) so I can build up a list of incidents. Once I have this trove of evidence, (photos would be nice too if you can,) I can start working to pressure Welcome Break to change their ways while highlighting the risks of Welcome Break parking with the FTA, RHA, TA, Commercial Motor, Trucking, T&D, TSN etc.

I know this may seem a bit OTT but I’ve snapped. Since Christmas I’ve spent over £4k on damage and vandalism which wasn’t my fault, with no-one willing to even talk to me, let alone negotiating a share of the cost. I’ve had enough. If I can’t get sympathy from Welcome Break, let alone my money back, I’ll do all I can to hit back in any way I can. I’m ready for war!

If you do have any information to share and don’t want to put it in public forum, I’ve set up a dedicated email account you can sent it to: unwelcomebreak@ninefiftysix.co.uk.

No harm Smithy,
I admire your balls but that £850gross PAYE job Mon/Fri on the taunts,
piloting a shiny 500horse FH4 is becoming better looking by the week lad!!![emoji848][emoji50][emoji53][emoji106]

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I admire your hope, trying to get the trade-bodies and comics involved is a good idea, but they don’t give a toss, you need to get the real papers involved, The sun, or better still the Express or Mail.

MSA’s only care about profit and until profits suffer they don’t care.

I contacted CM about parking at MSA, with the same points, regarding security guards, better use of ANPR cameras, didn’t seem interested,
Maybe a Twitter campaign, etc I don’t know, all I do know is big PLC hate bad press,hence my proper paper suggestion.

Agree with biggriffin, a social media campaign seems to be the best way forward now. Facebook and Twitter do have their uses, big companies hate bad press on them.

Are Welcome Break any better/worse than other MSAs?
Isnt it a general problem? Which it is. Cameras? Trucks parked close together, so people wandering around between them are almost invisible. And there will be people moving around quite legitimately, too. A security guy who approaches a driver, walking from his coffee break back to his cab, would get what sort of reaction? Half would apparently tell him to "go do one" whilst pointing out hes a “grassing wanna be cop” whilst the others would drop him with a move learnt “In the Regim…can`t talk about that”.

Or

Big Truck:
piloting a shiny 500horse FH4

Driving 24/7 at 100kph you`ll not be stationary long enough for the scrotes to do much!

It is a serious issue, but if you take it too seriously youll not get far Im afraid.

As this is a daily problem,that happens at all MSA, wouldn’t it be better to have this as a sticky, permanent thread, then the journalist that haunt this forum can see how much of a problem this is, and MAYBE keep reporting these issues.

Three days…

To spot you had a suzie missing?

You need to reassess your daily walk round.

yourhavingalarf:
Three days…

To spot you had a suzie missing?

You need to reassess your daily walk round.

Ding, ding!!

We have a winner folks ( Choose anything from the top shelf mate )

P.s. Larf- Please desist from talking straight. You are well aware that the new look forum prides itself on discussions about sat-nav’s and T & D articles…

Franglais:
Are Welcome Break any better/worse than other MSAs?
Isnt it a general problem? Which it is. Cameras? Trucks parked close together, so people wandering around between them are almost invisible. And there will be people moving around quite legitimately, too. A security guy who approaches a driver, walking from his coffee break back to his cab, would get what sort of reaction? Half would apparently tell him to "go do one" whilst pointing out hes a “grassing wanna be cop” whilst the others would drop him with a move learnt “In the Regim…can`t talk about that”.

Or

Big Truck:
piloting a shiny 500horse FH4

Driving 24/7 at 100kph you`ll not be stationary long enough for the scrotes to do much!

It is a serious issue, but if you take it too seriously youll not get far Im afraid.

Not sure J.Godfrey & Son Ltd Oxford are into running 24/7 and 100kph!!![emoji50]

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When I lived back there we never had curtains cut, nobody even had the notion to do such a thing, the only problem we had with ‘Welcome break’ was how expensive our breakfast was. I am continuously shocked by the posts I see referring to such things back in Blighty

There is one such service area in the north east USA that I fear and unfortunately I find myself having to park there every couple of weeks, it’s ‘Vince Lombardy’ service area on the NJ turnpike, it has over 400 truck parking spots and very bad reputation for being dangerous, the nearer to the main building you can get the safer you are, if you get there late and are somewhere at the distant back you take your life into your hands if you leave the cab to walk and get food. I usually leave the interior lights and TV on with the curtains closed, then walk around the perimeter of the site to avoid getting my throat cut. I feel for you driver

yourhavingalarf:
Three days…

To spot you had a suzie missing?

You need to reassess your daily walk round.

You are right, bollock dropped but in my defence:

1. I am a one vehicle, one trailer operation, once its coupled up its done and unless I need the tail lift the wind deflector doesn’t get opened. Now I have a new, lighter trailer, I’m a lot more close coupled too so a walk past won’t show you the suzies.

2. The light that came on was the AEBS light. It was braking fine, (I guess I’m a light touch on the pedals) and pulling fine. I had no ABS or EBS warnings and nothing on the multi-function display. Nothing to say there was an EBS issue at all, I didn’t even think of the suzies.

3. Who would have thunked that some scummy illigitimate boy-child would steal a suzie?

I’m going to modify the suzies to prevent theft in future and now I know the depths to which people will sink, i’ll definitely be more vigilant.

Can’t help on tales of disaster at welcome break, don’t think we’vs ever parked at one.

I dread to think of what is happening to your spreadsheets!

Best I can say is after bad luck, comes good luck. (Reverse us true as well )

If I HAD to park on MSAs every night for whatever reason, I’d be going on day work…hate the ■■■■ places.

Even on day work I’ve given up trying to stop at tibshelf Northbound due to the chaos of the pallet opperation at the top of the truck park

It happens everynight at every MSA in the country.
Mostly done by other drivers.
As your missing lead proves.
You be lucky if they send you a £5 voucher.
The simple answer is dont park in MSA and if you have no choice never pay for the privilege.

yourhavingalarf:
Three days…

To spot you had a suzie missing?

You need to reassess your daily walk round.

That would of been the first thing I would have checked

blue estate:

yourhavingalarf:
Three days…

To spot you had a suzie missing?

You need to reassess your daily walk round.

That would of been the first thing I would have checked

+1
So a fridge pulls in at night whoopee
Try parking up during the day for your daily rest er yeah night trampers have to sleep too you know but we have more going on around us during the day than you Night time sleepers .
Get some ear plugs

eagerbeaver:

yourhavingalarf:
Three days…

To spot you had a suzie missing?

You need to reassess your daily walk round.

Ding, ding!!

We have a winner folks ( Choose anything from the top shelf mate )

P.s. Larf- Please desist from talking straight. You are well aware that the new look forum prides itself on discussions about sat-nav’s and T & D articles…

YAY me!..

I’ll have that copy of Razzle please.

In future I’ll stick to Sat-nav conundrums and should I still signal on roundabouts at two in the morning despite no one being within a ten mile radius of me. I consider myself told.

I’ve had my curtains cut East bound at Hartshead Moor, I’ve had my curtains cut at Woodhall North bound, I’ve had my curtains done at London Gateway. My mate had his done after only stopping for a break around 8pm on the west bound side of Hartshead.

Radar19:
I’ve had my curtains cut East bound at Hartshead Moor, I’ve had my curtains cut at Woodhall North bound, I’ve had my curtains done at London Gateway. My mate had his done after only stopping for a break around 8pm on the west bound side of Hartshead.

I never park on msa.s, (well not since the 80s when the nightclub was behind Charnock Richard )
I’ve had my curtains done no more than 3 times since 1979, there’s a message in there somewhere I reckon.