A stressed dad says he has been "hounded" for seven months over a parking ticket due to his dyslexic son making a mistake.
Kieran Ramsey, 29, parked at Fantasy Island car park in Skegness with his one-year-old son on Saturday, April 23 and paid for a £6-day ticket. However, he was left with a £30 fine due to entering the wrong car registration number.
His dad Colin Marshall, 62, said he has appealed four times over the parking fine after his son's costly mistake as the payment has now risen to £170. Since the fine in April, Colin has even sent a £21 Royal Mail special delivery to the company with evidence that it had been paid, but was told by the company that it didn't accept post.
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The disgruntled dad told Lincolnshire Live : "We are being hounded seven months later, it’s terrible and harassment. I am quite level-headed but it is still stressful getting demands when we have sent a ticket saying we’ve paid the landowner.
"My son has got a young child and had a day out, paid the ticket and put it on the windshield. Thank god we kept the ticket or I’d have been screwed, they are still denying that we paid, it’s just horrendous."
Colin also said he explained to the company about his son's dyslexia but is still being asked to pay the fine. He said: "Dyslexia is a medical condition which is recognised so they are penalising people with learning difficulties.
"You’re hitting your head against a brick wall because they aren’t listening to what you’re saying when you’re supplying them with all the details.The appeal has been rejected three times and the fourth letter said it doesn’t accept letters I’ve sent. They’ve sent another letter demanding £170. "
Colin said that when he spoke to a representative of the company online they were "arrogant" and "pig-headed", with an "unprofessional" approach. He described the situation as a "nightmare" after the ticket's reference number was rejected, and then the posted ticket was also rejected.
He said: " When you think of older people that are still driving and the technology is changing, they can put one digit wrong but they’ve still paid. Inthe old days, you had the machine with the cash, paid it and there never seemed to be an issue with that.
"The cameras are just a nightmare because whoever is using them isn’t doing it correctly. Older people are going to have these sorts of issues."
Smart Parking has been approached for comment. Fantasy Island was also approached for comment.
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