A man has hit out at a parking company after he was given a hefty fine when a 'faulty' ticket machine didn't take payment
Andrew Howlett met his brother-in-law Alex during the height of lockdown for his permitted daily exercise.
The pair pulled up to West Pentire Car Park, operated by UK Car Park Management (CPM).
They parked separately and went to get a ticket at the pay and display machine.
But the machine didn’t work and the pair both tried to use their bank cards with no success.
Andrew from Perranporth, Cornwall, has used it with a card in the past.
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the commentsHe told CornwallLive “We were left with the decision to either stay, or drive all the way back to find coins, which I don’t think I even had there.
“Then we’d have to drive back in a national lockdown where travelling should be kept to a minimum. The card machine should be working, and it’s unreasonable for us to get a charge for that.”
Shortly after their February 28 trip, the pair were both sent a parking fine for £170.
They both appealed the fine to CPM, and offered to pay the original amount for the parking, but they were both rejected.
Andrew was sent CCTV images of him entering and leaving the parking as evidence that he had refused to pay.
On April 8, he was told they rejected the appeal having reviewed the evidence, but he claims they did not take into account the circumstances of cash not being readily used during the pandemic.
CPM re-issued the fine on April 23, and he appealed it once again on April 29, which was rejected on May 10. He was, for a third time, sent the parking charge notice on May 10.
Andrew's appeals to CPM yielded nothing, while his brother in law’s to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) for parking was successful.
Cornwall Live reports the IAS said: “The Terms claimed to be in force by the operator (CPM) do not match the evidence provided.”
By the time he realised this would work, it was beyond 21 days since the charge - and it would no longer be possible.
“I was less diligent than my brother-in-law when it came to appealing, by not going to the IAS,” he said,
“But I think it’s still unreasonable for them to fine me for this.”
He attempted to lodge an appeal to the IAS in June, to no avail, and as a last resort tried a final time to CPM on June 11. He was given an acknowledgement of the appeal - and has heard nothing from them since.
Andrew has, however, heard from the parking industry’s resident bailiffs. Debt Recovery Plus.
He said: “I am now being sent threatening letters asking me to pay £170 or face court action and damage to my future credit score should I not pay.
“It’s just not reasonable to issue a fine when I have made a reasonable attempt to pay and have offered to pay the fee later on.
“And I have evidence of other car park users on the same day being cleared.
“I understand these things need reprimands, but I tried to pay it at the time and someone else had their appeal overturned. It’s an injustice.”
CornwallLive reports that it attempted to reach CPM for a comment.
