Manchester Evening News readers have been sharing their experiences of being hit with fines at a shopping centre car park - despite having paid to park there.
A number of drivers reported receiving parking charge notices of up to £100 in the post after leaving their cars at the Peel Centre in Stockport, even though they have paid up front to park and not overstayed the time.
Drivers have to input their registration number to buy a ticket, which is then matched with data from automatic number plate recognition cameras.
Anchor Group Services, the parent company of private firm Care Parking, which issues the notices, said it 'was aware of an issue' with the machines, when they were upgraded in June.
The company said it has been manually checking registration plates that have not matched up with data from the camera since the issue first came to light.
But since the M.E.N reported on the issue yesterday, many readers have got in touch to say that they too have been affected - and are still having problems at the car park.
Some reported receiving parking charge notices after leaving their cars there as recently as this month.
Charlene Wolstenholme shared a message on the M.E.N's Facebook page from Care Parking, about a notice that had been issued in error and cancelled earlier this month.
It reads: "This error was due to the machine used to make purchase delaying the data from being sent through to our ANPR system, unfortunately we were unaware of this at the time of issue and have been manually cross-referencing the data on our system and cancelling any PCNs which should not have been issued.
"Our technical support officer has since updated the machine and fixed the delay in place, and Care Parking are taking further measurements to ensure this does not happen again.
"All of the data on the machine has been sent through to us, so we can now accurately check our payment data and confirm payments by searching vehicle registration, meaning that even without a ticket this can be looked into".
The company is adamant however, that the system is now working.
When contacted by the M.E.N about readers' concerns on Wednesday, Anchor Group Services said that 'the system is fully operational and the manual checking processes are effective'.
Meanwhile, others have contacted the M.E.N to say they no longer shop at the Peel Centre after their own experience with parking.
B Ezzer tweeted: "Happened to my wife on the day they changed the ticket machines in June. Got a fine in the post.
"Made several phone calls got no joy. Ended up giving up.
"The outcome is we no longer use the business at Peel Centre.
"Maybe Peel and those shops should listen to the shopping public."
Read more of today's stories here
Yvonne Holmes wrote: "This has just happened to me. I think people should boycott this car park and the traders will soon ask for action to be taken.
"The Peel Centre will start losing money, because people will park elsewhere or go to out of town shopping centres where parking is free."
Matie Kann wrote: "The company are awful. The charges are totally disproportionate. I've had two and I refuse to park there anymore even though I'm a regular visitor".
Lorraine Moores wrote: "Learnt my lesson. Wont be going to the Peel Centre anymore. It's no wonder people don't use Stockport for shopping.
"The Council will be moaning when there are empty units. Scandalous."
Jackie Blackburn said: "Just paid my £60 as was from August although wasn’t convinced. After reading this I have found my ticket in the car and the robbing sods are wrong!!"
Janet Kershaw commented on Facebook: "They sent me a fine for £100 saying I was 40 minutes late. I was lucky I still had the ticket. I had another hour on the ticket.
"I rang them up and told them I have the ticket and I had an hour left from the time they said I left. They looked on their system and said 'oh it's an error you paid 3 pounds we will cancel it'. I keep all my parking tickets now."
Cady Phillips wrote: "We got 2, the day after each other a few weeks ago and we ALWAYS get a ticket! We have sent a letter of dispute! It’s a joke!"
Others called for the ticket machines to be more user friendly, with some drivers caught out by accidentally inputting the wrong registration number in the machine.
Stan Duncan wrote: "This happened to me. I had inadvertently added an extra digit to my car's registration. I appealed and won. The legal point is that the company suffered no loss as I had paid and parked appropriately and left in time. So appeal successful.
"I do however think the machines for entering ones registration could be more user friendly, and with better lighting and highlight when an extra digit has been entered".
Alex Hiles, corporate services director of Anchor Group Services, said: "My advice to anybody who has not had their issue resolved over the phone would be to follow the appeals advice printed on the Parking Charge Notice they have received.
"The reason an appeal in writing is requested is that this enables the parking team to conduct a full review of each case and cross reference data on multiple platforms, this is not always possible with a customer waiting on the phone.
"Anybody who appeals and is unsuccessful will also be given the opportunity to submit their appeal to POPLA (The Parking on Private Land Appeals Service) for independent review and adjudication. This option is only available following the conclusion of our internal appeals procedures.
"I have discussed the car park operation with the Care Parking Management team and they have shown me that the system is fully operational and their manual checking processes are effective."
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