I parked my car in a large pay and display car park in Milton Keynes and bought a ticket for four hours from the nearest machine. On my return, less than three hours later, I found a parking charge notice from National Car Parks demanding £70 for not displaying a valid ticket. NCP refused to explain why it had issued the ticket, but I now understand that part of the car park is operated by NCP and part by the local council.
As many have done before me (there are cases online going back to 2007), I’d bought the ticket from the wrong machine, even though it was the nearest to my parking space. There’s no indication on the machines that their tickets are valid only in certain parts of the car park, no clear boundary between the different areas of the car park and signage is inadequate, with some roadway markings so worn that they’re illegible.
Since this situation is so unusual I believe the onus is on NCP to ensure motorists aren’t misled. When I protested at the poor design of the car park and insufficient signage, NCP offered to reduce my fine from £70 to £10. This is a small amount to pay but I object to NCP operating a policy that amounts to entrapment. It’s likely that several people a day are being caught out, but NCP refuses to do anything about it, presumably because it is in its commercial interest to trap as many unsuspecting motorists as it can. MM, Bedford
NCP feels your pain. “We are working hard to address the problems that always occur when you have a car park within a separate car park, both run by different companies, and we totally understand it could be confusing to a first-time parker at Milton Keynes,” says a spokesperson.
This hard work includes welcome signs at the entrances to the car park that ask motorists to pay at the NCP machines across the centre of the car park, but the request is in small lettering more than halfway down the board and hard to read while driving.
Other signs are on lamp-posts around the perimeter, which would not be visible to anyone parking near the centre. NCP agrees that the painted directions on the tarmac are hard to read and says they are being repainted within the week.
Your suspicion that the confusing arrangement is being used as a cash cow is understandable since, as you say, online complaints go back eight years and many have had their appeals turned down. Within hours of my contacting the press office, you are called by NCP and told that your fine has been waived as it’s now clear that you had “every intention to pay NCP”.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
