My partner bought a ticket in a private car park and mistook a zero for a letter O when inputting the registration number. She was subsequently issued with a parking charge notice by Smart Parking. We appealed but lost, even though it admitted in an email the parking had been paid for. It appears there is no recourse to appeal this charge through an independent mediator in Scotland.
I don’t want to let this go to the stage that we are threatened with court action, as we are looking to buy our first home and would hate to damage our credit ratings.
DS, Inverness
Requiring motorists to enter their car registration and charging for a slip of the finger is a profitable money spinner for private parking firms which, while not allowed to issue “fines”, can charge drivers for contravening terms and conditions.
Those T&Cs listed on the signs around the car park in question do state the correct registration must be entered as number plate recognition cameras flag up vehicles that don’t have a ticket. However, since Os and zeros are indistinguishable on number plates, a sentient human in the back office should accept that a payment was made in good faith.
Motorists in England and Wales can appeal through the Parking on Private Land Appeals scheme or the Independent Appeals Scheme, depending on which one the parking firm is signed up to. If it’s not signed up to either it can’t chase you for the money, because non-members cannot obtain your details from DVLA records.
In Scotland there is no independent appeals scheme, but if you refuse to pay you are on safer ground because, whereas in England and Wales the registered keeper can be held liable for any unpaid charge, that is not the case in Scotland.
You say you are the registered keeper and, as such, you are under no obligation to disclose your partner’s details to Smart Parking.
Happily your worries are over for Smart Parking agrees to cancel the charge as a “goodwill gesture”.
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.
