2 weeks Ago
A driver has shared their frustration after receiving a fine which they believe is due to a faulty machine. In an investigation by the PA News Agency, they revealed numerous cases of drivers who insist they entered their registration correctly but still received a Penalty Charge Noticer (PCN). Many car parks require users to input their vehicle registration when purchasing a ticket from a machine.
This is supposed to prevent them being sent a PCN when their vehicle is detected by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. Each had initial appeals rejected, despite submitting a photograph of their ticket, which shows an incorrect registration was printed. Lee Rogers, 67, is among others across the UK who claim to have experienced this.
The retired chef received a fine from Euro Car Parks after using a car park in Rye, East Sussex, in August last year. After purchasing his ticket, he later realised the ticket he bought only had one digit of his registration printed on it. Lee said: “I did not stand there and key in just the first digit.
“Hundreds of others have had the same problem.” Lee said he told Euro Car Parks he would “very much like to go to court” over the issue as “they know I’ve paid”. His partner is feeling “trepidation that someone might come knocking at the door”, he also added.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has spoken out about the issue, describing it as “a problem that needs to be tackled”, while the RAC called for a government-backed code of conduct to be reintroduced. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Sadly, it’s abundantly clear from the multitude of examples that some parking companies are wrongly demanding ‘fines’ from drivers who have legitimately paid to park. “Whether it’s a faulty payment machine that records the wrong vehicle registration or an innocent mistake keying in their number plate, these people shouldn’t have to pay the £100 parking charge notices they are sent.
“Many cases seem completely unjustified and should be thrown out at appeal, but sadly they so often aren’t. “We desperately need the government to introduce the Private Parking Code of Practice to bring much-needed scrutiny to the sector.” A Bill to enable the introduction of a government-backed code for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.
The code was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies. It included halving the cap on tickets for most parking offences to £50, creating a fairer appeals system and banning the use of aggressive language on PCNs. Ms Alexander called for private parking companies to make a “dramatic improvement” in the way they deal with the public.
She urged them to do “simple things” such as having “machines and equipment that work”, and being contactable rather than providing “addresses that no-one answers letters from”. Ms Alexander went on: “Government is working on a code of practice because we recognise that we need to drive up standards in the private parking industry. “People’s experience is not good enough at the moment.
“I’m working with colleagues in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on this, and I do accept that this is a problem that needs to be tackled. Analysis of Government data by PA and motoring research charity the RAC Foundation in November last year found an average of more than 41,000 PCNs were being sent to drivers in Britain by private companies every day. A spokesperson for trade body the British Parking Association declined to respond to the claims of faulty machines, but said someone who receives a parking charge they believe was issued in error should first contact the parking operator and provide “all the information that would be relevant for an appeal”.
Excel Parking did not provide a response, while Euro Car Parks did not respond to requests for a comment..
