2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Elli Hodgson)
Dozens of Evri couriers are being chased by debt collectors after their depot decided to install private parking cameras, KentOnline can reveal. Early time slot drivers at the Saxon Place depot in Strood were told automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras were going live in November to stop unauthorised parking, with a maximum stay of 90 minutes introduced. However, the first wave of drivers, those starting at 7.
45am, were told their registrations would be added to an exemption list because they often need to wait for more than 90 minutes for lorries carrying parcels to arrive before they start their round. Despite this, at least 20 drivers started to receive parking fines from management company Smart Parking. I am told by one courier she received 26 fines in total, each demanding £170 - that’s a total £4,420.
And this situation is the same for many others, who have accrued a collection of fines worth thousands which are yet to be cancelled. Despite this, Evri told KentOnline the car park operator, Smart Parking, had confirmed all parking charge notices had been cancelled and it had informed couriers in March. The delivery company also said it would “ensure couriers are supported with any outstanding concerns”.
However, several Evri drivers have sent me text messages and letters from Debt Recovery Plus that have arrived in April, after the tickets were allegedly cancelled. After a meeting with their management to get the tickets quashed, some Evri drivers received a letter from Smart Parking indicating the notices have been cancelled. Yet many others have been left in the lurch as they continue to be inundated by letters, with many worried about the adverse effect this could have on their credit rating.
During the week commencing April 7, two couriers called Debt Recovery Plus to check if the penalty had been cancelled, only to be told it hadn’t and they must pay. Each letter from Debt Recovery Plus states the recipient must pay £170 to “close your case, avoid legal action, protect your credit score”. It warns that if the person does not pay “your financial loss will increase significantly if your case goes to court and you are unsuccessful”.
It is these threats which are unsettling the couriers who have been fined simply for doing their job. One courier from Gillingham has worked for Evri for nearly 12 years and as one of the early round drivers she tells me she is often at the depot for three to fours before all her parcels arrive. Because of this, she was told she would be exempt and provided her registration number to the manager to be added to a list, but despite this she still received a penalty notice.
She tells me that when she raised it with her manager she was asked to send a copy of the ticket which would be passed to the field manager to resolve with Smart Parking. “We still have tickets that are outstanding. Nothing is being done.
This has been going on for months. It’s stressful,” she added. Now she wants the situation to be resolved because she is “loyal” to her customers and wants to continue in her role.
She said: “No one seems to be fighting our corner. We are just trying to do our job.” One courier, who wished to stay anonymous, received 11 tickets in total.
She said: “What is frustrating everyone is, why were the ANPR cameras put here in the first place? “There is no justification for them to be in our car park.” When I ask Evri, I was informed these cameras were introduced to support with traffic flow and to ensure all couriers could access a parking space when needed. An exemption system was set up to ensure couriers wouldn’t be impacted, but unfortunately, an issue with the system was identified.
The company assures me it worked quickly with Smart Parking to correct the issue, but when I talk to the couriers, I’m told a different story. After the issue was raised with Evri, management then told affected couriers to start scanning a free QR in the car park which provides free parking for 24 hours, while they attempted to resolve the exemption problem. But this system had its own issues when a scan of the QR code in the Kent-based depot was registering as Bradford, in West Yorkshire, creating further problems.
One Evri driver said: “They are trying to fine their own couriers to pick their parcels up. “They told us we were exempt. “It’s not fair, why should some be cancelled and others get threatened with a county court judgment.
” As a result of the situation, one courier told KentOnline how the cost of her fines reached £1530. Another employee, who has been with Evri for over 10 years, tells me she was hit with around nine parking tickets despite being told she had been added to the exemption list. Although all but one of her fines have now been cancelled, she was told by Debt Recovery plus that if she did not pay by the deadline of April 10 she would be going to court.
She said: “It’s caused so much distress but we are not paying it, we have done nothing wrong.” I spoke to one more courier facing a similar battle after receiving 26 tickets in total. Because her delivery van was in the name of her partner, when his mortgage came up for renewal, the money being chased by Debt Recovery Plus flagged up and he had to explain to the bank his predicament in order to get a fixed rate.
She said: “It was very stressful at the time. We are not paying the fines because we should not have to. “The fines are more than we earn in a day.
We have not had a letter to say our fines have been cancelled. There are still all outstanding.” Each time she raised it with her manager, she was told to send pictures of the parking fines and was reassured it would be resolved by higher management.
“Until you get that piece of paper saying it has been cancelled it’s always at the back of your mind,” she added. “What if that debt collector is going to turn up at the door? “The only reason I stay is because I love the job. I like the customers.
” Smart Parking told KentOnline: “We have worked closely with Evri and have now rectified the issues at the car park. “However we will continue to monitor the situation.” Have you got a consumer issue or problem which needs highlighting? Not sure on your rights? Contact reporter Elli Hodgson on ehodgson@thekmgroup.
co.uk.
