A couple have hit out at the owners of a private parking company after they received a fine despite paying for a ticket. Giles Thomas and his wife Sally Monro-Thomas claim they received the fine as Alliance Parking had not requested the car park payment from their bank account on time.
The couple were visiting their family in Cornwall over the new year when Giles decided to take their dogs for a walk at Harlyn Bay, where he parked in the car park nearby. He paid £2 at the ticket machine for a two-hour session and went on his walk before returning around 20 minutes later.
However, Giles and Sally were stunned when they received a parking charge notice through the post on January 8, demanding that a £100 fine, reduced to £60 if paid by January 22, be paid to the car park’s operator, Alliance Parking.
Luckily, the couple from Wiltshire had retained the ticket from the stay to prove they had paid. Upon checking their bank account, however, they noticed that the £2 payment had not left their account.
So they decided to ring Lloyds Bank on Saturday (January 11), which they claim told them that Alliance Parking had not requested payment until that morning – around 10 days after Giles parked at Harlyn Bay.
Sally has now appealed the fine and is awaiting the outcome. However, the couple have been left furious at the situation, blaming the “incompetence” of Alliance Parking for not requesting the payment on time and issuing them with a fine.
“It’s just £2 but it’s the principle of the matter,” Giles told CornwallLive. “My concern is for other visitors who paid on card but did not keep their ticket and are now receiving demands for £60 or, if not, it goes up to £170.
“I was absolutely furious when I got the fine. [Alliance Parking] did not take the money from my account, so it’s down to their incompetence.”
Sally added: “Everyone is so incensed by this. I feel sorry for people who paid but didn’t keep their ticket and are now receiving fines.”
CornwallLive contacted Alliance Parking for comment but it said only that the couple should await the outcome of the appeal process.
Last May, CornwallLive reported that a holidaymaker was left feeling angry over £100 parking charge after overstaying by 14 minutes at Harlyn Bay car park. At the time, the pensioner said he “feels sorry” for people who have to pay the standard, and increasingly high, charges let alone additional parking charge notices (PCNs).
While he clearly overstayed and broke the contract under which the parking ticket is provided, which is entirely his fault, he wasn’t happy with the company, even though he also exceeded its ‘grace period’.
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