Drivers across the UK have accused private parking firms of ‘unfair’ tickets.
The most morbid case was for Maurizio Capoccia, from Enfield, London, who received a £100 from Euro Car Parks, saying he had parked at a Sainsbury’s.
However, Maurizio told Metro he was at a funeral on the other side of town, and he was eventually able to prove it with CCTV from the church.
Other drivers have come forward claiming a faulty machine has landed them with a ticket.
One of them is Matt Chambers, who received a £100 Parking Charge Notice (PCN) after leaving his car at the Excel Parking site in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in February.
The 35-year-old business owner claimed the system had ‘only registered the letter B for my number plate,’ but he entered it correctly.
‘That’s not right. I’m adamant I put the whole number plate in because I’ve used that car park several times before, and it’s the exact same process every time.
‘I know how to use the machine.’
Those who have ever tried to challenge a parking ticket know it can be time-consuming.
While Matt continues to challenge his fine, he admitted it sometimes ‘feels easier to pay just to make them go away.’
Maurizio remained adamant and refused to pay his fine ‘because once you pay, they close the case,’ he told Metro previously.
Retired chef Lee Rogers says he received a fine from Euro Car Parks in August last year after the ticket he had bought only showed one digit of his number plate.
The 67-year-old insists: ‘I did not stand there and key in just the first digit.
‘Hundreds of others have had the same problem.’
He wasn’t afraid to go to court over the fine as ‘they know I’ve paid,’ he said.
We approached Euro Car Parks and Excel Parking for a comment.
Campaigners believe ‘thousands’ of drivers could be affected by faulty machines.
Campaigner Lynda Eagan, who helps drivers with private parking tickets, said most faulty machines involve ‘sticky keys’ as buttons pressed are not recorded correctly or devices which ask drivers to pay before full registration has been entered.
The latter machines are ‘set up to trap people,’ she claimed, as they accept payment even if only the first letter of a registration is entered.
Reaction to ‘unfair’ parking fines
Government figures analysed by PA news agency and the RAC Foundation in November last year found that private companies send around 41,000 parking tickets to drivers each day.
The RAC’s head of policy Simon Williams said that some parking companies are ‘wrongly demanding’ fines from drivers who have paid to park.
He continued: ‘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.’
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander urged private parking companies to make a ‘dramatic improvement’ in how they deal with the public, such as ‘machines and equipment that work.’
A spokesperson for trade body the British Parking Association anyone who believes they have received a parking ticket issued in error should contact the parking operator and provide ‘all the information that would be relevant for an appeal.’
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