Couple vow to boycott retail park after being hit with…

Couple vow to boycott retail park after being hit with unexpected fine while visiting The Range

A couple have said they "will never go back" to a retail park after being hit with a fine for "driving through a different entrance."

Jane Almond said she and her husband were slapped with a charge for 'parking in a permit area' during their visit to the Innovation Park on Edge Lane in Liverpool. But, much to their surprise, the pair didn't actually receive the fine until almost six months after the incident supposedly occurred on May 18 this year.

Mrs Almond said usually she would not have remembered something that happened so long ago, but the notice was listed on a significant date - she had picked her husband in her car after a job interview that day

The 51-year-old, from West Derby, told the ECHO : "We do everything by the book so we were completely shocked to receive the fine. I remember the date it happened because it was a huge day for me as I had just had an interview for a new job after 17 years in my previous role.

"My husband had taken me to the interview, waited for me and after the interview we wanted to pop into The Range. We approached The Range from the opposite direction to which we were used to and my husband took a wrong turn.

"There was a notice stating private land but we were only in this part of the park for literally minutes. My husband managed to find his way back to The Range area of the car park. Our parking notice said we 'parked in a permit area'. But we never parked anywhere other than The Range car park - we just inadvertently drove in the incorrect entrance."

The parking notice said Mrs Almond was in the "permit area" for 85 minutes. But she disputes this saying that was the whole time they were in the park including the time parked correctly outside The Range.

Mrs Almond said when she received the £100 fine she "laughed out loud" and thought it was "a scam". And she added her efforts to contact Vehicle Control Services Ltd, who manage the parking, have been unsuccessful.

Mrs Almond said she was speaking about her experience because "hundreds" of people could find themselves in a similar situation. She said: "It's very unfair and there's lots of confusion over parking at Innovation Park. Hundreds of people have probably been in the same situation before and hundreds will probably experience it in the future.

"My husband said he'll never go back again. We'd just be petrified driving there worrying about being in the wrong place."

A representative for Vehicle Control Services Ltd told the ECHO : "We would invite Mrs Almond (or her husband) to formally appeal to us through our recognised appeals process and within the prescribed timescales. Details of how to appeal are set out on the reverse of the Parking Charge Notice she received. Once we receive an appeal we will review matters further."

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