A university professor has told of her distress at getting locked inside a car park - fearing she would be trapped inside all night. Rachel McLean drove into the car park not realising that just minutes later it would be locked for the night and not reopen until the next morning.
As she went to pay for her parking session, she struggled to get the card machine to work on the parking machines and so tried the parking App instead. But she could not connect to that either, and did not have £6 in cash to use as the alternative payment.
After failing to find a way to pay online, she decided she would have to leave and find another car park - but at that point realised the shutters had gone down and she was locked inside.
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She was only able to "escape" when a resident of the adjoining apartment block came into the car park and let her use their fob to open the shutters. But Rachel couldn't believe it when she then received a £100 fine in the post after failing to pay for the 28 minutes she was trapped inside.
She is now planning to appeal the £100 Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) with parking firm Parkingeye. The Manchester Evening News asked the car park operator for comment - bosses said "19 prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly".
Rachel is speaking out about her experience to encourage others to always check before using unfamiliar car parks at night so they don't get caught out like she has.
Rachel, 57, from Atherton, is a professor at the University of Liverpool and was attempting to park up at Beetham Plaza in Liverpool to attend her students' graduate ball on the evening of Monday, May 15. She arrived at 6.54pm, and did not see a sign on the way in to say that it closed at 7pm - although has now been made aware there is a small red sign to the right of the main entrance.
She said: "I drove in at 6.54pm and didn’t see any signs telling me that this car park will be locked at 7 pm. I tried to pay but the card reader didn’t work. The app said no internet signal so I walked to the exit to see if I could get better signal. I didn’t have £6 in change so I couldn’t pay with cash.
"I walked to the exit to try to get the app to work. It still said no signal even though my phone showed a strong data signal. I went back to my car and decided I would have to leave as I physically could not pay as their pay systems did not work. But when I got to the exit it was locked.
"I went to find the pedestrian exit to find a phone number or someone to help but the pedestrian exit was also locked. I was completely locked in in a dark car park smelling of pee… with goodness knows who else.
"No one had shouted or looked to see if anyone was inside before locking up. According to the very small sign I found the car park would be unlocked at 7.30 am and I thought I faced a 12 and a half hour wait to be let out."
Nicola says she is thankful that a lady passing by overheard her talking to a friend on the phone about her plight. "As a resident in apartments close by she had a key fob to open the shutters and let me out. I was so relieved I drove straight out ASAP.
"But this week I got a parking charge notice … I was in there for 28 minutes. 5 by choice and 23 being locked in."
A Parkingeye spokesperson has confirmed that anyone using the car park is given an access code on how to open the barriers on their receipt when they have paid their tarriff. The car park is closed at 7pm each night due to concerns over anti-social behaviour in the area.
The spokesperson said: "The car park at Beetham Plaza features 19 prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly.
"The guidance advises motorists that tariffs apply 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the option to pay using one of four user-friendly machines on site or by telephone.
"The gates are closed at 7pm due to anti-social behaviour as signage throughout clearly states this. However, the pin to exit the car park is provided with the payment receipt.
The motorist received a Parking Charge Notice due to being in the car park for 28 minutes without making a payment. Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their Parking Charge. If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing. We have yet to receive an appeal from the motorist."
Rachel said she will definitely be appealing against the fine and making a formal complaint about her experience. She adds: "They have to allow a 10 minute grace period before a charge. I would have been in, realised I couldn’t pay, and out in 10 minutes if they hadn’t locked me in! So I definitely feel I have grounds for appeal."
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