A parking firm has been branded "unethical" and "unscrupulous" after an elderly couple received a fine following a day trip to Whitley Bay.
Jean Hills, 72, and her disabled husband, Peter, 75, went on a trip to the seaside on July 5 and parked at the Spanish City car park. The married couple parked in a disabled bay, displaying a blue badge, and Jean paid for a parking ticket and displayed that on the dashboard too. But days later, on July 8, Jean received a letter from the parking firm who operate the car park, HX Car Park Management Ltd, saying they had incurred a charge.
Despite contacting the firm to appeal the £60 fine, Jean, who lives in Backworth, North Tyneside, decided to pay the money out of worry after it was rejected, but has since branded the company "unethical" and claims the parking machines are "deliberately complicated".
"We decided to have a day out at Whitley Bay and I wanted a disabled parking slot as my husband, Peter, is disabled and I thought it would be easier to get him in and out of the car", Jean said. "There was an extremely complicated machine and system to get a ticket, but I bought one and displayed it. We then had a couple of hours in Whitley Bay and thought no more about it."
But on July 8, Jean was stunned when she received a letter from HX Car Parking Management Ltd saying they had incurred a parking charge. Jean said: "In the letter, it's not clear what I've done wrong. I've either not validated it or it hasn't registered that I've paid. But why would it issue me with a ticket if I'd missed something off? It seems the machines are deliberately complicated to catch people out. This company is unscrupulous to say the least."
Jean says the letter she received fined her £60, but would go up to £100 if she didn't pay within 28 days. She said: "I appealed and explained that I've done nothing wrong but they rejected the appeal, no more explanation, so I just paid the money because it just made me nervous. It totally took me by surprise - ethically, it's not right."
Jean added: "They might be able to say 'you didn't press the last button' or something on the machine, but I think, they might technically be in the right, but morally they're not. They're thieving £60 off me for absolutely no good reason whatsoever. I paid for my parking and displayed the badge. I've got no choice but to pay it, I can't let it get any more expensive, it's like throwing money down the drain. I'll not use that car park again, I bet a lot of people are getting caught out."
But after The Chronicle became aware of Jean's story and contacted HX Car Parking Management Ltd, the firm acknowledged that they had "overlooked" her appeal and apologised for fining her. Jean will now be fully reimbursed by the company. A spokeswoman said: "Ms Hills entered the incorrect registration when paying for the parking. As the site is managed by ANPR cameras, the full and correct vehicle registration is required to validate the payment. We do state this on signage throughout the car park as well as the pay and display machine.
"Despite this, we do allow a two digit error margin. Ms Hills only entered one digit incorrectly and our appeals team have overlooked this. We should have therefore accepted the appeal, however this was declined in error. We will be sending Ms Hills an email to advise that the PCN has been cancelled, to apologise for the error and reimburse the £60 she has paid."
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