Drivers receive £100 parking charges due to 'faulty display' machines and appeals are rejected by operator
- Have you received an unfair parking charge? Email editor@thisismoney.co.uk
Drivers say they have been unfairly asked to pay hundreds of pounds due to 'faulty' parking machines.
Private parking company Euro Car Parks has been accused of demanding drivers pay charges of £100 after its ticket machines incorrectly recorded vehicle registrations.
Motorists using the machines enter their registration details when they purchase a ticket - a system used across the UK - but argue the machines are faulty and recording registrations wrong.
This has left drivers being sent parking charge notices despite insisting they've followed the instructions, because there's no record of payment when their number plates are identified by cameras.
Affected motorists told the PA news agency they are being 'bullied' by Euro Car Parks despite buying tickets to use Syston Town Square car park in Leicestershire.
One said they would 'rather go to prison' than pay more money.
Euro Car Parks' machines like this one are reportedly incorrectly recording registration numbers leaving motorists facing 'unfair' £100 parking notice charges
A video posted online appears to show a woman typing her registration into the keypad on one of the car park's two machines, but different numbers and letters are displayed on the screen.
The RAC described the situation as 'scandalous' and warned it has received reports of similar problems elsewhere.
There is growing criticism of the private parking industry over claims of aggressive debt collection, misleading and confusing signage, and unreasonable fees.
More than 130 Facebook users have joined a group for people unhappy with their treatment after using Syston Town Square car park.
Many have received PCNs each worth £100, and had their appeals rejected by Euro Car Parks despite some providing evidence that a ticket was purchased.
The amount of money being demanded increases as drivers continue to refuse to pay, with some reporting being asked for sums such as £900, £680, £570 and £400, as well as receiving threats of court action and visits from bailiffs.
Motorist Debbie Dinckal said car park users `feel bullied´ (Joe Giddens/PA) after being asked to pay £100 and having appeals rejected
While the 'unfair' situation in Leicestershire has caught attention, the RAC says it is happening across the country
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Single mother Debbie Dinckal, 55, created the group after receiving a PCN following her visit to the car park in June 2023.
Euro Car Parks rejected her appeal even though she sent the company a photo of her ticket, which is missing the final three letters of her registration.
She was later sent an offer to settle the issue for £20 – which she declined – and a debt collection company is now demanding £170.
Ms Dinckal said: 'You feel bullied and frustrated because there's nowhere to go.
'If they were trying to take money out of your bank account, you could go to the police or your bank.
'But you're in a position where you're just repeating yourself saying, 'I've got a ticket, I've got a ticket', and they will say, 'No, you need to pay it'.'
Ms Dinckal said: 'I think they're faulty machines.'
She added many people are accepting settlement offers as they 'don't want the hassle'.
One group member wrote that they have set up a £50 monthly payment plan 'as my credit score has been affected'.
Another driver, Kenneth Pruden, 77, was sent a PCN in August 2022 after the registration printed on the ticket he purchased had one wrong letter.
He said: 'We're pensioners, we may well have put a wrong digit in, but it could equally have been the machine at fault.
'I have sent them countless photographs of my ticket which shows that I had paid.
'I had mediation where they offered to come down from £280 to £260.
'I declined their offer and was told I would have to go to court.
'I would rather go to prison than pay a penny.'
Analysis of Government data shows it handed out 1.7 million parking charge notices to drivers in Britain in the year to the end of March 2024
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'It's scandalous that so many people over so many years who've legitimately paid to use this car park have been issued £100 parking charge notices because of a fault with the payment machines.
'Sadly, we've heard reports of this happening at other car parks too.
'Many have appealed and have staggeringly been rejected. Others have been sent threats from debt collection firms, adding £70 to the bill, forcing them to pay up for fear of the cost escalating even more.
'A private parking company should not be able to intimidate people like this, especially when the fault lies with them.'
Mr Williams urged Euro Car Parks to 'do the right thing' and write off all PCNs where people have legitimately paid for parking.
He also called on industry body the British Parking Association – of which Euro Car Parks is a member – to 'intervene to ensure this doesn't happen again'.
Euro Car Parks manages more than 3,000 car parks across the UK and Ireland.
The company's latest published accounts show it made a pre-tax profit of £12.5million in 2023.
Analysis of Government data shows it handed out 1.7million parking charge notices to drivers in Britain in the year to the end of March 2024.
Euro Car Parks did not respond to requests for a comment from PA.
The BPA has said that is investigating the car park and will comment when the investigation is completed.
The Government needs to introduce a 'code of conduct' for parking firms
There are fresh calls for a Government-backed code of conduct to be reintroduced to stop fat cat parking firms unfairly charging motorists.
Off the back of the Syston Town parking problem RAC head of policy Simon Williams said that the industry's code of practice 'isn't working.'
A Bill to enable the introduction of a Government-backed code for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.
It was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said that the industry's code of practice 'isn't working' and calls for a government code of conduct
The code included halving the cap on tickets for most parking offences to £50, creating a fairer appeals system and banning the use of aggressive language on tickets.
Two industry bodies, the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC), jointly introduced their own code in June 2024.
The industry's code was updated last month to tell signatories they should stop issuing tickets when drivers take too long to pay after arriving, as long as they pay before they leave.
This applies to privately owned car parks where fixed cameras monitor when cars enter and exit.
Mr Williams commented: 'We badly need the Government's code to finally come into force to protect drivers.
'Sadly, even though an Act of Parliament was introduced in 2019, the official code has been delayed by nearly six years.'
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