I'll boycott Market Drayton Post Office after 'unfair' parking fine

Chris Clack received the ticket after parking at Market Drayton Post Office to pick up a postal order so he could set up a new photocard for his driving licence.

Counter staff told him it would be cheaper to do it electronically but when he tried to do so Mr Clack found the machine wasn't working – and as a result he overstayed the car park's 10 minute grace period.

The car park next to Market Drayton Post Office has been at the centre of debate for months after changing to a system that requires motorists to pay for parking over the phone.

Last month Maroof Shah, owner of the post office, wrote to car park management company Creative Car Parking Solutions, asking them to change the system.

But Mr Clack, of Walkmill Road, Market Drayton, said things had still not changed and as a result he has vowed to no longer use the post office until the system has been altered.

"I went into the post office for a postal order and if they had given me what I needed I would have gone in and got it and have driven away in the 10 minutes' allowance," said the 44-year-old.

"The post office staff said it would be cheaper to do it electronically but the machine didn't work so I was left waiting for about 20 minutes. In the end I just got a postal order.

"Four or five days later I got a parking fine for staying for 21 minutes. I was pretty angry that I got a ticket due to delays out of my control and I am not going to use the post office anymore out of principle. Instead I will be travelling to Whitchurch.

"The Corbet Arms used to be a real hub of the community and a nice place to go before it was turned into a post office.

"If you are using a public service like a post office I think you should be able to park for free. It is really putting people off using it now."

The car park uses a system where drivers must pay using a debit or credit card over the phone. Charges begin at 40p for one hour, although they do not come into place until 10 minutes after a car has entered the car park.

Town councillors have also raised concerns, with many residents not able to pay the initial fee because of poor mobile phone signal, or not having a mobile phone at all.

Creative Car Parking Solutions was not available to comment. But Mr Shah said: "We are still waiting for Creative Car Parking Solutions to change the system.

"We are hopefully getting a pay and display parking meter and hopefully changing the free parking time from ten to 20 minutes."