Telford man threatened with court action as car park cameras 'confused' by two visits to DIY store
A Telford man says he is being threatened with court action after he visited the car park at a local DIY store twice in the same day - but was penalised as if he'd spent hours there.
Richard Whitehead was doing some jobs for his mother when he popped into the Wickes home improvement store at Snedshill in the town.
The 48-year-old said he was inside the store for less than 20 in minutes on February 26, 2022, but found he then had to return a few hours later in his Nissan Navara after forgetting some supplies.
He said: "I went in to pick up some bits and pieces for a job I was doing for my mum. realised we had forgotten something and went back two and half hours later and thought nothing of it.
"But then I received a parking fine in the post that claimed I had stayed there for a number of hours."
Mr Whitehead said the car park allows for a free stay for up to 90 minutes, but he was slapped with a penalty notice after the ANPR (Automated number plate recognition) cameras got confused.
"When they sent the fine, the photos on it are the wrong way round and the picture of me 'entering' the car park is me leaving the first time around as you can clearly see the picture is taken from behind the car, and the picture they say is me 'leaving' is actually when I entered the first time because it is a shot of the front of the car," he said.
He said he thought the mistake would easily be rectified by appealing the parking fine, which was issued by Birmingham based Euro Parking Services.
"I tried the appeal but they sent it back saying the parking charge still stands. I even went into Wickes and spoke to the manager who said 'It happens all the time' but he was unable to help as I had already gone down the appeal route," added Mr Whitehead.
He said that Euro Parking Services have now threatened him with court action.
"I have now had a letter from a solicitor telling me I must pay £160 or they will take me to court. What gets me is that they are bullying me to pay this. I'm getting to the point where I think I should perhaps just pay it, but then I keep saying to myself 'Why should I, as I have done nothing wrong?'"
Nobody at Euro Parking Services was available to comment on the parking charge, but a spokesperson for Wickes said: "We are sorry to hear of Mr Whitehead’s experience.
"We are aware of the disputes occurring at the Telford Wickes car park, however the car park is not managed by Wickes and is instead managed by a third party. We are in the process of liaising with the relevant parties to see if changes can be made to the parking restrictions."
