Apology after Telford shopper mistakenly fined £140 for 'two-day stay'
A man has been incorrectly fined more than £140 after a Telford supermarket camera wrongly clocked a combined stay of nearly two days.
Sam Garton, from Telford, was given two separate £70 fines for a 19 hour and 31 minute stay in June, and a 17 hour and two minute stay in August at an Asda car park in Donnington.
But the 21-year-old insists he was not camped out for a long-haul shop and that the car park’s camera system, operated by ParkingEye, combined two short stays on consecutive days.
“In June I came home to find a £70 fine, that could be reduced to £40 if I paid it quick enough,” he said.
“After complaining multiple times I was told this was resolved but still received another reminder weeks after it was supposedly sorted.
“Then on August 28 I come home to a ParkingEye letter reading ‘URGENT’ for a separate £70 fine because of the same mistake.
“I can assure you despite the fact I do love a bargain I was not camping in the car park waiting for them to slap a reduced sticker on the cakes.
“I received these parking charges because I was a returning customer – I even have a ticket from a hospital appointment I went to in between these times.”
ParkingEye is the UK’s biggest private parking company, used commonly by supermarkets and hospitals, and primarily uses automatic number plate recognition cameras on entry and exit to monitor car parks.
“I had to take the second fine to the store’s deputy manager to sort out in the end,” said Mr Garton.
“They shouldn’t be sending out these kinds of letters, especially forceful reminders demanding you pay money you don’t owe them due to their mistakes.
“To have this happen twice in a matter of months clearly shows a lack of functionality with these cameras.
“Many people can’t afford to pay these fines and I dread to think how many vulnerable or elderly people it has affected.”
Elizabeth Lee, a ParkingEye spokeswoman, said: “We always encourage motorists to appeal if there are mitigating circumstances and instructions about how to do this are detailed on all communication and on our website.
“In this instance the parking charge notices have been cancelled.”
Matt Somerford, an Asda spokesman, said: “We are happy to hear that the fine has been rescinded by ParkingEye, who oversee our car parking system, and would like to apologise to Mr Garton.”
