WE travelled across the county to attend the opening of the new Marks & Spencer store in Trowbridge.
Before visiting we read an article in the Wiltshire Times that explained there were 125 free parking places at this exciting addition to the county town.
As we arrived we were directed where to park by a man in a white shirt and a badge, who we have been told was an employee of Smart Parking.
Crossing the road with care because of the volume of traffic, we were greeted by the new management, shopped and left after an hour – a camera monitored entry and exit times so any overstay would have been flagged up automatically.
We now discover, along with another 100 or so people, that we have been fined £48 for not getting a ticket for our ‘free’ parking.
Smart Parking seem to have used the event as a money-making exercise. Surely warning notices would have been more appropriate but that would have cost the firm money rather than raking it in.
ROGER DAY
Wedhampton
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