Shoppers stung by Parkhaven car park fines despite paying

Ron Maplesden, 80, and Peter Wordley, 62, both contacted the Wiltshire Times to complain about the ticket machines at The Shires car park in Trowbridge.

In both cases, they had received PCNs after having paid the £1 fee for parking over the free hour allowed.

Mr Wordley, of Sandringham Road, said his wife Julie, 59, regularly used the centre at least four days a week to shop and enjoy a coffee with friends.

He said the couple knew of several people who had received PCNs from Parkmaven, the company that manages the car park in Bythesea Road.

“Decent people have tried to pay for a service and through no fault of their own have been charged, he said.

Not fit for purpose: an angry Peter Wordley says the machines need fixing. Photo: Trevor Porter 70339-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Mr Wordley described the situation at The Shires as “scandalous” as shoppers are told by the machines their payment has gone through when it has actually failed.

“A lot of them are elderly in their 80s and they just paid up but they swear blind that they had paid. One guy even paid by coins and it told him that it had gone through but he got a PCN.”

Once shoppers leave the car park without paying, or if the transaction fails, Parkmaven’s ANPR system registers them as having not paid, meaning they later receive a PCN demanding a £60 charge.

This later escalates to £100 if their appeal fails, and to £170 if they fail to pay within the allocated time.

The pay machines for parking at The Shires shopping centre in Trowbridge sometimes fail to register payment, say shoppers. Photo: Trevor Porter 70338-1 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Ron Maplesden, of Brook Road, Trowbridge, said he had received two PCNs; one of them when the machine was out of order, and the other when the machine failed to register a £1 transaction.

“The dilemma at this car park is that the machines provided by the parent company, Parkmaven, have not regularly worked and have been out of use on several occasions,” he said.

“In my case, the coin machines failed the register the parking fee having inserted the £1 coin needed for the fee.

“Having called a member of The Shires security team to view the machine in question and by inserting another £1 coin in his presence the machine still failed to record the fee payment.

“In my first appeal, I did advise the company that these machines are failing the citizens of Trowbridge and beyond as well as their own company’s profile in Trowbridge.

“There are no signs to indicate who locally you can report the failings of these machines only that you will get a PCN from Parkmaven.”

Mr Maplesden managed to successfully appeal the first PCN he received because security staff had confirmed the parking machine was out of order when he parked.

He is still going through an appeals process for the second PCN that he picked up three weeks ago.

“My first appeal was supported by the Parkmaven company; however my second was not. I have raised the issue with the POPLA independent appeals service and await their response.

“I feel sure many members of our town and beyond feel aggrieved by the imposition of these machines especially when they do not function as they should.”

Sarah Moore, manager of The Shires centre, said they had cancelled PCNs sent to shoppers when a power cut affected the outside ticket machine.

But she advised the situation has now been resolved with new cabling and said the machines should be working properly.

“There should be no further issues, but customers should be aware that we do try to help when we know there is a problem," she added.