Man paid for parking ticket and was fined

Ray Harrison was shocked to receive a fine for £100 for parking in the Winter Gardens car park in Morecambe even though he’d paid £2 to stay there for less than an hour.

ParkingEye said the fine was triggered because the wrong car registration number was entered on the ticket machine keypad.

Mr Harrison, who lives in Carnforth and owns West End post office in Morecambe, said: “It’s stupid.

“It’s easy to press the wrong button by mistake. I think a lot of people are going to have to be careful to enter their registration number correctly otherwise they’ll get fined.”

The Visitor has received dozens of complaints from motorists since a new ‘ParkingEye’ hidden camera was installed in the car park earlier this year.

A ParkingEye spokesman said: “When an individual parks in a ParkingEye car park they must enter their registration details and pay for the amount of parking they use.

“If either of these are not done then a vehicle is liable for a parking charge notice. On this occasion the motorist entered an incorrect vehicle registration number. We operate an industry-leading audited appeals process as detailed on the parking charge notice and encourage people to appeal if they feel there are extenuating circumstances.

“An appeal has not been received, but since being made aware of this case, the charge has been cancelled as a gesture of goodwill.”

The new ParkingEye system photographs and logs the registration plate of every car entering and leaving the car park through the main gate.

In September, a row broke out after the Parking Eye system triggered fines for people working at the nearby Winter Gardens, despite an agreement which allows a limited number of motorists on official business to park for free in spaces behind the theatre.