Hope for drivers fined over tickets at Strothers Lane car park in Inverness
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ANGRY drivers snared by penalty charges at a controversial Inverness car park may have a glimmer of hope – after one reader successfully appealed against her "unfair" fine.
Sara Tyler was overjoyed with her successful appeal against a possible £100 charge from Smart Parking, the operators of the Strothers Lane car park, after she missed a single digit off her registration number.
"It was just so unfair, there was no way I was going to pay up," she said.
"I just kept pushing my case and was delighted when they got in touch to tell me they were cancelling it."
Ms Tyler (57) and her husband David (70), who live at Newmore near Invergordon, visited Inverness on January 12 and bought a ticket at the car park as usual.
Their visit lasted around 30 minutes as Ms Tyler said: "We were really in and out and used the car park because it is close to the shops.
"My husband has bad knees so it can be difficult for him to walk too far or to use multi-storey car parks because of the stairs.
"I thought I had done everything right so was really surprised when I got the charge notice from Smart Parking saying they were fining me."
Ms Tyler still had her ticket to hand and realised then that she had missed the letter "S" off the start of her registration when entering it into the ticket machine.
"I explained that and naively assumed the person who read my explanation would check the CCTV, see that a car with exactly the same registration number bar one missing letter had used the car park and paid for a ticket at the time stated, and put it down to simple human error," she said.
"I couldn't believe it when they came back and said they were upholding the charge because it was my responsibility to make sure all details were entered correctly."
Furious, and having seen the campaign in the Highland News, Ms Tyler wrote to Inverness MP Drew Hendry who has raised the matter several times in Parliament and backs the HN's campaign for action.
He then directed her to her own MP, Paul Monaghan, who wrote to Smart Parking on her behalf.
In his letter Mr Monaghan branded Smart Parking's initial response "unreasonable", and added: "The excessive threats are a source of anxiety for my constituent and many others who have had similar experiences in dealing with your company.
"I would be grateful if you could look again at Ms Tyler's appeal and reconsider your decision."
It was after this, Ms Tyler said, that she received a one line email from the firm informing her they were cancelling the charge.
"I was absolutely delighted and just want to thank the Highland News, Drew Hendry and Paul Monaghan for taking this company on," said Ms Tyler.
"I was able to fight, but it's concerning to think about more vulnerable people receiving these demands.
"I hope my success gives them the confidence to believe that, if they know they are in the right, they can fight these charges."
The HN has contacted Smart Parking to ask whether they will now reconsider the cases of other drivers charged after incorrectly entering their registration at ticket machines in Strothers Lane. There was no reply before we went to press.
n If you have experienced difficulties at the car park let us know at newsdesk@spp-group.com
