Inverness car park 'cowboys' spark fury
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THE time has come to put a stop to unfair charges at a controversial Inverness car park.
Drivers using the Strothers Lane car park next to TK Maxx have become increasingly fed up of receiving hefty bills for minor infringements – including being just a minute over the time and entering an incorrect registration number.
The car park, run by Smart Parking, has attracted major criticism over a number of years for the way such breaches are pursued.
The Highland News has reported complaints before – including the case of a man who was charged £160 after being accused of staying little more than a minute over an allowed 10-minute waiting time.
And now the HN is stepping in to try to end what seem to be accelerating problems.
Similar complaints have also been aired online concerning Strothers Lane and the string of other car parks the Perth-based company runs all across the country.
Branding the firm "cowboys", customers have told about how they have been sent demands for huge amounts despite apparently minor breaches such as staying slightly over the time allowed, or even being fined despite ticket machines not accepting their money.
This week David Smith from Inverness received a demand for £100 after his partner entered his car’s registration number incorrectly. The car park uses automatic number plate recognition and drivers have to enter their car number in order to get a ticket.
"She was in town for an event and completely by accident entered the number wrongly, putting in an ‘O’ that should have been a zero and letter ‘I’s that should have been ones," he said.
"After going through the appeal process we were told the fine is being upheld because of this error – even though they acknowledge that an otherwise valid ticket was bought.
"That’s what makes it particularly galling to be honest – that they admit a ticket was bought for the correct time, yet they’re still levying this ridiculous penalty."
Also this week, Vivek Patil from Aberdeen was charged £60 for apparently staying beyond his allowed time. He said the problem was having to wait for a space to become available.
"After waiting for around 15 minutes with the engine running I got a space and parked," he said. "It took me a couple of minutes to get the kids out of the car and then find the machine, where I then paid for two hours.
"Again it took a few minutes once we got back to get in and belted up before we left.
"Smart Parking then sent me this notice and even though I’ve appealed twice now and don’t see why I should have to pay for the time spent with my engine running rather than actually parked they don’t seem to agree with this."
Smart Parking said Mr Patil should have paid for 142 minutes in total rather than just the two hours he was actually parked for.
In both cases the company said it is drivers’ responsibility to make sure they enter details correctly and pay for the right amount of time.
"The terms and conditions of the car park are clearly advertised around the site and must be adhered to by all drivers," a Smart Parking spokesman said.
A swathe of advice has been published about how to deal with Smart Parking demands, including challenging them over the size of the amount, how clearly charges are displayed in car parks and whether such charges can be enforced if the company is only able to identify the owner of a vehicle rather than who was actually driving at the time.
Inverness South councillor Carolyn Caddick was caught out at Strothers Lane after failing to locate an alternative ticket machine when the main one on site was damaged and said her advice was to keep appealing against any charge notice issued.
"Every time they came back I just kept arguing my case," she said. "And now that it’s over I will never, ever park there again.
"I’m sure I’ve personally had about a dozen people over the last couple of years getting in touch to report problems they’ve had – all on the face of it people who seemed to have legitimate reasons for not exactly following the rules as they are set out.
"That to me is the major thing – that these are for small, often unavoidable, slips and not people deliberately trying to avoid paying, and the response by Smart Parking seems to be out of all proportion."
She said she had been advised that trading standards could investigate practices at the car park, if they hear from enough drivers over the issue.
So now the Highland News is asking YOU to get in touch with us if you’ve ever had any problems at the Strothers Lane car park.
Do you believe you have been unfairly treated? Maybe it was over a mistake with your registration number or the time you spent in the car park, or some other issue.
Whatever the reason, we want to hear about it so we can compile evidence that we can then present to trading standards on your behalf.
Email us at newsdesk@spp-group.com with your details.
