Inverness MP Drew Hendry calls for cancellation of unfair fines at Strothers Lane car park
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DRIVERS who have been fined after accidentally entering the wrong number plate at a city centre car park should have the penalty written off, the city’s MP has said.
Drew Hendry spoke out after the British Parking Association (BPA) announced new rules which say while drivers should still expect to receive a fine if they have not entered their details correctly, private parking operators must cancel it at the first stage of the appeal.
Previously, people who entered their registration information incorrectly could be fined up to £100.
As a BPA member, the new rule will apply to Smart Parking, which runs the Strothers Lane car park in Inverness city centre.
But Mr Hendry wants the company to go one step further by also cancelling charges for any drivers currently being pursued over such an innocent mistake – even if it was before the rule change took effect.
He said: “I have written to the BPA to welcome this move and to ask that they contact all private parking operators to halt any active pursuance of motorists who have received fines due to these kinds of errors.
“People who have paid in good faith should not be pursued for large fines and I know there are many people out there who are currently appealing these decisions.
“People who make genuine errors in typing in their number plate into these machines, but have paid their parking fee in good faith should never have been faced with often eye-watering fines and I am pleased the BPA has finally heeded our calls to take firmer action on private parking operators.
“Far too many people have had to battle with private parking operators on this issue, including many people using the Smart Parking-operated car park at Strothers Lane. All that is needed is a bit of bad light or a slip of the finger to generate a fine.”
A spokesman for Smart Parking said: “We take our responsibility to our customers very seriously and we constantly engage with key stakeholders in the industry, including the BPA and government, in order to review and identify ways of making parking easier while improving the overall customer experience.
“To that end, we welcome and fully support the changes and clarification’s within the BPA’s recently updated code of practice.”
David MacKenzie, Highland Council’s trading standards manager, said: “Private car parking is a legitimate trading activity but it must be carried out fairly.
“While we have little sympathy for motorists who simply don’t pay when they should, drivers who have paid for their parking should not be penalised for minor procedural errors such as mistyping their number plate.”
