Retired nurse fined £160 because she doesn't have a phone app - but isn't paying

16 November 2023 , 17:26

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Agnes, 71, says the older generation are being "excluded" because they don't have an app (Image: Agnes Chandler / BPM Media)

A retired nurse from Cornwall is being persistently chased to pay a parking fine from almost a year ago - but is holding her ground and refusing to pay.

Agnes Chandler, 71, parked in Wadebridge last year - and says she was unable to pay for her parking because the machine was broken. The operators of the car park are Park Services Limited, who contend that Ms Chandler could have paid through the app but failed to do so.

As a result, Park Services Limited have increased the fine to £160 - a colossal increase from the initial fine. But Ms Chandler is absolutely adamant she won’t give in to the parking company, saying she is “not paying” as she wants to make a “stand for the older generation ”.

The pensioner says she doesn't know how to download an app and does not agree older generations should fall victim to being forced into using technology they are not well versed in. She says she will not succumb to Park Services Limited’s “bully-boy tactics”.

Agnes (not picture) says they can keep hounding her but she will never pay them (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"They can continue to send me their letters every month but I'm not paying. I'm making a stand for the older generation who's being excluded because they don't have an app,” said the retired nurse according to ITV.

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Mrs Chandler parked her car in Jubilee Road car park in Wadebridge on 23 January 2023 while she went to visit the local cinema with her friend. But a few days later she was handed a £60 payment notice from the company - and when she argued the machine was out of service, was told she should have used the app.

"That's when I saw red. I wouldn't know how to install an app,” Mrs Chandler said. “I'm not going to download apps for every car park I go to. How are people supposed to do all that when they're old? My husband is 85. He has not got apps on his phone. He couldn't park anywhere on his own now.”

“These people are stopping older people from going out and enjoying themselves. What's wrong with machines that work with either cards or coins? It might come back and bite me on the butt, but I'm not paying.”

Although the car park is actually co-owned by Wadebridge Town Council and the Co-op next to it, it is operated by Park Services Ltd. The Mirror has contacted the company for comment.

Alex Croft