'Bewildered' driver, 87, slapped with £100 fine after paying £1 to park his car
An elderly driver has been left "bewildered" after being slapped with a £100 fine - despite paying £1 for an hour's parking and leaving on time.
Peter Wills, 87, popped to Weymouth town centre and left his car in St Nicholas Street Car Park to do some routine shopping on July 11. He entered his Nissan’s vehicle registration number into the ticket payment machine and paid £1 for an hour’s parking.
But a week later, the retired repairman received a Parking Charge Notice claiming that no valid permit had been purchased - despite him having a physical copy of the ticket. His family are now fighting against the fine on his behalf, saying they won't pay for it "in a million years".
A letter from Euro Car Parks said that "no valid pay and display/permit was purchased" (Shelley Wills / BPM Media)Peter's daughter-in-law, Shelley Wills, told Dorset Live: "He always goes there to park and always pays and displays his ticket. He went into the car park as usual, got his ticket, displayed it in his car and then went shopping. He came back and got in his car, carried on as usual.
"He did see only the last three letters of his vehicle registration were on the ticket but he thought nothing more about it as he thought he had done nothing wrong. On July 19, a letter came through the post with this parking charge notice for £100. He was a bit bewildered about it as he had paid for parking and left before his hour was up."
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A letter from Euro Car Parks said that "no valid pay and display/permit was purchased", and included photographs of Peter entering and leaving the car park. However, Peter kept his original parking ticket to prove he did in fact pay. His infuriated family claim that a printing error may have caused Peter to receive the fine. Only the last three letters of his vehicle registration appeared on the display ticket, when the full registration is usually printed.
They do not believe that human error played a part in the fine, and noted that other drivers have had similar experiences. "This ticket only printed off the three letters at the end of his registration" Shelley said. "Following the letter, I have spoken to people and researched this on Facebook groups and a lot of people say there’s a problem with that car park.
"One parent noted a similar issue with her parking ticket and later ended up with a parking fine. I don’t want it to go away or just pay the fine as I have been looking on Facebook and trying to get an answer. He tried ringing Euro Car Parks and he got no answer." The family also claim that workers were seen on another day inspecting the ticket machine, which they believe suggests that Euro Car Parks were aware of a fault.
Shelley added: "He won't pay that in a million years. He is not in the wrong. They are trying to rob people blind. They know who he is, they got his details from the DVLA and claim there was no valid pay and display ticket purchased. But he did pay for his parking."
The Mirror has contacted Euro Car Parks for comment.
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