Debt collectors working for Britannia parking demand £170 from Caithness pensioner who never received a ticket as public anger mounts over Inverness car park
Debt collectors working for Britannia Parking have demanded £170 from a Caithness pensioner despite the man never receiving a parking charge notice after he stopped for 15 minutes at an Inverness car park.
Britannia Parking by allegedly pursuing “people for the most trivial technical violations of conditions to enforce payment” at the the Rose Street Retail Park led one councillor to “suspect that their business model relies upon this income”.
The current charging rates range from 50p for up to 30 minutes to £2.50 for up to four hours – while the fines come through at £60 (if paid early), £100 or from debt collectors £170.
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Public anger is mounting over the operation of the car park with ticket machines being out of order for what is believed to be months at a time resulting in fines much larger than the cost of parking – though they are currently working again.
Numerous members of the public have been in touch to speak out about their experiences with what one described as a “cowboy style” operation that is “unacceptable” – including Alex Crawford.
During a visit to Inverness for a hospital appointment in October, Mr Crawford and his wife wanted to go to Home Bargains in the city centre and he said he was parked for no more than 15 minutes.
He said: “When I went to pay for the ticket the screen stated that it was out of order so I don’t know after that how you were supposed to pay and we just carried on with the shopping.
“I think we must have been parked there for 10 maybe 15 minutes at the most and then we were back on the road – this was back on October 23 last year so I thought nothing more of it.
“Then on January 15 but dated January 3 I got a letter from Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd (DCBL) demanding payment for non-payment of parking fines costing £170 stating we only had two weeks to pay.
“The problem was we did not get any parking fine at all and by the time we got the letter from DCBL I was told when I phoned them that it was already too late to arrange a repayment schedule.
“But because I am a pensioner they said I could pay £85 this month and £85 next month. They also told me that Britannia Parking had sent the parking tickets to my old address.
“I couldn’t understand how the debt collectors could get the right address but Britannia could not – to me it seems like the whole thing is a big rip-off, it is simply not fair.”
Local councillors in the Inverness Central ward where the car park is located said the treatment of the public is not acceptable, including Michael Cameron who said: “The way these companies pursue people for the most trivial technical violations of conditions does make me suspect that their business model relies upon this income.
“The number of facilities is growing and the latest code of practice is simply insufficient. I believe legislation is required to ensure that private car parks can operate in a more acceptable manner. That should benefit both drivers and decent parking operators”.