A motorist is warning others about parking fraud after he was fined despite paying for a ticket. Stuart Flynn visited Harvey Towans Beach with a group of friends on December 15 last year
They all struggled to download the parking app Sippi, the only way to pay at Hayle beach as the machine does not accept cash. All three were furious, calling the parking facility a total ‘scam’. His friend, Mike Stewart, was fined even though he managed to use the app and pay for his stay.
Mr Flynn, from Taunton, said the same thing happened to him and he too was fined £100 some 95 days after his visit to Cornwall. The 55-year-old office worker said the PCN made absolutely no sense as he had paid £3.90 for parking and a 20p administration charge, allowing him to stay for three hours, as indicated on the sign installed at Harvey Towans .
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Even though he stayed for just over two hours and had proof of payment via the Sippi app, he still received the ‘fine’. Mr Flynn said that when he appealed to the PCN, CPM rejected his appeal outright and threatened him with legal action if he did not pay up quickly.
He told CornwallLive: “It was tricky to download the app due to poor mobile signal. My partner eventually managed to download the app and pay via the Sippi app. Now, 95 days after parking, I have a PCN received £100 stating that I have not paid in full.
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“We paid £4.10 (£3.90 for general parking plus £0.20 convenience charge) which is automatically debited via the app which we have no control over. I saw on the signs at the time that this payment was for up to three hours of parking. According to the app we stayed for two hours and seven minutes.
“The PCN says we stayed for two hours and 33 minutes, which is still within three hours of parking at the app rate. So there is no further payment to be made and the car park and UK Car Parking Management have not incurred any loss .”
The letter Mr Flynn received stated that the reason for the PCN was “failure to pay for parking”. Mr Flynn said he appealed but was immediately rejected and has now received a final red notice, dated May 10, stating that his case will be transferred to a debt collection agency if he does not cough up £100.
He added: “I sent another appeal letter to the PO Box address on the PCN and received a letter on May 23 informing me that their decision to reject my appeal is unchanged. The letter states that no further correspondence from me will be responded to and that I must now pay £100 by June 6 and if I do not pay they will attempt to recover the money through their debt collection service.
“The full parking amount was paid on the day via their app, but UK Car Park Management on behalf of Harvey Towans Car Park refuses to accept this and refuses to correspond further.”
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He added: “I don’t understand how this is right and these continued letters of harassment, even though I have paid the full amount, are certainly inappropriate. I don’t understand how UK Car Park Management can request driver information from the DVLA if there is no illegal activity. occurred.
“Car Park Management is certainly responsible for ensuring that its own systems are properly calibrated and that all electronic payments and digital content are likely to work correctly in the area. I wouldn’t want this situation to happen to anyone else. I suspect many people have paid in full, but still received a PCN and just paid to make the harassment go away, but why would they?
“Unfortunately, while parking, I was not aware of the issues associated with this car park and its management.”
Indeed, Mr Flynn and his friend Mr Stewart are not the only ones caught at Harvey Towans. In October, surfer Sami Raif used the facility but was also fined because the machine does not accept cash or telephone payments, even though he later overpaid online.
CPM has been contacted for a response.