A man who has problems understanding letters and numbers has hit with an £80 charge after experiencing difficulties using a Wiltshire car park ticket machine.
Benjamin Reynolds, 30, parked his vehicle at the Three Horseshoes car park in Warminster during a visit on April 11.
He claims he paid £1 to park his vehicle in the private car park run by the company that owns the town’s Three Horseshoes shopping centre.
But he was shocked several weeks later to receive the £80 parking charge notice from APCOA, the company that manages the car park on the firm’s behalf.
“I paid for a ticket and still got charged,” said Mr Reynolds, who suffers from difficulties understanding words (dyslexia) and numbers (dyscalculia).
“The machine takes your cash but it does not give a ticket.
“My wife Molly had tried to use their app as well but she could not make it work. It’s a bit harsh because it’s the closest car park to the town centre.
“I ended up paying £40 within 14 days but the letter didn’t arrive until six weeks after my visit on April 11.”
Mr Reynolds, who lives in Sherborne, Dorset, with his wife and their four children, had been visiting relatives who live in Westbury.
He said he had paid £1 to park for two hours but had found the ticket machine “quite complicated” to use.
The machine asks visitors to input their full vehicle registration number before confirming by pressing a green button and then paying by cash or card.
“It’s not simple to use but I am sure I had put the money in and had paid for it,” he said. “I waited for a ticket but it did not give me one.”
Mr Reynolds thinks he has been unfairly charged £40 and believes that other people who find the ticket machine difficult to use are being unfairly charged too.
When the ticket machines were installed a few months ago, the company received complaints from people who had been given PCNs but there have been few complaints recently.
Peter Ruscoe, manager of the Three Horseshoes shopping centre, said: “We are sorry to hear that Mr Reynolds received a parking ticket.
“APCOA, the car parking operator for the centre, advised that, having investigated the incident, Mr Reynolds entered an incorrect registration number.
“The centre was unaware of the incident, but APCOA have advised that on this occasion, they will be happy to refund Mr Reynolds parking charge notice.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel