Parking firm ‘repeatedly’ sending drivers £100 fines for ‘perfectly parked cars’

Dozens of people say they have been wrongfully stung with parking fines in Bury – with one woman even losing sleep over the ordeal.

It’s alleged dozens of drivers have been slapped with £100 charges months after using the Paradise Mill car park on John Street. They all claim they paid and displayed.

But despite their appeals, many have had their fines increased – with some even being threatened with court and debt collectors. It’s believed more than 100 people have been affected.

Sandra Fitzsimmons used the car park on December 3, 2021.

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The 71-year-old says she paid with cash and entered her registration number on the machine. She then received a letter on February 19, 2022, claiming she parked without paying.

Sandra emailed Car Park Securities, which owns the site, but says she got no response. She was then sent another letter demanding £170 – and that her case will be passed onto a debt recovery agent.

“This is a very worrying time for me,” she said.

“I’m 71 and not in the greatest of health and now I’m worried. I’m not sleeping because of fear of what is to come from this company.

“Any help will be a blessing as I just haven’t got the strength to fight these people.”

Sandra isn’t the only driver claiming to have fallen victim to the parking company.

Lesley Marsh says her husband used the car park to go Christmas shopping in Bury on December 12. They then received a £100 fine on February 9.

The pair did nothing for two weeks due to having difficulty paying the charge over the phone. They were then sent another letter on February 22 – with the fine increased to £170.

The couple paid the penalty fee as they are moving house and feared it may affect their credit score. Another driver, David Williams, wrote a letter of appeal to the company after receiving a fine.

But after receiving another letter demanding £100, he paid the fee out of fear a debt collection agency would get involved.

Becky Alex also received three parking fines in three days dating back to November 2021. The fines started out as £60 but have now escalated to £100.

Becky challenged one fine with a parking ticket to prove she had paid but claims she heard nothing back. Due to parking at the site a long time ago, she has since thrown the other tickets away.

And Emma Dunning was fined after she parked at the site on December 19. The 34-year-old says she received a fine on February 17 claiming she had not paid.

In a bid to appeal her case, she claims she sent the company an online banking screenshot proving she bought a ticket.

Emma, who lives in Bury, alleges her appeal was rejected because the bank transaction had the location Macclesfield attached to it. She tried to explain her bank often adds inaccurate locations but the company “declined to listen”.

On Sunday, she claims she received an email saying the company had found her ticket.

But they told her she had entered her registration plate incorrectly – only inputting the letter ‘M’ on the machine.

Her fine has since been cancelled, but she will still need to pay a £15 admin fee.

Car Park Securities did not respond when approached for comment by the M.E.N.

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