Motorist calls on council to do something after '˜bonkers' fine

Susan Angel, 64, of Hillcrest Close, Ashington, visits Worthing every two weeks to get her nails done and parks in the Montague Centre Car Park, in Liverpool Gardens.

The Herald and Gazette have had a string of complaints about the privately-operated car park, run by CP Plus, with some blaming the ‘faulty’ ticket machines for receiving the ‘unfair’ fines.

Susan said: “When I got the £90 fine I thought this is clearly bonkers. When you put your registration number in the machine it tells you what to pay so I did, I paid £2 for about two hours which was the right amount.

“I then saw on my bank statement only 50p had been taken out.

“If I had known that straight away I would have called them. How the hell can I change what comes up on the screen, it is not my fault.

“I sent them my bank statement but they still declined my appeal.

“They told me I could pay a reduced amount of £50 if I paid within 14 days but didn’t. They want to take me to court now.

“I sent several emails asking if they can explain how it is possible to pay less into the machine than it asked for bearing in mind I was paying by card and had no control over how much the machine took.

“It makes you not want to go to Worthing anymore. I don’t want to pay it I am furious.”

After Susan’s appeal was declined, she further appealed with POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) but this was also declined.

“I called the council and tried to get an answer to see why they allow people to be treated this way,” said Susan.

“I think the council need to do something.

“It is their town and they should be able to step in as there are so many complaints. It surely will impact how many people come into the town.”

A spokesman for Adur and Worthing Councils said: “There’s really not a lot we can do in these cases. We don’t have any statutory powers in this field.

“We try, when contacted, to give contact details for the private company and for the British Parking Association. Obviously, in our own car parks we follow a very transparent enforcement process in line with national guidance and legislation.”

CP Plus was approached for a comment.