A woman has been left frustrated after she was fined for using a car park where the ticket machine was not working. Mum Helen Bailey, 44, of Doncaster, went to Nottingham's Christmas Market on Friday, December 2, but received a fine after parking at Halifax Place Car Park despite the ticket machine being out of order.
Drivers have previously reported issues with parking fines at the car park, located near the Lace Market off Pilcher Gate, with issues appearing to have been ongoing for at least a year. As two drivers spoke to Nottinghamshire Live in January 2022 as they appealed their fines.
Helen explained that there were several other cars already in the car park when she arrived at around 8.30pm. But she said: "When we came back every single car had a ticket on.
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"There was a number on the board, I think there were three or four of us that tried ringing it but nobody answered it. Obviously I'm not local, I'm from Doncaster, so we just thought 'oh well it's late we will be all right' and we left - then we got a ticket when we got back.
"I do visit the city quite a bit but that is the first time I have used that car park. It's in the city centre so you think they would be more lenient knowing parking is at a premium anyway."
Helen is currently trying to appeal the fine from the car park, which is operated by CPS Midlands Ltd, but says it is a difficult process. She said: "You're not allowed to email anything to them which is strange, you can't email anything if you want to do an appeal and everything has to be done in writing.
"I had taken a video of the machine saying that it was out of order, but they wouldn't accept that so I had to take screenshots of it and print them off and send them, but then they emailed me back the reply.
"They are not going to cancel the parking charge. They just basically said 'if the machine doesn't work and you can't notify us of a problem then you shouldn't park there and should find somewhere else'."
If the machines had been working, it would have cost Helen £5 to park for up to four hours. She has been fined £60 to be paid before Saturday 21, and if not this will increase to £100.
Helen added: "If I want to go to an independent appeal service it will cost me an additional £40." Nottinghamshire Live has contacted CPS Midlands Ltd who have sub let the car park for a comment.
However, campaigners said Helen had been 'treated in a shabby manner'. Brian Macdowall, a spokesman for the Alliance of British Drivers has said: "This is sadly typical of the war on the motorists, the motorist is an easy target. This customer is being treated in a shabby manner and without any consideration for the circumstances in which she found herself, namely the out of order parking machine.
"I would suggest that she complain. This really is a bad example, absolutely shabby treatment."
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