A tourist has hit out after receiving a Bath parking ticket despite paying over £50 to the MiPermit app.
Ron Wilson drove from Shrewsbury on November 10 for a mini-break with his wife Marion to celebrate her 70th birthday. During their stay, the 67-year-old estimated they injected around £2,000 into the Bath economy by dining at restaurants and visiting attractions.
A small portion of that was the £51.40 he paid to park in Manvers Street car park, which is run by BANES Council, from Thursday, November 10 until Sunday, November 13, reports Somerset Live.
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The retired aerospace engineer said: "The parking meters are terrible. Unless you carry a large bag of pound coins with you, you have got to use the app. In Shropshire, the council also runs the parking meters, but you have the option to pay by bank card or use an app. I was expecting technology in Bath to be a bit ahead of Shropshire, but apparently not.
"We have only ever driven through Bath before because our daughter lives in Dorset and we’ve always said ‘we’ve got to stop, we’ve got to stop’. So when my wife’s birthday came around in November, we decided to finally go and see it.
He claims to have scanned the QR code on the side of the parking meter and then a pop-up window asked him to download MiPermit.
"Once I had registered, it was reasonably easy to pay the £51.40 they wanted and I thought that was the job done - but obviously not," he said.
After an enjoyable weekend, they headed back to Manvers Street to pick up their car.
Ron said: "There was a penalty charge notice stuck to the window which said I had to pay a £50 fine because I hadn't 'displayed a ticket' - but I'm not going to have one if I paid on the app, am I?
"What I also couldn't understand was that, when we unpacked the car on the Thursday, there was a parking attendant there who could have mentioned it if there was a problem at that stage. We also did not receive any fines for the Saturday or Sunday - so if I hadn't bought a ticket, why would that be?"
Ron tried to "informally challenge" his PCN with Bath and North East Somerset Council. However, he was informed that enquiries could not be made by telephone and emails would not be responded to.
He was left with no option then but to submit a "formal challenge" instead. Councils are required by law to respond to formal representations no later than 56 days from the date of receipt.
Ron said: "I received an email back saying it would take between two and three weeks for them to respond, when in fact it took them three months." After 93 days, his appeal was rejected, with the adjudicator reiterating that he had not "displayed a ticket".
Ron added when parking appeals are rejected, councils are meant to include a PIN which would allow him to take the matter to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if still dissatisfied. Yet, there was no PIN on Ron's letter.
"Because they have not included that information, I cannot take the matter any further. When you go onto the TPT website, the first thing it asks you for is a PIN," Ron explained.
Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for transport at Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “Anyone who receives a parking fine from the council has a right to challenge it, which can be done in writing online or by post.
"If the challenge is rejected, people can make a further appeal to the independent adjudicator at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and their decision will be final. We are unable to comment on individual cases.”
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