Customers have hit out at Liffey Valley’s new parking system for allegedly making cash payments inaccessible.
The charges, which came into effect last week, are the first parking fees to be introduced in the shopping centre’s 24-year history. And a recent Facebook post highlighted that customers were struggling to pay the new parking fee if they wanted to use cash.
The author said they were told at the customer service desk that they would need to purchase a €10 gift card in order to pay for the charge. The customer complained: “I entered my car reg into the new pay machines and my total came to €2.50. I was told by car parking attendants to get a gift card from customer service if I wanted to pay with cash.”
READ MORE: Liffey Valley: We drove through their new paid parking system- here's how it works
However, the person alleges they were told they had to spend a minimum of €10 on a gift card in order to pay using cash. The person argued there was no signage around the car park to make customers aware of this policy prior to using the facility.
Liffey Valley has confirmed that car parking fees can be processed using either card or cash through their website Park Easy. They have acknowledged that customers may face issues completing payments and will have customer service agents on hand to assist with any queries.
A spokesperson from Liffey Valley stated: “Park Easy at Liffey Valley is both cashless and ticketless. We understand that this may represent a challenge for some people during this initial phase of the new system’s introduction. Where issues arise, we are resolving these via our customer service desk as a temporary transition measure.”
The new parking system has received backlash from both shoppers and staff from Liffey Valley. Employees will be charged roughly €2.50 a day to use a designated area of the car park. However, staff have protested against the charges on the grounds that they may be unable to get a parking space in this specific area, forcing them to pay customer charges.
Visitors to the centre are charged €2.50 for three hours use of the car park, and an additional €2.50 per hour after that. The capped total is limited to €12.50 for a day’s use amongst customers.
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