A motorist is warning others about a parking “scam” after he was fined despite paying a ticket. Stuart Flynn visited Harvey Towans Beach on December 15 last year with a group of friends
Everyone tried to download the Sippi parking app, which is the only way to pay at Hayle Beach as the machine doesn’t accept cash. All three were furious and called the parking lot a total ‘scam’. His friend, Mike Stewart, was given a penalty notice even though he managed to use the app and pay for his stay.
Mr Flynn, from Taunton, said the same thing happened to him and he was also fined £100 some 95 days after his visit to Cornwall. The 55-year-old office worker said the PCN made absolutely no sense as he had paid £3.90 to park and a 20p admin charge which allowed him to stay for three hours according to the sign installed at Harvey Towans .
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However, despite staying for just over two hours and having a Sippi app payment receipt for it, he still received the ‘fine’. Mr Flynn said that when he appealed to the PCN, the CPM dismissed his appeal outright and threatened him with legal action if he did not pay up quickly.
He told CornwallLive: “It was a struggle to download the app due to poor mobile signal, my partner eventually managed to download and pay via the Sippi app. Now 95 days after parking I have been issued a PCN for £100 saying that I have not paid in full.
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“We paid £4.10 (£3.90 general parking plus £0.20 convenience charge) which is taken automatically via the app which we have no control over. I noticed from the sign at the time, this charge was for three hours of parking. According to the application we stayed two hours and seven minutes.
“The PCN says we stayed for two hours and 33 minutes which is still within three hours of parking for the rate charged by the app. So there is nothing more to pay and Car Park and Car Parking Management UK do not have suffered no losses.”
The letter Flynn received said the reason for the PCN was “failure to pay for parking.” Mr Flynn said he appealed but was promptly refused and has now received a final red notice dated May 10, stating his case will go to a debt collector unless he receives £100.
He added: “I sent a further letter of appeal to the PCN PO Box address and received a letter on May 23 advising that their decision to reject my appeal remains unchanged. The letter states that any further correspondence from me will not will respond and I now have to pay £100 by June 6th and if I don’t pay they will seek to recover the money through their debt recovery service.
“The full amount for the parking was paid on the day via their app, however UK Car Park Management on behalf of Harvey Towans Car Park refuse to accept this and refuse to correspond further.”
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He added: “I can’t see how this is fair and these constant letters of intimidation, when I have paid the full amount, are certainly inappropriate. I don’t see how UK Fleet Management can request driver information from the DVLA when no illegal activity has occurred.
“Car park management are of course responsible for ensuring their systems are calibrated correctly and any electronic payment and digital content is likely to work properly in the area. I wouldn’t want this situation to happen to anyone else. I doubt many people have paid in full but still get a PCN and just pay to take the scare away, but why should you?
“Unfortunately, I was not aware of the problems related to this parking lot and its management when I parked.”
Mr. Flynn and his friend Mr. Stewart aren’t really the only ones caught up in Harvey Towans. In October, surfer Sami Raif used the facility but was also fined as the machine does not accept cash or phone payments, even though he later paid online.
CPM has been contacted for comment.