Parking rules enforced by Cheshire East Council are “a joke” and “discriminatory” towards older people, a driver has said after being fined for leaving his car in a town centre car park.
Rob Ryan, who works at the “Chronicle” office in Congleton, was slapped with a £50 fine for leaving his vehicle in Back Street car park last Friday, despite the payment machine being broken.
He said: “In 20 years of driving, it’s always been my belief that if the machine is broken, you don’t have to pay.”
Mr Ryan said he returned to his car after work to find a yellow sticker on his windshield, and noticed the same on four or five other vehicles.
He said: “I emailed when I got home and sent the photo of the broken machine – I thought it must have been some sort of mistake.”
But within an hour he had received a reply from Cheshire East Parking Services.
It said: “While I appreciate the inconvenience caused by the pay-and-display machine being out of service, an alternative payment method was available.
“Therefore, this cannot be accepted as sufficient grounds for failing to comply with the parking regulations in force.”
It said payment could have been made using the RingGo mobile application. The fine was £50 if paid within 28 days or £25 within 14 days.
Mr Ryan, who does not use online banking, said he did not have the app or an account with RingGo.
“It didn’t even occur to me at the time that I should download the app,” he said.
“What about people who are elderly and don’t know about apps or don’t have a smartphone? What if you’ve got no mobile phone data or signal? It’s discriminatory against older people and the less well off.”
He questioned the purpose of having the parking machine in use at all, if drivers were expected to be able to use the RingGo app.
He said: “Judging by the tickets on other cars, I clearly wasn’t the only one. I don’t know about them, but this made me feel like I didn’t want to come to Congleton on my days off.
“Policies like this are only contributing to the death of the high street; it’s a joke and not exactly inspiring people to come here.”
He added: “The council is supposed to be providing a service, not fining people at any chance it gets when clearly, its own equipment isn’t up to scratch.”
Coun Mark Goldsmith, Cheshire East Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, responded saying: “We’re sorry to hear about the concerns raised and understand why this situation may have caused frustration.
“From our records, the payment machine at Back Street Car Park was reported as having an intermittent issue on the morning in question. We recognise that this may have affected some drivers at the time they arrived.
“When a civil enforcement officer later attended the site, the machine was operating and a number of motorists had purchased tickets, while others had used the alternative RingGo payment option. This suggests that availability of payment methods may have varied during the day.
“Where a payment machine is unavailable, signage on site advises drivers to use an alternative method of payment, such as RingGo, or to use another nearby car park.”
Coun Goldsmith added: “RingGo is a nationwide app that covers 17,000 different car parks in more than 500 towns and cities in the UK. At many of these sites, it is the only method of payment available.
“We appreciate that not everyone uses a mobile phone or apps, and in those circumstances, motorists are advised not to leave their vehicle without making payment, as this may result in a penalty charge.”
He said Cheshire East “did not believe our parking arrangements are discriminatory”.
“They are designed to ensure a consistent and fair approach for all users, while providing more than one way to pay wherever possible. However, we recognise that individual circumstances can vary, and anyone who feels there are mitigating factors can appeal so their case is considered on its own merits, in line with national guidance.
“As we do not have the full details of this individual case, we would encourage the resident to remain in contact with us, so we can review the circumstances fully.”
Mr Ryan said he had come over to Congleton to some shopping, but would not do so again.
(Photo: Rob Ryan).
