CALLS FOR PROBE INTO ‘PIRATE’ TOWN CAR PARK
MOTORISTS HIT WITH PENALTY CHARGES DESPITE NO WORKING TICKET MACHINE
A LOCAL councillor has called for an investigation into Grimsby’s ‘pirate’ car park as motorists continue to receive parking charge notices there – because nobody can actually pay for a ticket. Back in August, the Telegraph reported that the car park, which is run by Highview Parking, owned by GroupNexus, was issuing fixed penalties despite there not being a functional pay machine on the site.
But since then, nothing has changed on the site, and more and more people have received letters telling them they have a parking charge notice for being unable to pay to use the car park. The company has a reputation for giving out charges at all of their sites, with more than 100 one-star reviews online because of it.
These reviews talk about the company harassing the people they charge for multiple years, with one person even calling them ‘absolute pirates’ for the repeated harassment they say they have faced. In that time, many people have got in touch to say they have also been a victim of the site, and that something should be done. This can vary from just one parking charge to threatening legal action, with many people concerned that they may be taken to court and intimidated into paying the charge.
While the machine is out of order, there are signs which do suggest payment via an app and over the phone, but both are unreliable.
Some also believed that the car park was owned by the council and would be able to get it sorted with them, but this is not the case.
This has caused a local councillor, Stewart Swinburn, to call for an investigation into the car park and the firm that’s managing it. Councillor Swinburn, portfolio holder for Highways at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “It needs investigating. People think it is a council car park and it is giving us a bad name.
“We would not take matters to the length the private operator has.” One person who was caught out, Mary Baldwin, thinks the company has a duty of care and due diligence to keep the machine in order if they are going to demand charges from people. She said: “The people that run the car park have a duty of care and due diligence to replace the machine so they can provide the service they are meant to be offering.
“It’s absolutely disgusting what they are doing, it used to be a councilowned car park but now they have sold it on and the new owners just don’t care about it.
“Something needs to be done, they can’t keep doing this. Pensioners use this car park and if they are only on £60 per week for a basic pension then the company are taking an entire week’s worth of money from them.
“This is not a rich town, so there will be plenty of elderly people who don’t have smartphones or mobile phones to pay using those methods and getting fined for it either way, and they will see the letter and pay it out of fear.
“Even if you do have a phone, a lot of older people are slower using smartphones, so by the time you download the app, find where to pay, and try to pay it, that could easily be 10-15 minutes and they will already have a parking charge regardless of whether it’s successful or not.
“All we have to do is stand up to them as a group and say “take us to court”, and they will back off.” Highview Parking/Group Nexus were approached for comment.
It’s absolutely disgusting what they are doing, the new owners just don’t care about it.
Mary Baldwin