Car park operator says he’s running a fair firm

HUDDERSFIELD Town fans hit with £60 fines after parking in an unmanned car park which has no ticket machines will NOT have to pay up - after the Examiner stepped in.

The fans received fine notices for failing to display tickets in the St George’s privately-run car park on the day of the victory parade on Tuesday, May 30.

Town supporters contacted the Examiner to say they felt the fines were unfair because the car park was unmanned when they arrived after 4pm and there was no means of purchasing a ticket as there are no machines.

An attendant normally collects the cash and issues a small yellow ticket – but clocks off at 4pm on weekdays.

Nasser Ali, 50, arrived at the car park, which is off Fitzwilliam Street, just before 6pm on the day of the parade to celebrate Town’s promotion to the Premier League.

He saw that the ticket office was closed and phoned a telephone number listed on warning signs dotted around the car park.

“The telephone number was ringing but no-one answered it. There were no ticket machines. I made every reasonable effort to pay.

“I am appealing against the ticket on the basis that there was no way of purchasing a ticket in an unattended car park.”

Last week Mr Ali, of Birkby, and others received parking charge notices asking them to pay £60 within 14 days or the charge would rise to £100.

The letters included photographs of their cars and registration plates.

The Examiner contacted Hx Car Park Management Ltd which issued the fine notices.

A spokesman for the firm said he operated a “100% per cent fair” business and all appeals were considered on their merits.

This month the company had upheld around a quarter of appeals submitted by the public who were given penalty charges at the firm’s UK car parks, the spokesman added.

The spokesman agreed to cancel 14 tickets issued after 4pm on the day of the Huddersfield Town parade as a “gesture of goodwill”.

He had taken into consideration the “chaos and excitement” on the day and that it was an “iconic moment in the town”.

The spokesman said 14 charge notices had been issued to people who had parked after 4pm in the St George’s car park.

All 14 will receive a cancellation letter in the coming days and two people who have already paid the Nasser Ali, who was hit with a £60 charge notice after parking up in the St George’s car park off Fitzwilliam Street £60 will receive a cheque with their letter, he added.

“We do try to run a fair company,” he said.

He urged people to take more care when parking and urged them to read the signs displaying details of the terms and conditions.

The spokesman said there are plans to install parking machines at the St George’s car park.