Parking fine row
Driver claims tickets were unavailable
A Stirling motorist received a £100 fine for leaving his vehicle at a Stirling car park where tickets were unavailable.
Operators of the Rainbow Slides car park in Goosecroft Road are now pursuing him for the money even though on the day he left his car there the ticketing machines displayed a ‘not in use’ message.
The motorist asked not to be named as he intends to use a legal loophole to get out of paying the penalty which he received after parking at Rainbow Slides on May 7 .
Excel Parking manage the car park on behalf of Allan Water Property Company.
He said: “A couple of weeks ago I parked in the Rainbow Slides car park to go and do a bit of shopping in the city centre. However, neither of the ticket machines were working so I was unable to pay the £1 fee.
“I then received a demand for a penalty charge of £100 from Excel Parking for failing to pay a fee.
“What a scam. I’m also sure that I’m not the only person to be affected by this.
“I have used that car park many times and always paid for it.
“I’m quite angry about it, not just for myself but for anyone else who has been treated like this.
“I’m simply going to ignore it. They can chase me, but I’m not going to pay it. They can have their pound that it would have cost me for parking, but I’m not paying their fine.
The cautious driver did not wish to reveal his identity in order to stop Excel Parking from getting their details and enforcing the ticket.
He added: “If I don’t tell them who was driving the car then it can’t be enforced.”
Private parking firms cannot legally enforce parking notices without having a note of the drivers details.
On private land, a parking charge notice can either be put on the vehicle or it will be clocked by an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera and a ticket is then sent in the post to the vehicle’s registered keeper.
If the car park operator is not accredited by the British Parking Association (BPA) or the Independent Parking Committee (IPC) then they will not be able to obtain driver details from the DVLA. A spokesperson for Allanwater Development said: “This is an issue for Excel carparks and nothing to do with Allanwater developments.”
We were unable to get a response from Excel Parking as the Observer went to press.
There have been numerous reports of drivers being left angry by parking charges at the car park.
In July 2015, the Observer reported how MSP Murdo Fraser urged residents to read legal advice from Citizens Advice Scotland on challenging private parking charges.
The Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP wanted those caught out at the Rainbow Slides car park to take proper advice before paying fines.
His comments came after the Observer was been flooded with calls from angry motorists caught out by the system at the Rainbow Slides car park as fines were sent out to blue badge holders using the disabled parking bays.
Mr Fraser said: “Some private parking firms are trying to make a quick buck off unsuspecting motorists and I would encourage residents in Stirling to consult Citizens Advice legal advice which details exactly how you can challenge inappropriately issued tickets.”
The car park sits on the site of the former Rainbow Slides leisure centre, in Goosecroft Road.
Allan Water Property acquired the site and the adjoining car park from Stirling Council and the sports centre was flattened to make way for the development in 2014.
Work on nearby Travelodge Hotel, also on the old Rainbow Slides site, began in January.
The development is expected to create up to 20 new jobs in the 74-bedroom hotel and give the local economy a £1.3million boost.
The hotel is expected to open later this year.