Claims woman hit with huge £24,500 fine was victim of bullying

More than 200 penalties were ignored

The mother of a Dundee woman hit with a £24,500 bill for unpaid parking charges has said her daughter will keep fighting to have the penalties written off.

Sheriff George Way ruled Carly Mackie must pay Vehicle Control Services £24,500 after she ignored more than 200 penalties she was given for parking outside her mother and stepfather’s house on South Victoria Dock Road in City Quay, which she believed were unenforceable.

Sheriff Way said Miss Mackie, 28, had “entirely misdirected herself on both the law and the contractual chain in this case”.

But her mother, Arlene, said Miss Mackie, who had refused to pay for a £40-a-month parking permit, had been entitled to park outside their house.

She said: “My daughter was not just visiting us when this happened, she was living here for three years and had every right to park in front of our garage

“She wasn’t on the road or double yellow lines or blocking any access routes. The parking wardens used bullying tactics to pressurise her – they targeted her car at 3am and 4am and left other vehicles alone.”

Meanwhile, a Dundee councillor has called for stricter controls on private parking firms after he was sent demands for £100, despite having paid for his spot with an app.

Will Dawson, Dundee City Council’s development convener, was fined by Smart Parking, the operator of Kinnoull Street car park in Perth, due to an error when he used an app to pay.

Mr Dawson said: “I am a frequent user of the Perth car park and visit it when undertaking my duties as the chairman of transport partnership Tactran.

“However, due to an error with the RingGo app I use, a digit on my car registration number was changed from ‘O’ to a number zero, and the firm has sent two demands to pay £100 in fines for non-payment.

“Despite providing evidence that I paid for parking, Smart are refusing to uphold the appeals as they claim they cannot attribute the payment to my vehicle.”

Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart said: “I have had more complaints against them (Smart Parking) than any other private sector enterprise in my constituency.

“I have tried to meet them to discuss their operation but they are unaccountable to any political or democratic control.”

Smart Parking has been asked to comment but had not responded at the time of going to press.