£70 PARKING CHARGE FOR TAXI DRIVER PICKING UP CUSTOMERS
ATAXI driver who made several trips to a supermarket to pick up and drop off fares was stung with a £70 fine for a six-hour stay he never had. Hugh Jones went to the Aldi store at Marina Quay in Rhyl – twice to pick up customers and once to pop in for something to eat on his break.
But he was issued with a penalty notice claiming he’d stayed for five hours and 55 minutes, despite carrying out nine other taxi runs in that time.
Hugh’s booking log, which was seen by our sister paper the Daily
Post, lists the 15 jobs he did during his shift that day.
The 64-year-old from Rhyl, who works for Busy Bee taxis, has sent the log off to Parking Eye as proof in his appeal against the fine.
But he raised concerns that the cameras could be faulty or not married up with another exit.
He also fears that other customers, who may also be incorrectly given fines, won’t be able to prove that they hadn’t parked there for longer than the two-hour time limit.
Hugh, a taxi driver of 21 years, said: “I was working on January 4 and was called to a fare at Aldi in the morning and then again at 2.55pm.
“After picking up the 3pm fare, I went on to do nine other jobs before going back to the store to grab something to eat at around 9pm. I was shocked when I got a £70 fine from ParkingEye saying I’d been there for six hours.
“The final insult was when the letter stated I could only appeal in English.”
He added: “I think it’s disgusting. “There is clearly an issue with their cameras if one of them hadn’t picked my car up leaving shortly after 3pm. How many more people has this happened to and how can they prove it if they weren’t parked there for longer than two hours?
“I’m lucky that I work for a company that keeps a log of my fares, but it was a hassle for my boss to gather the information for me to appeal the fine.
“But it’s not the first time he’s had to do this for drivers who have gone to Marina Quay, so I’m boycotting that retail park from now on. It’s not worth the hassle.”
A Parking Eye spokesperson said: “In this case the motorist used our BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process. This is available to anyone who believes they have mitigating circumstances.
“This process will be followed and once a decision has been made, the motorist will be notified of the outcome.”