Man, 89, 'clobbered' with fine despite not parking

An 89-year-old driver said he was "clobbered" with a parking fine despite deciding against using a car park because he could not work out how to pay.

Roland Nice had spent 30 years using the Swan Lane car park in Haverhill, Suffolk, without issue.

However, on 7 August, after driving his white van in to the car park, the former council worker said he struggled to pay, so drove off and parked elsewhere.

He then received a £60 fine from operator Napier Parking Ltd a few days later. The firm told the BBC that motorists were afforded a five-minute grace period to decide whether to park or not.

Nice, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, said: "I got back in my [van] and went out, and then, blow me, about a week later I get a ticket for £60, or £100 if I don't pay [straight away] – I couldn't believe it.

"I'm sure I'm not the only person that has this problem."

Nice was in Haverhill after deciding to "go for a ride" and said he spent about £160 in the town's shops.

He said he spent eight minutes in the car park trying to work out how to pay to park.

According to Napier Parking Ltd, the car park accepts coins, contactless card payments and payments through the RingGo app.

"Anybody could just drive in and out and possibly get a ticket for £60," added Nice.

"I thought other people should know."

Napier Parking Ltd told the BBC that "many motorists" use the car park to "pop to the shops, often in under 5 minutes".

"Even in those cases we expect payment to be made," a spokesperson said.

"We do allow a five-minute consideration period to decide whether to stay or leave.

"In the event that it takes longer to pay that is acceptable as long as payment covers the duration of the stay."

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly claimed that this car park was cashless and did not accept coins or cash. The BBC has been informed by Napier Parking Ltd this is not the case. It said coins, contactless card payments and payments through the RingGo app are accepted and clearly advertised.

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