Carlisle woman questions parking charge issued after Asda stay

Lynne Dawes said her daughter received a demand for money from car park surveillance company Parkingeye, despite only being parked for a short amount of time.

She said her daughter was parked in the car park for Asda on London Road in Carlisle.

Lynne said, to her understanding, the pay demand is not enforceable as it is considered an invoice instead of a fine for an illegal act.

She added: “I put a post up on Nextdoor because I wanted people to know about it, and I had lots of replies about people having similar expense demands.

“The letters are so threatening.”

The letter received about the parking issue, which happened on May 31 last year, demanded a payment of £60, she said.

She added that she has been in regular correspondence with Parkingeye about this since, and that the demand for money has been increased to £170.

On a letter dated April 3, 2023, sent to Lynne’s daughter from Parkingeye, it reads: “We wrote to you recently regarding an unpaid parking charge and Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd have been instructed to collect the outstanding balance on behalf of our client.

The letter, sent to Lynne's daughter. (Image: Ollie Rawlinson)

“The balance is still outstanding and you are now at risk of legal proceedings being issued against you.

“In the event that a claim is issued against you, further fees and costs will be incurred and these will be added to the balance that you owe to our client.

“Thereafter, non-payment of the claim amount may result in a county court judgement being entered against you.

“This may result in further enforcement action being taken and in some circumstances, it may prevent future lending.”

It goes on to say: “At this point, you are no longer able to appeal the parking charge.

“Your next opportunity to dispute the charge would be if the matter was taken to court.”

Lynne said her daughter was not parked for longer than was allowed, which according to signs in the car park is three hours, and no return within four hours, between the hours of 6pm and 11:30pm, with no parking between 11:30pm and 6am.

The sign reads: “Failure to comply with the terms and conditions will result in a parking charge of £100.”

Lynne said she wants to spread awareness over her concerns about legal threats made by the company, as she understands a person is not legally required to pay the fine until it is deemed so at a court level. 

A Parkingeye spokesperson said: “The car park at St Nicholas Gate Retail Park features prominent and highly-visible signs throughout providing information on how to use the car park responsibly.

“Customers of the retail park have a maximum stay of 3 hours, with a no return within 4 hours.

"Those who need additional time can register their details in the terminal within the Halfords retail unit. The signage also states that there is strictly no parking between 11.30pm and 6am.

“We have contacted the motorist on four occasions and have not received a reply, the motorist has also yet to appeal.

"However following a review of the case we have cancelled as a gesture of good will.

“Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their Parking Charge Notice.

"If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing."