A Troon man has been fined £100 for parking in a free-to-use car parking space.
Andy Hall was issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) by Ayrshire Roads Alliance (ARA) just 20 minutes after parking outside TK Maxx in Ayr.
When he arrived, Andy collected a ticket after inputting his registration number to validate the two hour free parking window.
However, it wasn’t until after he spoke with parking wardens that he discovered he had accidentally pressed the number 0 instead of the letter O when inputting his registration number.
Despite appealing to ARA, Andy may still have to fork out for his mistake – with his initial appeal falling on deaf ears.
Speaking to Ayrshire Live, Andy said: “I turned up, went to the ticket machine and put in my registration. The machine then spat out a ticket for the free term which fell on the ground and was blowing about.
“I picked it up, crossed to TK Maxx and I was in there for approximately 25 minutes. I returned to my car and there was a big, yellow parking fine ticket on my windscreen.
“I thought: ‘What the hell?’
“I looked at the ticket and thought there was nothing wrong with that. I was going up the Sandgate to meet my son and I came across the traffic wardens.
“I approached them and I said: ‘Hi guys, I’ve got this parking ticket but 20 minutes earlier I actually got a ticket’.
“The guy was like, ‘Let me see. I can see what you’ve done there, you’ve put in a 0 instead of an O.’
“I hadn’t noticed that but he still said it was £100 or £50 if paid in 14 days. Surely, when you look at that, that’s been a simple mistake. A wee bit of common sense.
“I thought they had been a wee bit overzealous. They said it was my mistake, ‘you could put mickey mouse in’ was his exact words.
“They said I could phone the number on the ticket and appeal so I did that but the appeal was instantly turned down.
“I don’t stay in Ayr, I stay in Troon and it was my first time using the machines. They are quite awkward to use. I’ve pressed 0 by mistake and it’s cost me £50.
“I’m really annoyed about this because I did get a ticket. You get free parking for up to two hours.
“I did make the effort to get the ticket and I thought I was doing the right thing but I shouldn’t have bothered my backside.”
Andy has since received a Notice of Rejection of Appeal from Ayrshire Roads Alliance which stated: “I can confirm as the vehicle was inspected with no valid parking session the PCN was correctly issued and may not be cancelled.
“The points raised in the appeal have been carefully considered and grounds for cancellation of the PCN have not been established. It is incumbent upon the registered owner/keeper/hirer of the vehicle to ensure it is parked in compliance with any underlying parking restriction.”
A spokesperson for ARA said they were unable to comment on the issue as the case was still live.
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