A PENSIONER was slapped with a £100 parking fine even though he paid for a ticket twice.
Anthony Birch went shopping with his wife back in October where he attempted to pay for the £1 parking through his phone.
After about 20 minutes, the 80-year-old didn't feel confident with the transaction so went back and bought a ticket with cash before displaying it on the dashboard.
Feeling happy the problem was resolved after admitting "we don't get on with tech", Anthony and wife Marie continued their shopping trip in Stroud.
Anthony was then horrified to find a letter on his doorstep from the shopping centre's parking operator Civil Enforcement Ltd fining him £100.
The OAP checked his bank statements in a bid to appeal the charge but found he had only paid 1p twice using his phone – which was refunded both times by the parking company.
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He told Stroud News & Journal: "I genuinely thought I had done what I should, but I didn’t feel comfortable about it, so we went back and bought another ticket to make sure.
Branding the fine "disgraceful", Anthony said he will fight the fine all the way despite not being able to speak with an operator at Civil Enforcement Ltd.
“I would never do the wrong thing by intention, and feel like companies like this need to have some compassion for people particularly in these difficult days," he added.
Also lodging an appeal with parking ombudsman POPLA, Anthony doesn't understand how he can be fined when he had a ticket.
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A spokesperson from the Five Valleys Shopping Centre said: “We work with an automatic number plate recognition company specialising in car park management up and down the country ensuring an easy to use payment system is in place where people can use cash, card or a mobile phone app to make payment by entering their full correct registration details within twenty minutes of entering the car park.
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“If customers feel they have received a parking fine unfairly we would urge them to contact [email protected] with their PCN number so we can look into this further.
“Similarly, if customers are worried that they may be issued with a fine due to overstaying, experiencing issues with the machines or being delayed on exit we are also happy to discuss to try and help prevent a fine being issued."
The Sun online has contacted Civil Enforcement Ltd.
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