Calls to scrap car parking cameras after fine blunders

MOTORISTS have called on bosses at a city retail park to scrap a state-of-the-art parking system which is handing out £110 fines by mistake.

Earlier this week the Evening News reported the story of driver Bill Colborne, who was sent a penalty notice for dropping his daughter off to work at Tesco and collecting her six hours later.

Parking enforcers thought the 53-year-old had overstayed the maximum wait of three-and-a-half hours after his car was picked up by automatic number plate recognition cameras, when he had in fact made two separate visits to the store at Hermiston Gait.

Now a number of other motorists have come forward reporting similar experiences. Janet Phillips, of Currie, said she had received a penalty notice after making two visits to Tesco with her husband on December 22. The fine was later rescinded.

She said: "I can understand why the car park has put the restrictions in place, because of the close proximity to the train station. But the system should be scrapped if they're going to continue making so many errors."

Dean Forbes, a 25-year-old joiner, received a penalty notice after visiting Hermiston Gait's Mothercare store and then returning to the centre later on the same day.

He said: "It's scandalous. I'm refusing to pay it because I know I wasn't in the car park for the sort of time they're talking about. The whole system should just be scrapped."

The car park is monitored by automatic number plate recognition cameras, which were brought in to deal with the problem of people parking in the retail park and then using Edinburgh Park train station or the adjacent business park.

The issuing of penalty notices by private firms is understood not to be legally enforceable in Scotland.

Operator Parking Eye today referred enquiries to industry body the British Parking Association.

Patrick Troy, the BPA's chief executive, said: "The British Parking Association fully supports Parking Eye regarding the legitimacy of its business practices.

"As a member of the BPA, Parking Eye will adhere to its code of practice, which outlines the standard procedures of parking enforcement. The BPA is currently reviewing the code to incorporate better practice."

Last year, bosses at B&Q apologised to retired banker David Hamilton after he was issued with a similar fine at Hermiston Gait. The 60-year-old had receipts to prove he had visited the store twice on the same day – once in the morning and once in the evening. B&Q later cancelled the fine.