Ripped off by pay and display parking machine

cazza_b27

Hi folks,

Looking for some words of advice as I help my mum.

She parked in a pay and display car park run by Excel Parking in Lincoln city centre. When visiting before Christmas she approached the machine wanting to pay for a couple of hours parking. On approaching the machine (which had no labels directing what each of the buttons did - although it did have instructions how to use the machine on a separate panel away from the buttons), she pressed the green button. A message stating "please wait" was displayed on the screen and then it instructed her to insert her bank card. Having inserted her card but NOT being asked for her PIN, she was presented with a ticket and a receipt which showed that £50 had been debited for 1 MONTH of parking.

The machine did not give her the option to select the length of time she required for my parking, nor did it ask for her PIN. It automatically took £50.

She checked a second machine in the same car park and that had button labels on it. I emailed the parking company on her behalf explaining what had happened and requesting a refund of her money as the machine she used was not set up correctly for public use and she was not given options to select the amount of time she wished to park for and did not consent to the amount of £50 being debited.

We can only think that whoever used the machine ahead of her got in a pickle with not knowing how the machine worked and were not helped by having no labels directly above the buttons (I've helped several older people myself in various car parks who find the machines confusing), got halfway through a transaction and then my mum has come along when they've walked away and inadvertently completed their transaction.

The response we received from the parking company was:

"Please be advised your request has been reviewed by the relevant departments to ensure there were no faults with the machine on the day in question.

The instruction on how to pay on the machine are located above the screen display as shown in the images you have attached to your email.

As there are clear instructions on how to pay for the relevant ticket, we are unable to refund you on this occasion due to this being human error.

Apologies for any inconviencene caused."

My follow-up response was: 

"Hi xxxx

I am sorry but your response is unacceptable. It was not human error. The machine was not working correctly nor did it have appropriate labelling. When I first approached the machine, it said to insert my card and automatically debited £50. It did not give me any option to select the amount of time I parked for, nor did it even ask for my PIN. I did not consent to that amount of money being taken from my account. I can only assume that whoever used the machine before I got there got into a mess not knowing how it worked and was halfway through a transaction.

I ask you to reconsider and look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Thank you."

So far I've heard nothing further.

I hate being ripped off and I know it's not a huge amount of money but it's the principle that matters. Does anyone have any advice on my next steps? It feels to my mum and many older people that the new machines are set up almost to catch them out! Might there be something around accessibility due to the machine not being easy to use nor the buttons labelled?

I've attached some photos so you can see more easily what I'm talking about. Pic 1 is the machine mum used and Pic 2 is how the machine should look (it's the other machine in the same car park).

Thank you in advance for any help.

Mr.Generous

I hope you get a refund, that is a joke. It would have confused me. People need to start completely avoiding these car parks en mass so they go bust. I hate parking apps too!! Just a simple pay and display will be fine.

Coupon-mad

Get her constituency MP (NOT THE ONE IN LINCOLN) to write to Excel and to the IPC to explain what on earth happened and why they are not refunding her?

Kim_13

Their response is indeed unacceptable. For a start the highest tariff shown on the machine is 24 hours for £9.00, so that should be the most someone could possibly be charged as a result of ‘human error.’

The second machine also accepts cash, which would protect those who don’t understand the machines they are forced to use from being charged more than they expect. On the machine your mum used they have also blocked up the cash slot.

If they want to attempt to call this human error then the instructions should warn the customer to first press the red button to clear any transaction that may have been started by another motorist - I cannot see any such instruction. The card machine part should also display the amount to be taken before the card is entered or presented - anyone who uses card payment regularly would understand this, but the screens are black. Any machine I have used shows the date and time until a tariff has been selected, when they switch to displaying the amount and insert card.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused is adding insult to injury. If they think that represents inconvenience, they need to go and get a new dictionary with their ill gotten gains. Also any rather than the - anyone who felt a machine had caused them a minor hassle would not bother to write an email to complain about it. Obviously therefore, they have been affected.

I grew up with technology and before Christmas was with my mum when we faced a very similar machine in a council run car park. I took so long to work out what to do with it (not helped by it being a new enter your reg number one (so a parking attendant would love to find a ticket with a character wrong or missing) and the keyboard not being QUERTY; the council have removed the on-street parking so must have realised that people were offering their tickets to others entering the car park as they did not need anywhere close to the 1 hour they were forced to pay for in the absence of say 15 or 30 minute options) that the person behind us huffed and stomped off to another machine. 

ChirpyChicken

You could try and do the relevant reclaim on your card

Le_Kirk

Has Mum checked with her bank that £50 has actually been debited?

Smith2001uk

In that particular car park. The ex toys r'us side, the mini one or the lockable on near the gym. There staff who wander around checking tickets in a dark blue jacket. it might be worth trying to find (it was an elderly gentlemen when i was there 2 weeks ago) him. Saw him gleefully taking photos of a car with an out of time ticket. Before aiding an old lady on how to use the machine.