Smart Parking Fine Is Wrong - Need Help Please!

draddict

Hey all

So my wife got a parking fine letter through about a month and a half ago from Smart Parking.

She'd gone into our local town centre to buy shoes for my Grandmother's funeral, she went to park in the normal pay and display car park she usually does and had the correct amount of money with her to cover her for half an hour. When she went to the payment machine and entered her reg number it wouldn't allow her to pay cash, so she tried the other machine which also refused to take her coins. Both machines we're accepting card but she didn't have her card with her and so instead she opted, as she was in a bit of a panic, to leave a note in the car stating the time she'd entered the car park, and that she was happy to pay the cash but she didn't know where to pay it to. 

Anyway, a couple of weeks later she received a fine in the post from Smart Parking. The car park is apparently owned by a local law firm so we contacted them to see if they could help, they said they would get back to us as they owned the land but rented it out to the Smart Parking company. They never actually came back to us and today she's received another letter from Smart Parking to say that they will be upholding the fine, despite her appeal. 

Furthermore they said they would extend the discounted fine date to 1st September as she'd appealed within 14 days of receiving the fine. Now she got that letter today, 29th August, but the date on the letter is 15th August so that has literally stolen time she has to pay away from her.

They say that the signage around the car park states clearly that motorists parking there need to register their vehicle on the machine and pay the fee... All this for 30p which is still sat on the  dashboard, it's ridiculous 

Anyway she was about to say to heck with it and pay the fine, but I suggested coming on here first to see what people said. 

Can you help at all? 

Thanks in advance!

Nellymoser

Chase up a reply from the car park owners, this is PLAN A in the NEWBIES Announcement thread (top of page 1 above list of posts) which you really need to read.

If the car park is managed by ANPR cameras positioned at the entry and exit points her note on the dash wouldn't have been seen. 

Gr1pr

Has the driver been outed in the appeal to Smart Parking   ?

Leaving a note on the dashboard doesn't help,  she should have left and parked somewhere else 

oldernonethewiser

For clarity it is a charge not a fine.

Getting back to the law firm, as already advised, is well worth doing. 

Coupon-mad

It's not a fine.  DO NOT PAY THIS.

You have no deadline at all. Nobody here would ever pay this rogue invoice and nor would Martin Lewis.

Ignore Smart and the threatogram letters shown in post 4 of the NEWBIES thread.

Still unsure that we are right? Just click on the little red 'MSE link' in the small 'Parking Ticket Appeals' banner at the top of this page which leads to the MSE Guide to fight PCNs.

Same info is shown in both this forum and in that Guide, as regards the debt recovery letters being a futile stage and risk-free. Consistent advice here is easy to find and not just from random strangers. The MSE Guide is official site advice, not forum chat.

And even though this is perhaps new and stressful for your wife: please (both of you, or together) do the government's Public Consultation. We need every poster to complete this vital Consultation before the deadline: -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6617396/parking-code-of-practice-consultation-8-weeks-from-11th-july-2025/p1

We understand that you may need some pointers. It looks laborious, we get that. It doesn't matter; no knowledge is needed except re your own experiences so you can call out a scam industry and you'll protect millions of motorists and help change the law.

I've written some guidance on that thread. I have covered almost every question, providing ideas if you agree with our stance on things like DRFs, which we say must be banned.

Ordinary people like you are falling victim to this scam 15 million times per annum. Motorists need your voice added please.

CLOSES ON FRIDAY. Just days to go.