Visitor fined after app ‘glitch’ when trying to pay at Hartlepool Marina car park

Shane Helm, 36, was handed a parking fine when he tried paying via an app at the car park in Navigation Point while visiting Hartlepool back in May.

The Bradford man thought he had paid until he was later told his booking had been “unconfirmed” – and received a £100 fine.

“Personally I thought I paid the £2 toll. I didn’t think anything of it,” Shane said.

"I wasn’t expecting a fine whatsoever.”

The motorist was later told by Your Parking Space app that his booking had not been completed and no payment had been taken from his account – possibly due to a drop in connection.

Shane appealed the fine stating that but was unsuccessful.

He said: “The company that do the online payments said in an email there was possibly a glitch in the app.

"When I appealed it saying that, the people running the land, they disagreed and I had to pay. They said it was my fault that I didn’t pay.”

North West Parking Management, which runs the car park and provides Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) services, has said the payment services offered to car park users on Hartlepool Marina are provided by independent third party companies.

The company added: “We do not own Hartlepool Marina car park and only provide an ANPR enforcement service on this site.

"As clearly shown by all the signage on site the telephone and app payment services are provided by Your Parking Space and the cashless machines are provided by Metric Ltd.”

Shane, who came to Hartlepool for a day out, ended up paying the reduced charge of £60 but said: "I won’t go back to that particular car park, I’ll try to find somewhere else to park.”

The service engineer, who had not parked at Navigation Point before, continued: "They are not guaranteeing that their systems are working, which is a shame. Personally, I think a parking fine should only be a maximum of £40. I don’t see why it has to be that expensive.

"Hartlepool is a lovely place but not that car park.”

Your Parking Space has promised to investigate Shane’s case.