Shropshire couple in £200 hotel parking fines shock
A couple are calling for better signs on a Shropshire town's car park – after finding themselves hit with fines of £200 having left their cars for less than half an hour.
Pauline Morgan, 71, and husband John, 81, of Carradine Close, Shawbury, were shocked to each receive a £100 fine after parking at the Corbet Arms Hotel in Market Drayton while visiting the post office, now inside the hotel.
They claim the parking machines were not working and there were no signs on how they should pay instead.
And they are not the only people to have been caught out, with another town resident also facing a big fine.
The car park is owned by the hotel but it has been managed since September by private car parking company, Creative Car Parking Solutions.
It uses cameras to record when cars enter and leave the car park and asks people to pay over the phone using a credit or debit card. It costs 40p for one hour, 80p for two hours £1.10 for three hours and £3.50 for all day. There is also a 20p booking fee.
The fine is reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.
Mrs Morgan said: "We have just moved from Market Drayton to Shawbury, so we were meeting at the post office to send our licences off to change our addresses.
"My husband cannot walk very far so we both decided to park in the car park. I went to the ticket machine but it said it wasn't working, so I told my husband and we went inside."
The couple arrived at the car park within minutes of each other at about 10.50am and left at 11.20am.
Mrs Morgan added: "We were so upset when the letters came through. We have paid within the two weeks and have had to pay £60 each."
A Market Drayton man, who wants to remain anonymous as he anticipates the charge going to court, has refused to pay the penalty.
He said: "My wife does not have a mobile phone so she would not be able to pay even if there had been signs."
Creative Car Parking Solutions was asked to comment, but had not responded by the time the Shropshire Star went to press.
A spokesman for the post office said there were signs in the car park advising people they must pay within 10 minutes of entering, using a phone to pay by debit or credit card.
