Innocent drivers are being left with ‘unfair’ fines because of confusing parking apps

• Over 1/6 motorists who had used a parking app said they were ‘not user-friendly’ 
• One in 20 claimed they later received a fine – despite thinking they had paid

Motorists are being hit with ‘unfair’ fines after using confusing parking apps.

Drivers say they are being penalised for genuine mistakes while others are unable to pay when an app crashes.

But parking firms do not have to waive fines for those who make innocent errors.

And even those who successfully appeal are being forced to fill in time-consuming forms or take their case to tribunal to do so.

A Daily Mail poll found just over one in six motorists who had used a parking app said they were ‘not user-friendly’.

Parking meters are vanishing from British streets as operators favour smartphone applications

And one in 20 claimed they later received a fine – despite thinking they had paid for parking through an app, according to researchers Consumer Intelligence.

Read More: Don’t force elderly to use smartphone parking apps: Michael Gove writes to every council to warn than against scrapping parking meters

It comes after the Mail revealed millions were facing life in ‘parking meter deserts’ – with several local authorities having already scrapped the machines.

Last week Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove wrote to councils warning them that forcing drivers to use smartphones to pay for parking was unfair.

Appeals against fines that reference ‘parking app’ and ‘mobile’ are rising, according to the Parking on Private Land Appeals service. Some 1,397 of these cases were recorded in the year to the end of March – with just under one in five found in the motorist’s favour.

Caroline Hamilton, chief adjudicator of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal – a service which handles fines issued by councils – said keying in the wrong registration and selecting the wrong app for the car park were among the most common mistakes made.

‘These are errors easily made by busy motorists,’ Ms Hamilton added. She also pointed out that they were not grounds for appeal before an adjudicator.

Wendy Doel, 71, received a fine after parking to catch a train at Fleet station, Hampshire, last July.

She boarded her train thinking she had set up an account with RingGo but when she tried to pay the app showed an error.

An automated customer service message said her account was suspended due to a failed payment. Weeks later, Mrs Doel received a £50 fine from Apcoa, the firm which managed the car park, which was later waived.

A RingGo spokesman said: ‘Mistakes happen, so RingGo… offers a grace period for drivers to correct their registration details after they’ve paid.’ Apcoa said it was entirely separate from the RingGo app.

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