Paid to park, but still got a ticket!

I park daily in Huddersfield and never go to Dewsbury. However recently I decided to have a walk round the town and parked up on Halifax Road.  I use ‘PaybyPhone’ which is an app endorsed by Kirklees for payment of parking. You simply input the car park number, determine your time and the money is then debited from your debit card. It saves the hassle of having to use change and means that the parking time is easily extendable without having to return to your car. So as I do every other day, I input my details, got confirmation of my parking payment and then went on my way.

I returned back to my car to find a penalty notification on my windscreen. The traffic enforcement officer was nearby and I showed him that in fact not only did I have a valid ticket but I had twenty minutes remaining. He refused to deal with me telling me that if I had a problem I should appeal the parking fine. I attempted to show him the proof on my phone and he refused to listen to me or look. Simply shrugging his shoulders and saying “I’ve told you what to do if you’ve got a problem”.

My issue is this, Dewsbury is no longer the bustling market town it once was with many drivers opting to stay away due to the harsh penalties and keen traffic wardens around town. But what makes things worse is how I was treated with absolute contempt when in fact I had done nothing wrong.

I have enclosed within this email the parking ticket (issued at 10.07) and proof that I had paid using ‘pay by phone’ (which, at 10.11 shows I still had 19 minutes left) at something which is highly endorsed by Kirklees. I urge you to notify your readers that using the app within Dewsbury will result in a parking ticket and the subsequent hassle of having no other option that to begin an appeals process that is completed online.

Never again will I drive to Dewsbury.

Stuart Wilson

Barnsley Road

Flockton