The most notorious car park in Inverness for fining motorists has struck again and this time it snared a Highland councillor.
Dingwall and Seaforth member Sean Kennedy tried to pay at the Rose Street Retail Park but the ticket machine was apparently not working.
The Rose Street Retail Park – where Home Bargains, Iceland, Starbucks and the Smyths toy store are located – is run by Britannia Parking.
In mid-October 2024, Cllr Kennedy parked and then attempted to pay but realised that the ticket machine was completely out of order.
Not seeing another way to pay, he left his vehicle only to be hit by a £60 penalty weeks later which he appealed but that was rejected by Britannia Parking.
Cllr Kennedy said “you end up feeling you have been conned” and it was right that serious questions were asked to protect locals, adding: “You would certainly expect a councillor to raise issues about dodgy landlords, so why not this?”
He also checked whether the machine was operating in November and a few weeks later and it was still out of order and at the start of the year – it was still out of order (pictured below).
Britannia Parking’s meter still out of order in January. Picture: Callum Mackay.
The Inverness Courier has reported on numerous stories about locals getting caught including one of our own reporters, David G Scott, who paid but was still fined before getting an apology from Britannia Parking.
One elderly couple in their 80s aimed to challenged the parking operator despite providing proof of purchase of a ticket.
Another couple were left ‘furious’ after receiving a fine at Rose Street Retail Park car park – despite only being on the premises for 12 minutes.
Then blue badge holder Michael Holmes (75) said he has been left feeling ‘terrorised’ after receiving a parking charge at Rose Street Retail Park.
Poor service seems par for the course as meters are card-only that sometimes do not properly read the cards leaving people to face fines of up to £100, others said that when they phone to dispute the fine, they had difficulty getting through.
Cllr Kennedy said enough is enough and too many locals are being victimised by Britannia Parking, as he said he may raise it at Highland Council.
He explained: “I parked and then went to pay for the ticket and found that the machine was completely out of order after it had presumably been vandalised so I was unable to pay.
“Then a few weeks later I got a letter in the post telling me that I had been fined for not paying, as there was a sign saying you had to call a number to pay – that is not something that was clear to me at the time.
“I immediately appealed the decision which was rejected so I was fined £60. When I thought about it a bit more I feel this is not an acceptable way for a car park like that to operate.
“How would an elderly person who was perhaps not great with mobile phones pay? There are a whole range of people who this could affect really badly and through no fault of their own, like hard-pressed families trying to make ends meet.
“If you have to pay for a ticket then the machine should be in full working order – and that is the responsibility of the car park operator, not the motorist, but this operator does not seem to care.
“While we are trying our best in the public or private sectors to encourage people to use local shops that create employment and then you are faced with this and it just leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
“You end up feeling you have been conned. I feel at the moment like I should raise this as an issue at the council – you would certainly expect a councillor to raise issues about dodgy landlords, so why not this?”
Britannia Parking has been invited to comment.