AN irate motorist who received his first parking fine in 50 years after visiting Dinton Pastures says thousands of other drivers could also have been wrongly charged.
Lawrence Swann was slapped with the ticket on Boxing Day while enjoying a day out with his family.
His son, Gary, was also fined but both men challenged the tickets and were refunded by Wokingham Borough Council.
But Lawrence claims the council’s parking machines and the RingGo app have been wrongly listing charges at both Dinton and California Country Parks.
“The council has been charging £1.50 an hour on winter Bank Holidays when it appears that only £1.20 an hour was authorised by the Council,” he said.
“This includes the 2018 Christmas and New Year Bank holidays, which fell on weekdays, and comes on top of the problem over the RingGo App which told motorists that parking was free. It seems that even those who paid for parking may also have been wronged and may be due a refund.
“The Dinton and California websites also failed to mention higher charges on winter weekday Bank Holidays. They did separately say ‘Weekends: all year including Bank Holidays’ but not in relation to weekdays. The Bank Holiday reference has now been removed entirely from the Dinton page but not the California page.”
Lawrence said he had to raise a request under the Freedom of Information Act after failing to receive a reply from Wokingham Borough Council.
He added: “I’ve asked WBC a few times if I’ve misunderstood the situation, which I could have done, but so far they’ve declined to tell me.”
A spokesperson for the council admitted motorists had been overcharged at Christmas in 2017 as well as last year and steps had been taken to ensure it did not happen again.
“The Council was not aware of the issue in 2017/18 and acted as swiftly as possible when it was reported on 26 December 2018.
“Interim measures to prevent this are already in place. There is a requirement to change the Traffic Regulation Order relating to the charges applicable in this car park on the 3 relevant days on a permanent basis. This action has commenced and will be completed prior to the 2019/20 season.”
The council has promised to reimburse motorists who have been overcharged if they produce a receipt.
The council spokesperson added: “With regard to Mr Swann’s questions, Mr Swann has already raised these with the Council and has subsequently submitted a request for information, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which is being processed.
“The Council has therefore already responded to Mr Swann on these questions.”
