THE ONGOING implementation of new parking fees in Wokingham borough car parks was met with teething troubles last week.
On Monday, July 3, the long-delayed increases were implemented in all council-owned facilities. This has seen prices rise, with Wokingham town rates moving from 80p for the first hour to £1.30.
But the first few days saw residents unable to pay by the online app Ringo after 6pm. The council says the issue has now been resolved.
A second problem sees residents charged a pending fee that is higher than their actual parking, with the difference between this fee and the actual cost of parking refunded a short time later.
People have taken to social media platforms to complain, worried they were being overcharged, a view shared by Cllr Charles Margetts, the Wokingham Conservatives spokesperson for highways. He is unhappy at the botched start to the new system.
“These parking charge increases have been planned since last summer,” he said. “Wokingham Borough Council has had ample time to plan the implementation and get it right. It is disappointing to see they have got so many things wrong.”
This included a new sign installed at the Avery Street Car Park in Finchampstead saying parking charges were being introduced and a two-hour limit imposed.
“This car park is where staff park to work in Nine Mile Ride school,” Cllr Margetts said.
“On investigation, we found out that the sign had been put in the wrong place and should have been in another car park.
“There has been chaos over the Shute End car parks and the various restrictions in place.
“We also have residents being charged the wrong fees and Ringo not allowing people to pay for parking after 6pm.
“The council should be focusing on running basic services properly. It should also resolve problems quickly and professionally.”
Cllr Margetts felt the council should be lenient to those affected by the changes.
“If you have a fine issued because the system does not allow you to pay it should be refunded,” he said.
“If you are charged more than you should be it should also be refunded. The council has to behave in a professional manner – with 12 months to plan it should get it right first time and where this does not happen mistakes should be rectified quickly and residents compensated if they are overcharged.”
Cllr Rachel Burgess, leader of Wokingham Labour, was more charitable, pointing out she had been successfully able to use Ringo later last week.
“Clearly these issues need to be sorted as soon as possible and residents should not be financially penalised as a result of technical teething problems,” she said.
Cllr Paul Fishwick, the executive member for highways at Wokingham Borough Council, said they were aware of the problem with the RingGo app for people parking after 6pm, but warned that motorists trying to get away without paying will still be given a ticket.
“We are investigating this with RingGo and will fix it as soon as possible. In the meantime, car park users can pay for parking by card or cash at the ticket machine in the car park. Fines wouldn’t be cancelled as alternative options for payment are available,” he told Wokingham Today.
“When people use the check in/check out process, the machines request a pre-authorised amount, just like when you use pay-at-pump at a petrol station. This means you are authorising your bank to pay for a service, and the money then stays as ‘pending’ until the final amount is determined and deducted.
“For parking, the pre-authorised amount will be for the maximum charging period which includes the evening charge period and the final amount will be how much you owe of that due to total parking time.
“We don’t hold the pending transactions; this is held by your bank and is released by the bank when the actual payment for the parking you have used is processed. Unfortunately, we have no control over the period your bank takes to put this pending fee back into your account. Normally this should take no more than three to five days.”
Cllr Fishwick said the council had no plans to remove ticket machines, meaning people can carry on paying for parking by cash.
“RingGo is an alternative, but not the primary method of payment,” he explained.
“This is in line with a recent letter sent by The Rt Hon Michael Gove to all councils reminding us that we have a statutory duty to ensure we do not discriminate against older or vulnerable groups, and stating his concerns that this is starting to happen with the removal of ticket machines in some areas.”
