4 days ago
Mum fined £100 after six-minute stop in car park
A family visit to Weymouth took an unfortunate turn for one woman who was hit with a hefty parking fine despite only stopping for a few minutes.
The unsuspecting driver was visiting her parents in the town and needed to find somewhere suitable to park.
Newberry Gardens private car park (also known as Old Town West), behind Brewers Quay, has caught out many drivers in the past.
Operated by Parking Eye, it has CCTV cameras to record number plates of cars entering and exiting the site.
Nicky Saliba pulled into a space there, got her children out and went to pay at the machine – discovering it was cash only.
The car park (Image: Steve Rains)
Mrs Saliba had no cash on her, so tried to use the 'PayByPhone' menthod, but the location did not appear on her phone. So she gave up and went to find another car park.
Car park signage (Image: Steve Rains)
Mrs Saliba has since been issued with a £100 Parking Charge Notice (PCN) from Parking Eye, as well as being slapped with a £35 admin fee from the company that she hired her car from.
Nicky Saliba and her children (Image: Steve Rains)
Her dad, Steve Rains who was there when she arrived in the car park, said: 'She was visiting us for the summer from Qatar. We live near the car park, and she couldn't find any on-street parking, so went into the car park but she was unable to pay so she left. She was in there for six minutes and was charged £135. I was fuming.'
Steve Rains and his grandson (Image: Steve Rains)
Mr Rains took photos of the car park, and it wasn't until later that he realised that there was a sign for 'Evology pay,' an app which people can use to pay for parking.
The payment machine (Image: Steve Rains)
He said: 'I have never heard of Evology, the sign looked like an advert. While taking these pictures my wife met an elderly couple who had tried the machines, they were not working, and the phone had no ability to pay. So, they were trapped and will likely get the same charge.'
The Echo reported in 2024 how one man claimed a parking fine at the same car park ruined his holiday in Weymouth .
He was in the car park for just over six minutes and was slapped with a £100 fine.
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After the Echo reached out to Parking Eye, the company decided to cancel the fine as 'a gesture of goodwill.'
A spokesperson for Parking Eye said: 'The car park at Old Town West in Weymouth is monitored by ANPR camera systems and has 17 prominent and highly-visible signs that give motorists clear guidance on how to use the car park responsibly.
'Motorists are advised that tariffs apply 24/7 and that they have the option to pay by the machine on site or via the Evology payment app.
'The motorist parked in the car park for six minutes without paying, this exceeded the consideration period and therefore led to a parking charge being issued. We would add that our systems show that the machines and the app took normal levels of transactions throughout the day.
'Parking Eye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge. Following an appeal we have cancelled the charge as a gesture of goodwill."
