A MAN from Prestatyn has slammed a company which issued him with a fine after he had used a car park in Rhyl which it operates.

John Coe, 77, received a letter from Debt Recovery Plus on September 6, stating that he had never responded to the penalty charge notice (PCN) he was sent by Smart Parking Ltd on July 18, after using Morfa Hall car park in Rhyl on July 5.

This, Mr Coe said, was due to him having “failed to pay for the sufficient time”, according to this letter.

Consequently, Mr Coe said, he was told by Debt Recovery Plus to “pay £170 by September 12, or I would have to go to court”.

While he said he paid this for fear of otherwise having to attend court, he said the September 6 letter was the first he had been told about his PCN, and has been left feeling “bloody angry”.

Morfa Hall car parkMorfa Hall car park (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Coe said: “I have definitely not received any other communication about a parking fine.

“I asked for proof that I was there, and they sent me an email with a front and back picture of my car, which doesn’t show that I was even parked.

“The PCN details state that the make and colour of the car is unknown, but in the picture it clearly shows a white Ford Focus.

“I asked for tracking proof that any such letters were sent to me and suggested that this was just a scam, but I can’t even get through to anybody at Debt Recovery Plus.”

Morfa Hall car park has been run by Smart Parking Ltd since November 2018.

But across numerous articles since the start of 2023, the Journal has reported residents complaining of various issues with the car park, including:

  • Parking fine tickets being issued automatically based on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
  • Its positioning adjacent to the disability parking at Rhyl Library, which is operated by Denbighshire County Council.
  • Faulty ticket machines.

Residents have previously accused Smart Parking to the Journal of being "greedy" and handing out "unfair" fines.

Mr Coe added: “It looks like many people are being conned by Smart Parking, and I feel very cross about it.

“I feel like I am being taken for a fool because I know nothing about any parking problem.

“I’m bloody angry about it. If I had known I had a parking ticket, I would have paid up. It’s giving Rhyl a bad name.”

In response to Mr Coe’s comments, Smart Parking said it would happy to “reopen the process” in his case should he choose to contact the company and use its appeal process.

A spokesperson for the company said: "Smart Parking were brought into manage the car park at Morfa Hall to stop parking abuse and to ensure people are treated equally. 

“Mr Coe was issued a charge on July 5, and we wrote to him confirming this on July 18. We did not hear any more from him, so the matter was passed onto debt recovery.

“Smart Parking are members of the British Parking Association (BPA) and strictly follow all its guidelines. 

“We are proud to operate a BPA-audited appeals service, and would encourage any motorist who feels they have been charged incorrectly by us to contact us directly.

 “In the case of Mr Coe, he didn't appeal, but we are happy to reopen the process and for him to contact us directly and use our appeal service. 

“Then once our investigation is complete, we will write to Mr Coe with the outcome of his appeal."