Sutton Coldfield £100 car park row as drivers 'using spaces for a few minutes' fined for days-long stays

Motorists at The Lanes in Wylde Green reported being fined for overstaying despite saying they left in the allowed free timeframe

Angry drivers have complained over £100 fines for parking overnight - saying they actually parked for free for less than two hours. The Lanes Shopping Centre in Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, offers two hours' free parking with the option to pay for more time.

But some motorists who insisted they complied with the rules said they had received penalty notices claiming they had stayed far longer - in some cases for four or five days. The issue has been ongoing since June and, while some appeals were said to have been accepted, others were allegedly ignored.

Driver Colin Wren was fined £100 with a claim he had left his car in a space overnight from Monday, July 22 until the following day. In reality, he said he used the car park on both days while he went for a coffee - but left within the allowed free two hours on both occasions.

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After doing some digging on social media, he said he believed some 13 motorists had been wrongly fined by operator Parkmaven, with some said to have paid up "to avoid the hassle". He said: “I received an incorrect penalty charge notice from Parkmaven regarding an alleged overstay at The Lanes car park.

"I had visited there two days running but their ANPR camera apparently only recorded me entering on one day and leaving the next. Consequently I received a rather threatening letter from Parkmaven stating I would be charged £100 or £60 if I paid within a short period of time.

"I tried to appeal but their website would not recognise their own reference number or my car registration. I raised a complaint via their complaints page questioning this.

“This complaint has not been acknowledged to date in any of their responding emails. They are still issuing demands for payment. I decided to try and investigate whether I was the only motorist who had experienced difficulties with this company, particularly after reading the reviews of Parkmaven on Trustpilot

"I asked the question on a couple of Facebook pages and, to my astonishment, discovered more than ten motorists who had recently experienced similar incorrect PCN's from this company. Three of them received two incorrect PCNs within a matter of weeks.”

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He continued: “I fear this number may well be the tip of the iceberg and that further investigation may lead to other motorists experiencing similar problems. Clearly, there is a significant problem with this company's ANPR camera at the car park.

“These PCN notices are intimidating and could well lead to a level of stress upon receipt of them. I particularly worry for elderly motorists who may struggle to deal with such matters.”

Others reported similar issues at The Lanes car park, which is off Little Green Lanes. One woman said a penalty notice she received alleged she had left her car for four days – 96 hours. Another man said he had received two fines - one saying he was there overnight when he actually parked for less than half-an-hour and the second claiming he had parked for four days.

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An 80-year-old was reported to have been "badly shaken" having received a £100 demand claiming he had parked at the site for 72 hours when he had been there "six minutes to collect a paper". And another driver said he received a charge and "unfortunately I paid the amount".

Some shoppers reported some partial success. A woman said: “I had a letter saying I had been there 72 hours. I was there less than ten minutes. I appealed and didn’t have to pay. They must have something wrong with their cameras or something.”

Another posted a reply from Parkmaven to an appeal regarding an alleged 53-hour stay. It said: “On this occasion the appeal has been accepted and the charge has been cancelled.

"Unfortunately, your vehicle was not picked up exiting the car park. As an automated system, these tech errors do sometimes occur. However, it is not our intention to issue tickets unfairly and as such we are pleased to cancel this for you. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused."

Mr Wren said he was still to hear from the company regarding his appeal. Wylde Green councillor, Alex Yip, is aware of the issue and was said to be taking it up with the landlords for the site. BirminghamLIve approached Parkmaven for a comment but did not hear back.