I was slapped with £200 parking fine but I’m not paying as I think the machine was broken – they can take me to court
A POLICE officer who is refusing to pay a £120 fine has branded the car parking company imposing the fee ‘authorised criminals’.
Joseph Etele, 43, was hit with charges on two occasions when parking at a health centre car park in Havant, Hampshire.
The 999 response officer said he twice had problems when trying to register the vehicle on the tablet at Havant Health Centre, and has told car park operator, Smart Parking, “I’m not paying.”
Speaking to the Southern Daily Echo, he said: “The first time I tried their tablet it wouldn’t work for me at all – I asked the receptionist and he said don’t worry about it.
“A couple of weeks later I went in again in another vehicle – I tried both tablets on that occasion and couldn’t get it to work.
“The last thing I’ve done is written to Smart Parking, referenced the ticket and I said I’m not vulnerable, you’re picking on vulnerable people, I’m not paying you and I’ve left it at that.”
Smart Parking has responded to Mr Etele’s claims that the tablet was not working on the days he visited the health centre.
A spokesperson for the company told Southern Daily Echo: “On both days he received a charge, well over a hundred patients parked and registered without any issues.”
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If Mr Etele does not pay the outstanding fines, they will rise by £100 each.
He said: “It’s not like I’m trying to get out of a fee, it’s free parking, I was there for a medical appointment.
“I’ve got the notice – the main bit says “you must pay this” in large letters then there’s an image and then the text underneath it which explains what’s going on is so hard to read which is obviously done on purpose – I can’t read it with my glasses on.
“I’m a police officer so I’m not intimidated by their tactics or anything, the worst case scenario is that they’ll take me to court.
“I think they’re basically authorised criminals in my opinion, they’re praying on vulnerable people who get scared by these notices.
“I’ve done what I’ve done and I’ll wait and see what happens but I’m not going to allow them to intimidate me or bully me into paying something that really isn’t fair.”
In response to Mr Etele’s claims, a spokesperson for Smart Parking said:
“There is very limited parking at the Havant Health Centre so Smart Parking was brought in to manage its car park to make sure patients can always find somewhere to park.
“To ensure patients are not charged for parking, all patients are asked to register their cars onto a tablet on the front desk of the health centre.
“This procedure is clearly highlighted across numerous signs both in the car park and the health centre itself.
“In the case of Mr Etele, he parked without registering his car twice, so correctly received two charges.
“For context, on both days he received a charge, well over a hundred patients parked and registered without any issues.”
Havant Health Centre declined to comment.