Woman 'wrongfully' fined after parking at Chesterfield's Ravenside Retail Park on day clocks changed

A woman says she was 'wrongfully' fined for parking at a Chesterfield shopping hotspot - claiming operators failed to change the time on CCTV when the clocks went back.
By Michael Broomhead
Published 4th Nov 2019, 14:57 BST
Cars parked at Ravenside Retail Park in Chesterfield.Cars parked at Ravenside Retail Park in Chesterfield.
Cars parked at Ravenside Retail Park in Chesterfield.

Emily Harrison told the Derbyshire Times she was at Ravenside Retail Park's car park between 10.36am and 12.57pm on October 27.

MORE: What the new signs say about parking at Chesterfield's Ravenside Retail Park - in full

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Signs at Ravenside Retail Park state: "Vehicles may park for a maximum of three hours, with no return for a period of one hour."

Last Wednesday, Emily received a letter from UKCPS Ltd, which manages the car park.

The 26-year-old, of Coal Aston, said: "The letter stated I need to pay £60 and if I don’t then it will jump to £100.

"I have been wrongfully issued this fine - I wasn’t there for three hours.

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"I have evidence that I used my bank card at 10.46am at B&M in the retail park and I was actually at Sainsbury's in Dronfield at 1.40pm and I used my card there as well which I have noted in an appeal to them.

"However, they have still rejected my appeal and stated I still need to pay it.

"I'm frustrated and annoyed.

"I believe they didn't change the time on the CCTV in reflection of daylight saving time."

In its letter rejecting Ms Harrison's appeal - which states the 'contravention time' as 1.57pm - UKCPS Ltd said: "Vehicles parked at the location may park free of charge provided they park within the stipulated time limit.

"This is clearly stated on numerous signs at the car park.

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"We are therefore unable to cancel the parking charge notice as it was issued correctly."

Ms Harrison added: "I'm currently exhausting all possible options to get this resolved.

"I'm appealing to the Independent Appeals Service and I'm also willing to go to court.

"I know of 10 people who have been affected by this mistake so far so it's not an isolated incident and we have formed a Facebook group to compile all the evidence."

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The Derbyshire Times contacted Leeds-based UKCPS Ltd asking if it wanted to respond to Ms Harrison's concerns but had not received a response by the time of publication.

As reported by the Derbyshire Times previously, a number of residents have raised concerns about the car park at Ravenside Retail Park.

MORE: Chesterfield man wins fight to overturn Ravenside Retail Park parking fine

Related topics:ChesterfieldCCTVDerbyshire Times