ANGRY motorists have vowed to stop using the Cibi Walk Shopping Precinct car park after being given parking fines despite paying for a ticket for the alloted time.

Since The Chronicle first highlighted the case of mum-to-be Sian Probert who was fined by car park management Parking Eye for being one minute over the grace period, the newsroom has been inundated with complaints from people with similar experiences with the Surrey based firm with most saying that despite paying for a parking ticket they have received parking penalty notices through the post days later.

The first person to contact us was Mrs Bayliss, who received a fine of £80 for parking between 3.02pm and 3.29pm on March 27, despite buying a ticket which covered her until 5.03pm.

Mrs Bayliss from Raglan, said, "My son borrowed my car that day, parked in the Cibi Walk car park and paid so we were shocked to have fine from them. Luckily we have kept the ticket because this is not the first experience we've had with Parking Eye."

Mr Paul Mallison from Abergavenny, paid the minimum charge 80p to park for two hours at 2.02pm on March 27 but received a fine from Parking Eye who said he entered the car park at 2pm and left at 2.51pm.

Mr Mallison said, "The worst thing is this is company in London making money from people for parking. I was lucky I kept my ticket, but not many people do.

"A lot of elderly people park in that car park because it is so close to the town centre, what would they do if they received a fine?"

Between March 27 and March 30, the same thing happened to many others including Mrs Palmer, Mrs Kinman, Mrs Underwood, Mrs Morris and Mrs Williams, all of whom purchased parking tickets from a machine metres from their vehicle and placed it in their cars, before going shopping, so were all understandably shocked to receive parking fines.

When Mrs Palmer contacted Parking Eye to appeal against the fine, they questioned why it took so long for her to pay once she had entered the car park.

She said, "I entered the car park on March 30 at 1.20pm and left at 1.52pm but it took me six minutes to figure out how to work the machine. When I phoned them to appeal they even asked why I took so long to pay."

Unfortunately for Mrs Williams, she paid the fine as she thought she had thrown away the ticket but has since found it and is appealing to get her money back.

A similar experience faced Mrs McDonagh of Abergavenny who drove into the car park but left after being unable to find a parking space.

Again, she received a fine within a few days despite not having found a space to park in.

She said, "I could understand if I had parked my car and had not paid but there wasn't even a free space. I waited a while and left because I couldn't park.

Mrs Price of Crickhowell, was fined for parking at the Cibi Walk car park on Friday, April 2 between 11.21am and 1.11pm.

She said, "I paid the minimum 80p for two hours and left the car park with 10 minutes to spare but still got a ticket. Unfortunately I didn't keep my ticket but I have contacted the company to appeal against it.

"Surely, as you have to put your car registration number in the machine they must have the proof that you paid."

The many people who have contacted the Chronicle have all said how appalling it is that people are being fined despite paying for tickets.

The Chronicle has passed on every reference number sent to us to Parking Eye which has since acknowledged there was a fault at the pay and display machine at the car park and sent letters to motorists who received an incorrectly issued parking charge to cancel the tickets.

A spokesman for Parking Eye said, "Parking Eye regrets there was a problem with the Metric Pay and Display machine and the P&D manufacturer has since rectified the problem and have reassured us that it will not occur again.

"Parking Eye also contacted all motorists affected to cancel tickets as soon as the issue arose. The feedback from most people has been very positive."

However, those who have received the letter are still angry that no apology has been made by the company for the distress it has caused and many say that customer service agents were unhelpful and in some cases rude.

Mr Atkinson, who contacted Parking Eye on behalf of his wife said, "My wife was too distressed to phone them so I did and was told, 'it's none of your business' so my wife composed herself to phone them in order to tell them they were able to deal with me.

"I've asked them for an apology and financial compensation and I have written to the DVLA to complain about passing on our details."

Sarah Cornfield was accused of being rude and sarcastic by a representative of Parking Eye after appealing against her parking fine.

"The customer service is far from helpful, I told them I had purchased a ticket and was told that I must have used the wrong registration number.

"I did try to explain that I do know my own car registration number and I was accused of being sarcastic and told to put it in writing.

"I refused to send off a letter because it is adding the cost of parking when in fact I had done nothing wrong. I did ask to speak to a supervisor but was told no one was available to speak to me."

Ms Cornfield has since received a letter canceling her parking charge notice.

Monmouthshire County Council Trading Standards Manager, Phil Glanville said," We have received a number of complaints about this car park and are monitoring the situation.

"All complaints have been referred to the home authority where Parking Eye is based.

"If anyone needs advice, the first contact should be Consumer Direct on 0845 4040506."

As for Sian Probert, whose ten minute wait cost her £80 she has since had her fine by Parking Eye dropped and has thanked Monmouth MP David Davies and The Abergavenny Chronicle for highlighting the issue.

"I would like to say a very big thank you to Mr David Davies and the Abergavenny Chronicle regarding the Just a Minute article.

"Mr David Davies has sent me a letter letting me know the outcome of my parking fine is good news. The Parking Eye company has dropped the £80 fine.

"Without the help from The Chronicle and Mr David Davies this would have not been possible to achieve. So many many thanks, justice has been done."

•As the Chronicle went to Press Parking Eye was investigating the claims of rudeness while unhappy customers are still waiting for an apology for the distress caused.