EXCLUSIVE I paid £83.50 for just an HOUR of parking after firm fined me for a stupid reason
A mental health support worker paid £83.
A mental health support worker paid £83.50 for just an hour of parking - after a firm fined him for not buying a ticket, even though their machine was out of order.
Lenny Samms, 63, of Eastbourne, told MailOnline he received an £85 charge in early January for the totally accidental breach in October last year.
He parked at Iceland - but with the payment machine not working, he could not buy a ticket: I thought, "Theres other cars here, Ill just get on with my day".
Mr Samms was only away from his car for an hour, which normally costs £1.50 - so with an £85 charge, he essentially paid £83.50 more than he should have had to.
That comes in at a pricey £1.40 per minute - nearly the normal hourly rate, thanks to the fine issued by Horizon Parking.
He explained the machine was out of order when he received the charge - but with no proof, he ended up just paying it: I didnt want to go to court and try to explain it.
I didnt take a photograph of the machine saying out of order when I should have.
But he said: I felt sort of isolated, Im sure that other people have gone through it but I had no support or a witness or anyone else I knew that had gone through it.
Lenny Samms (pictured), 63, of Eastbourne, told MailOnline he received an £85 charge in early January for the totally accidental breach in October last year
He parked at Iceland (pictured) - but with the payment machine not working, he could not buy a ticket: I thought, "Theres other cars here, Ill just get on with my day"
Mr Samms was only away from his car for an hour, which normally costs £1.50 - so with an £85 charge, he essentially paid £83.50 more than he should have had to
Thats why I was thinking, "Should I reach out to anyone on Facebook who had gone through a similar thing?"
Because its a local town, Eastbourne is not that big and I wondered if anyone had gone through it but then you feel quite isolated really. And its annoying really.
He continued: When youre getting a parking charge like this, it can be quite intimidating, threatening you with court procedures and all this.
I just wish I had the proof but I know next time to get proof, you need evidence.
It was a hard lesson to learn, really, then I probably wouldnt have had to pay it.
But Mr Samms never thought he would have to go on to prove the machine was not working - with CCTV cameras in the car park to already show that was the case.
The 63-year-old continued: I just naively thought that the machine and the camera sort of liaise together. I didnt expect a ticket to come through the post.
And it was only after paying the charge and discussing it with an Iceland employee that he discovered there is a second payment machine in the car park.
But Mr Samms never thought he would have to go on to prove the machine was not working - with CCTV cameras in the car park (pictured, a sign in the Iceland car park) to already show that was the case
But it is not visible unless you are entering the supermarket - which he was not - and there is no notice in the car park informing customers it is there.
Drivers facing trouble with unexpected charges from parking firms has become an increasingly well-documented issue in recent times.
In fact, analysis by MailOnline has shown cowboy parking firms are now doling out a record number of tickets.
Government figures suggest private operators issued 12.8million fines in 2023/24 – one every two seconds.
This is up nearly 90 per cent in just five years, despite the Government repeatedly vowing to stop predatory operators.
With 2024/25 on track to be even worse, ministers are facing renewed calls to get tough on the ruthless firms causing misery for millions of motorists.
Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said it was scandalous how motorists were being stung by broken technology and firms deploying sneaky signs to take advantage of law-abiding citizens.
He revealed he was working with parliamentarians to stop parking firms marking their own homework by overhauling the current complaints process.
Mr Samms said: When youre getting a parking charge like this, it can be quite intimidating, threatening you with court procedures and all this. Pictured: The machine in the Iceland car park
Mr Williams said: We want a truly independent single appeals service that only the Government backed private parking code of practice will deliver.
We also want a scrutiny board which will ensure private parking operators conform to the rules and will face consequences if they do not.
Mr Samms echoed this sentiment too: The parking companies are known to be quite greedy and misleading, arent they? So, its no surprise, its all about money...
When you work hard for your money and youve got a mortgage to pay and bills to pay and the cost of living is going up, the last thing you want is to have to find £85.
The support worker, who has lived in Eastbourne all his life, has said parking in the town has become noticeably more expensive in recent years.
He said: Ive seen Eastbourne changed, like most towns are getting bigger, whereas years ago, you used be able to park in town without paying.
Payment has only come in the last ten or 15 years he said: Before, you could just park freely, but now, in and around the town, the radius, where you cant park for free anymore, youve got to park way outside of town if you want to park for free.
He also often visits Brighton, only a 20-minute drive away - but finds it very expensive to park there too.
He continued: I just wish I had the proof but I know next time to get proof, you need evidence. Pictured: A sign in the Iceland car park
Mr Samms said: It was the Green Party that made Brighton expensive to park to encourage tourists to use public transport but in fact what it was doing was keeping people away from Brighton.
The parking was so expensive, you could spend £30 for a few hours. So, you do your shopping and things and you have a £35 bill.
Private parking firms are on course to issue a record 14.5million tickets to drivers in Britain in a year – with just five companies responsible for nearly half of them.
And the firm behind Mr Samms charge, Horizon Parking, is one of them.
The RAC found car park management firms requests to the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) reached 7.2million in the six months to the end of last September.
That is up 12 per cent from the same period a year earlier and represents an average of 41,000 requests per day.
The RAC added if the rate continued for the following six months, 14.5million tickets will have been issued over a year.
The five parking companies which issued 45 per cent of tickets between April and September last year were ParkingEye (1,129,000), Euro Car Parks (892,000), Horizon Parking (440,000), Smart Parking (424,000) and APCOA Parking (367,000).
Private companies chase vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks, such as at shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas.
Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the daily total cost to drivers may be near £4.1million at the current rate.
But private parking firms have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.
An investigation by the PA news agency earlier this year found drivers across England say they are being sent parking charge notices (PCNs) because of faulty machines, which one campaigner claiming the devices are set up to trap people.
A Bill to enable the introduction of a Government-backed code for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.
The code was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.
Horizon Parking told MailOnline: We manage the car park on behalf of the landowner to ensure that their customers are able to park and utilise the facilities as required. This helps prevent abuse including ensuring disabled bays are kept free for those who need them.
There is a clearly set out appeals process which motorists can follow if they feel that they should not have received a Charge. We are members of the British Parking Association and adhere to the Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice.
Without further information such as Parking Charge reference or vehicle registration we are unable to investigate this matter or comment any further.
If a motorist receives a Parking Charge in these circumstances it is possible to investigate any issues with the payment machines from the back-office system, however without a specific date it is not possible to do so.
Please note that payment on arrival is required and payment at the machine would not be possible if a motorist had remained in the car park for longer than the permitted maximum stay of 1 hour which is why it may have appeared not to be working. There is also the option to pay via our Horizon Parking app or website at https://www.horizonspaces.co.uk/ by entering the location code advertised in the car park.