A motorist received a parking ticket at an under-fire Perth car park after the payment machine refused to accept his cash.
George Campbell, from Linlithgow, had been attending an evening event at Perth Concert Hall and parked at the Kinnoull Street multi-storey, which is operated by Smart Parking.
He chose to pay for his stay when leaving the car park but after paying half of the £4 owed, the machine began rejecting his coins.
As the machines do not take bank notes or cards, a frustrated Mr Campbell gave up and left. He is now being chased for £160 by Smart Parking.
He said: “It’s absolute extortion. Out of the blue I got a demand for £160 for underpaying but the machine wouldn’t accept my money.
“I was trying to pay £4 but the machine only took £2. It was rejecting the coins and it doesn’t take cards.
“They say they sent me a letter about it but I never received that and would like to see the proof (that they did send it).
“This firm is very bad for Perth.”
Murdo Fraser, the Conservative candidate for Perthshire North, has previously campaigned for the company to treat drivers more fairly and said the firm should have installed machines capable of taking alternative payment.
He said: “It is extraordinary that Smart Parking will only accept payment in coins, when so many people today will carry only notes or cards.
“It’s almost as if this company were trying to deliberately make it difficult for people to pay, so they can profiteer from issuing more penalty charge notices.
“I hope that Smart Parking will change their machines so they now accept notes and cards, to avoid more drivers being caught out.”
A spokesman for Smart Parking said: “Mr Campbell parked in the Kinnoull Car Park for 273 minutes, which is 153 minutes more than he had paid for. Mr Campbell did not appeal the penalty charge notice that was issued.
“In addition to six payment machines on-site, there are 237 signs clearly stating the terms and conditions of the car park.”