The embattled firm behind a controversial car park is making a “laughing stock” out of Perth, it has been claimed.
Motorist Phillip Hapka claims he entered his vehicle registration perfectly at Kinnoull Street car park and left with 40 minutes to spare.
But he was stunned to receive a demand for £60 from Smart Parking, which runs the facility.
Local politicians say the penalty raises the question of how many other innocent motorists have received erroneous demands.
Mr Hapka said that, following weeks of controversy surrounding the introduction of new meters at the site, he had ensured he had proof of payment.
He added: “In the wake of hearing bad experiences from many friends, I have been retaining my receipts.
“A fine notice I received from Smart Parking, when compared with the receipt, shows that it was issued with 40 minutes still to run on the ticket.
“This company is single-handedly making a laughing stock of Perth, not only in terms of the knock-on effect imposed on the hard pressed traders of the city trying to recover from the recession, but the potential catastrophic effect it will have on colouring the views of tourists in a county which relies heavily on tourism and which the local authority have worked so hard to develop.
“Word of mouth is a very powerful tool.
“I, like quickly growing numbers of the public, will not be frequenting the Kinnoull Street car park in future unless I have no alternative.”
Perth City Centre councillor, Peter Barrett, said Smart Parking needs to change its procedures to appear fair to motorists.
He said: “People should avoid using Kinnoull Street car park until Smart parking demonstrate that they have got to grips with the number plate recognition technology and can prove that they are only issuing tickets when the circumstances are justified.
“Smart Parking are not a law unto themselves, they need to start manually checking the charge notices they issue otherwise it looks awfully like extortion and attempting to take money with menaces.”
A spokesman for Smart Parking said they had reviewed Mr Hapka’s case but declined to say why the penalty was issued in the first place.
He said: “In the case of Mr Hapka we have investigated his case and have now cancelled his charge.
“We would encourage any motorist to contact us and appeal if they feel there are genuine mitigating circumstances in their case.”