An Aberdeen motorist has been left fuming after being slapped with a £100 parking fine – despite showing a city warden his valid ticket.
Hamish Leckie had paid for an hour of parking on Albyn Place via the Pay By Phone app.
But when he and his wife arrived back at their car 20 minutes early, they saw a city warden at the vehicle.
He quickly showed the warden the parking confirmation on the app, and his bank details to prove payment had been taken.
The warden assured them a ticket would not be issued – but just days later, a fine of £100 dropped through their letterbox.
Furious, Mr Leckie appealed the ticket and sent off the proof of payment – only to discover he could be waiting up to 90 days for a decision, by which point the fine would have climbed to £150.
“I am not paying the charge, because I had a valid ticket,” he told The Press and Journal.
“We are quite sure this is happening to other people in Aberdeen, so we wanted to make sure that everyone knew what was happening.”
Aberdeen driver said warden saw valid ticket for Albyn Place
On July 6, Mr Leckie paid for parking on Albyn Place via the Pay By Phone App.
His parking was between 2.49pm and 3.49pm. He and his wife returned to their car around 3.30pm and noticed the warden.
Mr Leckie’s wife noticed a city warden at his car.
He showed the warden proof of parking, who suggested that since the car registration was not recorded on the database, there must be an issue with the app.
Mr Leckie said he then showed the warden his banking app, and was assured by the warden that he would not be issued with a penalty charge notice (PCN).
The council today admitted the fine had been issued in error.
The Press and Journal asked Aberdeen City Council if they would be dropping the charge given the circumstances.
A spokeswoman said: “We have dealt directly with our resident on this.
“We have checked and can confirm that our system was working correctly on the day in question and a PCN was issued on this occasion as a result of human error.”
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