Complaints over Thistle Hotel's new parking system

Three drivers who parked at the Thistle Hotel’s two pay and display car parks, at Poole Quay, contacted the Daily Echo after the CCTV Parking Eye system was installed in August.

Drivers Jo Harper, from Southbourne, and Abigail Rosenorn-Lanng, from Wiltshire, were both issued parking charge notices.

The pair, who had kept hold of their valid pay and display tickets, contacted Parking Eye car park management and appealed. In both cases the parking enforcement action was dropped.

Mrs Harper said: “My main concern is that a lot of people are getting these notices sent out randomly.

“It is only by chance that I kept my ticket. I wonder how easy it would be to get this notice quashed if I had thrown it away?”

Under the new system car park users enter their car registration into the ticket machine.

Miss Rosenorn-Lanng said: “I am very concerned that although I followed all the procedures, I still ended up with an official looking letter.”

Meanwhile, a Lush Cosmetics worker who has a permit to park at the hotel, said a number of her colleagues had received parking notices.

Jessica Pritchard said she’s complained to the hotel, where they had to register for permits, but nothing has been done to rectify the problem.

“It has now come to the point where I no longer want to go to work for fear of being given another parking fine,” she said.

After the Daily Echo stepped-in, a spokesman for Parking Eye said: “We always operate to the highest standards of the British Parking Association code of conduct.

“In the cases highlighted the motorists purchased a ticket in one car park whilst parking in another. However, we have a fair appeals procedure and in the circumstances we cancelled both charges. We have now linked the machines so that they cover both car parks.

“In the case of Jessica Pritchard we did not receive details of her permit until the day after she parked, however, we have since cancelled the charge.”