Perth and Kinross Council has been forced to spend more than £12,000 on “upgrading” ticket machines at some of its car parks as they are not compatible with 10p coins.
The problem was noticed by several Courier readers, one of whom described the situation as “ridiculous”.
In January, the Royal Mint decided the composition of the 10p coin would be nickel-plated steel and subsequently launched a programme to replace the older cupro-nickel coins to recover the alloy.
Tricia Fox, from Perth, contacted The Courier to express her anger over the matter, which she says is making motorists pay extra at some of the council-owned car parks in Perth and Kinross.
“Apparently council parking machines don’t accept the new 10p pieces they all have lovely yellow stickers telling us so,” she said.
“This is not so good for the consumer who then has to pay £1 for 90p worth of parking an 11% increase. It’s not much but it adds up over the year.”
She continued: “If we all had to inadvertently pay 11% council tax there would be an outcry. Apparently legal tender is not good enough.”
A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council confirmed that it will cost £12,000 for the “upgrading” required to some ticket machines in council car parks.
“The costs are being met from within existing budgets to ensure that there is no impact on parking charges for motorists,” she said.
“A change in the materials used to make 10p coins means that older ticket-issuing machines will reject the new 10p coins. This situation is affecting parking providers around the UK, including local authorities.
“Perth and Kinross Council is taking steps to have affected ticket machines upgraded and the programme of upgrades is expected to be completed within the next six weeks, with changes to be made first to the most heavily used on- and off-street parking facilities,” she continued.
“The council has, in the meantime, placed notices on the affected equipment advising motorists of the issue.”
Photo by Angus Findlay