Dundee driver hit with ‘unfair’ fine despite several parking meters not working

A Dundee driver says he has been hit with an “unfair” fine after he was unable to pay for parking due to several meters not working.

Alan Evans parked on Whitehall Crescent for a haircut on Saturday morning only to be faced with a blank screen on the parking meter.

The 61-year-old claims he tried “several” nearby machines to find they were also not working.

Upon returning to his car half an hour later, a warden was placing a ticket on his car.

Alan says he had no other way of paying because he does not carry a mobile phone, so could not use the app or text functions.

Dundee parking warden ‘said council knows machines are broken’

Alan said: “After I parked up, I went to pay by card at the nearest machine, but it had a blank screen.

“I then tried other machines on Whitehall Street and Crichton Street but they were also broken.

“I don’t have a mobile and barely know what an app is so that is no alternative for me.”

When he returned to his car, Alan says he explained the situation to the warden, however, he still received a £100 ticket.

He said: “How could I pay when the machines were broken?

“The warden told me, ‘I know this seems unfair but this is what we’ve been told to do. The council know the machines are broken’.

“How can the council be giving out tickets when their machines are broken?

“It seems very unfair as not everyone owns a mobile phone.”

Alan says he saw other drivers “zig-zagging from machine to machine” in the hope of finding one that worked.

He added: “I’d be surprised if I was the only one in this situation.

“It beggars belief that in the prime shopping week of the year, not one single meter on Crichton Street, Whitehall Crescent or Union Street is functional for a card transaction.”

Dundee City Council ‘expects customers to pay for parking using one of four options’

When contacted for comment, Dundee City Council did not address the issue of the parking meters not working.

A spokesperson said: “Dundee City Council offers up to four methods of payment at most city centre locations – coin, card, telephone or app.

“We expect our customers to pay for their parking by one of these options.

“Details of how to challenge a penalty charge notice are available on the council’s website.”

Back in June, parking fines in both Dundee and Angus rose from £60 to £100.