The issue of fines, particularly for parking, has long been discussed on Which? Conversation. Our guest, Huw Merriman MP, explains his cross-party effort to stop double charging.
This is a guest post by Huw Merriman MP. All views expressed are Huw’s own and not necessarily shared by Which?.
Today, I’m introducing a Bill to Parliament that seeks to end the practice where customers are fined, or charged again, for a transaction which they can prove has already been purchased, and therefore, the enforcing organisation has suffered no financial loss. This is double charging – a sharp practice that needs to end.
Having supported constituents who have attempted, unsuccessfully, to appeal against these charges, I am left with the view that the law needs to change to give consumers more rights and to catch up with changes in technology which those who charge do not appear to have embraced.
‘Double charging’ examples
Examples include the driver who parks their car in a local authority car park and puts their annual season ticket on the dashboard; they close the door, and the ticket falls down and is not displayed. Despite being able to prove that they have a season-ticket registered to their car, they have not displayed the pass and it is this which delivers them a £60 fine.
Another example from my area recently is a rail passenger who printed out their Trainline documentation but the ticket barrier could not read a QR code. Despite the documentation demonstrating proof of payment, it is technically not a ticket, and they got charged a penalty fair at the barrier – even though the ticket machine which could print the ticket is 10 metres on the other side of the barrier.
I am grateful to Which? for their support in bringing about this Bill and for sharing their member’s examples. In none of these cases did the service provider suffer any loss. Instead, they have ended up making a profit off the back of those customers who have already paid. It’s an absolute rip-off and an obvious black-hole of consumer legislation which needs a fix.
It is the case that some organisations offer discretion but some do not. Many cases occur because the organisation is using outmoded technology.
It’s time things changed
Why is it that a local authority fines drivers for not displaying a ticket when an easier, and hassle-free alternative, is for a parking attendant to be given the technology to check the vehicle registration against the season ticket database?
In our digital age, consumers are being offered efficient ways to purchase and these are not always being matched by an efficient way to prove purchase. My Bill would seek to ensure organisations caught up with this century’s technology.
This was a guest post by Huw Merriman MP. All views expressed were Huw’s own and not necessarily shared by Which?.
Do you support Huw’s efforts to bring about change? Have you ever been ‘double charged’?
Let us know in the comments.
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