Parking fines to be reviewed after 'technical issue' at Co Antrim supermarket

Eurospar in Crumlin
-Credit: (Image: Belfast Live)


Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) issued at a Co Antrim supermarket are set to be reviewed after a "technical issue" which saw a number of people being issued with fines despite having left the car park within the allocated time.

Customers have received £100 fines in the post after parking at the EUROSPAR on Mill Road in Crumlin with many claiming that the car parking system did not detect them leaving and returning later that day.

Speaking to Belfast Live, a number of those who have received the charges expressed their frustration about the situation.

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Katrina Falloon told us that she had been issued multiple fines after visiting the shop.

"It is wild. I had been working and had called in after work around 8:40. They have said that I then didn't leave until five to one the next afternoon. I had called in after work on Saturday then again on Sunday afternoon to get a few bits and pieces," she said.

"I don't be in the shop any more than 10 minutes anytime I am in. I then got another fine which said that I parked at half 8 in the morning and didn't leave until 10 to six that evening.

"I had been in for a coffee that morning and then called in on my way home from work to get something for dinner. It is shocking and I only live two minutes away, I am not going to park at the shop overnight."

Local taxi driver Darren Lavery told us that he had been fined after spending around 20 minutes in the car park.

"I do school runs in the taxi and I would call in to get the van washed and grab something to eat then be away again. I am in and out to the shop, it is not like I was leaving it there for a couple of days or overnight," he said.

Meanwhile, Cheryl Hayes was fined after she visited the store twice on the same day only for the system to record her as having spent 11 hours in the car park.

"The fine said that I arrived at 11 minutes past 10 and then departed at eight minutes past nine that night. I must have called in that morning to get bread or something and went down that night after nine o'clock. It is madness," she said.

"I appealed the fine but I haven't heard anything back. I am disappointed really, as I use the shop all the time and now we can't even go down to the shop otherwise we are getting fined."

A spokesperson for Henderson's Retail who operate the EUROSPAR store said: "Henderson Retail is aware of a technical issue with the Smart Parking cameras at EUROSPAR Crumlin and is working with the company which operates the parking enforcement on the site to have this issue resolved as quickly as possible.

"Smart Parking has given assurances that they are reviewing all fines issued to date and have confirmed that customers found to have been incorrectly fined will receive letters rescinding the fine plus a full refund.

"The Parking Charge Notice Appeals process is available via the Smart Parking website."

When contacted by Belfast Live, Smart Parking said that they would only investigate and issue a statement if we could provide them with the registration numbers of all of the vehicles impacted by the technical glitch.

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