Drivers being ‘fleeced’ by no-change parking machines
How many times have you entered a pay-and-display car park, only to find that you've only got a few pound coins and no small denominations to feed the 'no-change' machine?
It's happened to most of us: having to write off 50 or 60 pence here and there because you need to park up and must have a ticket, but there's no one around to play 'change swap' with. It's one of life's little annoyances as a motorist, but we tend to accept that it happens occasionally.
However, it was revealed this week the extent to which some companies are making money off drivers who regularly find themselves in this situation.
Figures from HMRC that came about as a result of a court case against parking operator NCP regarding tax payments showed the company took in a total of £2.44 million in car park overpayments between June 2009 and December 2012.
Divided up, that means some £681,000 each year was unnecessarily paid by motorists using its services.
RAC spokesperson Pete Williams said being forced to overpay results in a "huge source of frustration" for road users, adding that drivers are essentially being "fleeced" by companies operating machines that do not give change.
He suggested that NCP should be donating any additional revenue from overpayments to good causes such as road safety charities, but the AA's Edmund King pointed out that the easiest thing would be not to overcharge people in the first place.
NCP argued that all its car parks bar one offers an alternative method of payment to coins, allowing customers to pay the exact amount each time.
It isn't just independent car park operators that are making money out of parking, though. Past research has found many county councils are raking in vast sums because their machines are not equipped to give change.
When challenged, many have given the excuse that they also provide alternative methods of payment and claimed it would be more expensive to operate change-giving machines.
However, the Taxpayers' Alliance has repeatedly challenged this, saying overpayments amount to a "stealth tax" on road users who already pay levies to drive.
The AA has also insisted alternative payments are not an option for many, including older motorists who may not have the appropriate technology or vulnerable demographics who might not want to be delayed in car parks with their mobile phones out late at night, for instance.
What do you think? Have you ever been fleeced by car park overcharging?