Bolton town centre: Parking concerns after elderly man fined

Roy Woods from Blackrod says he parked at Grosvenor Casino’s car park in Ormrod Street on Tuesday May 9 while he and his wife Eileen did some shopping.

He says that he did pay for his ticket once they had finished shopping, which came to £2, so it came as a shock when he received the parking fine letter in the post.

Age UK Bolton says Roy's issue raises bigger questions about advances in technology which are affecting older people - with changes in parking machines generally being one of them.

And as a result, it is said, many older people decide not to go out and about anymore.

The parking company Minster Baywatch has cancelled the fine - but said the penalty charge notice had been issued correctly.

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Roy told The Bolton News: “The amount came up with £2 and we paid with a card.

“But then I got a letter in the post and it said we hadn't paid, and I thought we had made a mistake, but we paid."

It turns out Roy had to press a plus button on the machine to select how long he had been there. However, he says that it did not come up on the screen to ask him his duration.

Although there are instructions on the machine Roy and his wife say they did not realise and struggle with technology at times.

Eileen said: “We can do some things but struggle with some technology.

“We went with change that day and we saw that it was card.

“We always pay with coins.

“We also do worry about putting cards in machines.”

Roy added: “If Eileen hadn’t been with me, I might have ended up pulling out of that place because I couldn’t do it.

“Maybe it’s being elderly and not being brought up with it.”

The Chief Executive of Age UK Bolton Suzan Hilton, says that whilst technology is being more integrated into people's lives, “it is clear that many older people are being left behind as technology is often implemented without forethought as to how accessible and user friendly it may be”.

She added: “This excludes them from so many important services and opportunities.

“This is especially disappointing in situations where there is no alternative but to use digital technology and where slight mishaps could result in people being denied access to essential services or even penalised as in this case.

“While it is pleasing to see that, in this instance, the gentleman in question has not had to pay the fine, it would be good to see companies take older people into account more when implementing digital technology to ensure it is fully accessible and user friendly for everyone.”

Suzan says that “it is vital that older people are not excluded from something as basic as parking”.

Roy said him and his wife are used to paying by cash.

He says that the situation also made him feel vulnerable paying by card.

Age UK recently ran an Age Friendly Bolton consultation and paying for parking was one of the concerns raised.

One resident said: “If you choose to drive to get to places, nowadays when you park it is hard now to pay. “Not everyone has a smartphone and can understand how to pay when you cannot insert cash into a parking machine.”

Another said: “Older people like me are just being left behind as everything goes on-line.

“I don’t have a smartphone a computer or internet, so nobody wants to know now.

“What can you do?”.

Eileen appealed to Minster Baywatch parking on Roy's behalf, attaching a receipt to show Roy had paid.

However, the appeal was rejected, stating that the couple had only paid for an hour rather than for an extra 43 minutes.

After 14 days had passed Roy had to choose whether to appeal again or face a £100 fine instead of a £60 fine, but he says he was put off appealing again after the previous rejection.

Roy said: "If it said we had to pay more we would have paid it.

"The appeal response we received said we didn't pay enough.

"On the website it said we needed to pay £2.50 for the time we were there.

"And now they are charging £100 when we would have paid the extra 50 pence if we had known.

"We didn't do it deliberately.

"It has upset me so much and I haven’t been sleeping."

Roy says that when they were ready to leave the car park he inputted his registration and it came up to say he needed to pay £2.

He said: "I typed in my registration and it came up saying I needed to pay £2, and I paid on card.

"It didn't have an option for the duration."

Since having the fine cancelled Roy said: "We are over the moon and so grateful to The Bolton News because we don't know what we would have done."

He says the experience will put him off from driving into the town centre to shop because he is worried he would be in the "same boat" again.

A spokesperson for Minster Baywatch said: “Whilst we cannot go into too many specifics, we can confirm at the Bolton site in question there are over 30 bright yellow signs stating the rules of the site, these are accompanied by four payment machines and four large tariff boards on a circa 300 space car park.

“Visitors of the site must either pay for their visit on arrival at the site or enter their vehicle details at the provisioned vehicle registration systems in the Grosvenor casino or the Mecca Bingo.

“We can confirm in respect of the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) you have sought comment on, the driver paid for one hour’s parking however they remained on site for one hours and 43 minutes, well beyond our client's permitted grace period and, as such, a PCN was correctly issued.

“Whilst we note the PCN was issued legitimately we have received instruction to cancel the PCN; something we have now done.

“It is important any user of any car park ensure they are aware of the requirements of the site on each visit.”

Read the full statement from Age UK below: “As we move forward it is inevitable that digital technology will be integrated into more and more facets of everyday life, greatly accelerated by the pandemic.

“However, it is clear that many older people are being left behind as technology is often implemented without forethought as to how accessible and user friendly it may be.

“This excludes them from so many important services and opportunities.

“This is especially disappointing in situations where there is no alternative but to use digital technology and where slight mishaps could result in people being denied access to essential services or even penalised as in this case.

“While it is pleasing to see that, in this instance, the gentleman in question has not had to pay the fine, it would be good to see companies take older people into account more when implementing digital technology to ensure it is fully accessible and user friendly for everyone.

“Whether this is through clearer instruction or a non-digital alternative, it is vital that older people are not excluded from something as basic as parking.

“The effects including ongoing stress and anxiety mean many older people decide not to go out and about anymore.

“This reduces their mobility, independence, choice, social interaction and happiness, which in turn adversely impacts their mental and physical health as well as potentially reducing spend in town centres such as Bolton."

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