Brighton man angry at 'unreasonable' Halfords parking fine

Mal Standing, from Patcham in Brighton, bought a dashcam online from Halfords.

When making the purchase, the 68-year-old booked a slot for it to be installed in his car at Halfords' branch at The Pavilion Centre in Lewes Road, for 11am on March 24.

A dashcam (dashboard camera) is a small, windscreen-mounted video camera that records the road while you drive.

In total, he paid £189 for the dashcam to be supplied and fitted.

Mal brought his car to Halfords to have the dashcam installed (Image: The Argus)

But when he and his wife arrived, the member of staff responsible for the installation had not yet turned up.

"We went for a quick coffee, came back and he was in," said Mr Standing, who is retired.

"He picked up all the gear and we gave him the key to the car. He said it would take about two hours."

The couple drove home in their second car to wait — but Mr Standing says the late start meant the installation did not get under way until around 11.45am.

When they returned two hours later the car was ready and they drove away, unaware of what was to come.

Two weeks later, Mr Standing received a penalty charge notice (PCN) from Smart Parking, the company that manages the car park at The Pavilion Centre, for £100.

Mal described the parking fine as 'unreasonable' (Image: The Argus)

The charge had been triggered because the car had been in the car park for three hours and 18 minutes — 18 minutes beyond the free parking limit.

"To be honest, when we dropped it off I'd never even thought about parking times, because I was having work done," said Mr Standing.

"It never entered my head that parking there could cost us an extra £100."

After receiving the fine, Mr Standing returned to the Halfords store to ask for help.

"I showed them the PCN and asked what could be done about it," he said.

"They said they'd try to phone up and sort something out."

He then submitted an appeal to Smart Parking, attaching his receipt and invoice as proof that the car had been at the site for legitimate repair work.

Mal was surprised to get the fine in the post two weeks later (Image: The Argus)

He argued that because Halfords had custody of the vehicle, he could not be held responsible for how long it remained in the car park.

"You'd have thought any reasonable person would have said, 'he's having a dashcam fitted, fair enough'.

"But no, Smart Parking still want to squeeze you. I think it's unreasonable."

His appeal was rejected, though Smart Parking did reduce the fine to £20. Mr Standing paid it — but the principle continued to rankle.

"I'm a disabled pensioner," he said.

"If they want £20, they can have £20. That's not really what's bothering me.

"What bothers me is that people can come here, park their cars to have work done, not knowing it could cost them an extra £100, or £60, or whatever this company decides to charge."

He believes responsibility also lies with Halfords.

"If Halfords' man had been on time, we wouldn't have got the parking ticket," said Mr Standing.

"I booked the time slot three or four days in advance — you'd think the guy would be there on time."

There is a three hour limit on parking at the Pavilion Centre on Lewes Road (Image: The Argus)

After The Argus contacted Halfords, the company reimbursed Mr Standing the £20.

A spokesman for Halfords said: "A small delay in Mr Standing's appointment led to him receiving a fine from a separate company that operates the car park.

"We have since reimbursed Mr Standing for the fine."

A spokesman for Smart Parking said: "Smart Parking were brought in to manage the car park at The Pavilion Centre in Brighton to stop parking abuse and to ensure that spaces are available for motorists visiting the retail outlets there.

"At the Pavilion Centre parking is free, but there is a maximum stay of up to three hours which is clearly highlighted across numerous signs around the car park.

"In the case of Mr Standing, he parked for three hours and 18 minutes so was correctly issued a charge.

"Smart Parking are members of the International Parking Community (IPC) and strictly follow its guidelines.

"As part of this we operate an IPC audited appeals process that allows motorists to provide supporting evidence.

"Although Halfords hasn't contacted us, Mr Standing has, and after reviewing his appeal and seeing he clearly overstayed the maximum free parking period, we reduced his charge to £20 as an act of goodwill.

"Mr Standing has now paid the charge and the matter is closed."