Careful or you’ll get a £100 fine! New parking operator at Lincoln train station

Be careful when using the short stay car park at Lincoln train station, as a new parking firm has taken over with new rules and hefty fines.

Smart Parking has taken over at the car park and put up new signage indicating a maximum stay of 20 minutes, with no waiting permitted at any time. This rule was in place before, but it wasn’t respected by motorists.

Don’t overstay your welcome or you’ll get a parking fine in the post.

For up to 20 minutes there is a charge of 50p. Full correct vehicle registration must be entered into the payment machine. Failure to comply with this may result in a Parking Charge Notice of £100.

Parking tariffs apply 24 hours a day Monday to Sunday. The duration of the stay is calculated by ANPR cameras from point of entry to point of exit.

They’re watching you! Number plate recognition cameras are now on site, and you must enter your full reg plate when paying.

Smart Parking also run the long stay car park at the rail station.

You’ve been warned: You’ll have to email your appeal over to Smart Parking.

Controversial parking firm

Smart Parking is already well known in Lincolnshire with multiple drivers in Skegness claiming to have been issued inaccurate fines at the main car park at Fantasy Island on Sea Lane.

Some alleged they had ‘valid tickets’ with people unhappy at what they believed to be a ‘faulty’ ticket machine back in June.

Complaints continued in the months that followed over ‘inaccurate fines and ‘misleading signage’ before Smart Parking finally issued a response in November.

Lincolnshire Reporter put each complaint it had received to the company for them to address. Some complaints were dismissed and argued to have been correctly issued. Others, the company said, did not provide enough information.

Smart Parking said they would investigate the cases of five of the 10 motorists complaints sent to them by Lincolnshire Reporter.

All five used the company’s appeals service. One charge was cancelled at appeal, while another was closed as Smart Parking believe the customer paid for an hour and stayed for 105 minutes so the fine was “correctly issued” (which the customer has now paid).

For two cases they could not find any record of them paying for the correct parking and have rejected the appeals. Those customers have now gone to the independent appeals service POPLA, with Smart Parking saying they will “abide by the decision it makes”.

In the other case the customer told Smart Parking they had paid for two hours, but they said she only paid for one and stayed in the car park for 88 minutes.