I THOUGHT I would just write a letter to your newspaper for the benefit of any of your readers intending to use the car park off Hylton Road in Worcester (the one behind McDonald’s).

I was visiting Worcester on Tuesday, July 9 this year with my father and parked my car in the car park.

I went over to the nearest ticket machine hoping to buy a parking ticket.

The option to buy one with cash was not there nor contactless payment using a credit or debit card.

The only option was to ring the number given on a post nearby to pay over the phone.

I had never done this before but decided to try it as I did not want a parking fine.

The recorded message talked me through the payment as I keyed the card number details on my smartphone.

I did think at the time how did they know what to charge until I left the car park?

I expect it is done by number-plate recognition as you enter and leave the car park.

Anyway with the card details given I carried on with an enjoyable day in Worcester.

We returned to the car and carried on to Upton where my father lives.

I thought nothing of it until a few weeks later when I received a letter from Euro Car Parks saying that I had not paid and owed them £60 as a parking fine, £100 if not paid within a certain time with, sure enough, a photograph of my car entering and leaving the car park.

Obviously, I have appealed.

This appeal has been rejected and I am now appealing to POPLA (Parking On Private Land Appeals).

I am having to resort to bank statement records and mobile telephone call records and I am not happy about it.

It should not be assumed that everyone has a bank account to make a payment by credit or debit card nor that everyone possesses a mobile or smartphone with which to make a payment.

I would imagine that this is not a good set-up for the retail outlets on the retail park that rely on trade from visiting drivers either.

I have an ongoing appeal against this but I would like to warn your readers of this because I would not want other drivers to have to go through what I have.

Thank you.

William Reginald Johnson

Aberystwyth

What do you think? Write to letters@worcesternews.co.uk.