Motorists have vowed to boycott a Newcastle-under-Lyme car park after receiving a £60 fine following an apparent change to payment rules.
Jessica and Harry Julian paid £1.50 to park at Lymelight Boulevard car park while visiting an escape room with friends.
The couple believed they had paid the correct amount for their 90-minute stay, only to receive a fine weeks later.
It has emerged that customers now need to manually adjust their parking time, a change that has reportedly caught out multiple motorists.
Motorists have vowed to boycott the Newcastle-under-Lyme car park
Google Street View
Jessica, 29, from Chesterton, has been using the car park for 11 years since passing her driving test and told StokeOnTrentLive that it had always operated the same way.
The car park tariff says that it costs £1.50 for one hour, £2.60 for two hours, £3.70 for three hours, £4.80 for four hours, and £5.70 for 24-hour parking.
Jessica explained the system had previously calculated the fee automatically based on registration numbers.
"We went last month to do an escape room with friends. When we went in it took our registration number and then when you leave you put your registration into the machine and it gives you a price," Jessica said.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
"When we left, the machine came up saying £1.50 so we paid it and thought that was that."
She later discovered that customers are now expected to adjust their own parking time manually.
"Apparently, you are meant to adjust your own time to say how long you've been in there now - but we had no idea. I've never known a car park to work that way."
Jessica was shocked when car park operator Minster Baywatch rejected her appeal against the fine.
Jessica said that she was 'frustrated' and insisted that she would never park somewhere and then attempt to dodge paying (Stock)
GETTY
"I'm really frustrated. I'd never park somewhere and try to get out of paying. I paid the amount it asked me to pay," she fumed.
"I'm a younger person who's good with technology and it's still caught me out. I think a lot of older and vulnerable people are going to be really in trouble with it."
Jessica has discovered she is not alone in her frustration with the car park's new system, finding others who are complaining that they have been "caught out" and have ended up being fined.
GB News has approached Minster Baywatch for comment.
