Brighton driver was outraged before parking fees “Skandal”

Victoria Brinkley and Clara Donnelly, both of whom live in Brighton, have expressed their concern for charges when paying by telephone -of which they were not aware of until they were talking to members of their swimming group in the Sea Lanes in Madeira Drive, Brighton.

“We come here every week and would find that one of us would pay 1.70 pounds, some people £ 1.80, about £ 1.90 would pay for exactly the same parking space,” said Victoria.

“After a while we found that this happened throughout the city, and I found that we didn't play a role in all my friends where I was, we would pay different amounts.

“Then it worked out that this SMS was charged.

“I signed up from my salary by telephone to see whether it made a difference and it was because it was not clear and obvious that the fees are.

“I signed up again, and at no time it said that they would cost £ 0.10 per text.”

Victoria looks at the charges on her phone (Image: Ramy Abou-Setta / The Argus) Victoria explained that there are two text options in the Pay by telephone website and ap: one that lets you know when you successfully parked and one who knows if your parking lot is shortly before the expiry.

Victoria added: “This means that some people pay 20 pence at the top without knowing it.

“In nowhere in the app or the website it says that there will be a 10p [charge]It is said that fees may apply but do not enter into the details.

“It only means that they pay £ 1.80 instead of £ 1.70, that's all that it says. And then there is a list of all places and fees, Aberdeen, Ashford and other cities/areas, it does not say Brighton and Hove, it is not on the list.”

Brighton and Hove are not listed on the Pay by phone website for SMS fees -Opt -in option for SMS (Image: NQ) In 2023, the city council of Brighton and Hove voted to get rid of all wage and display machines to save costs.

In a report specified at this point, the measure that would save around £ 220,000 was eliminated the “large budget pressure” for the conversion of all machines by early 2023 and lead to savings in recording, maintenance and other costs of cash.

The report stated that the move risked effects on the “digital exclusion” as “all payments on payment by phone app”.

Clara added: “My parents find it impossible to navigate through the website or app, they are in the 80s and it would take them very long to deal with the system.

“If you take all the parking meters away in the region, this has caused problems for those who can live in the city life and computer analphabetes. This 10p fee to send a text from the removal of the meters, and it simply makes no sense.

“Why should a driver have to pay an additional fee for a service for which he already pays?

“This is similar when an SMS was introduced for the first time and they had to pay per text. It shouldn't be 1p, let alone 10 cost.”

The Council returned to the decision to remove all parking meters in August 2024 after the reservation of the residents and opposition council in August 2024.

Around 12 machines were placed in the city for contactless card payments on the Brighton coast, in Rottingean and on other “high usage” cakes.

Council member Trevor Hilves, a member of the cabinet for transport, parking lot and public Brighton and Hove The city council had received reports that some residents had difficulty paying for parking on their mobile phones.

Cash knife in Madeira Drive, Brighton (Image: Ramy Abou-Setta / The Argus) One of these meters is stationed in the Madeira Drive, Brighton, where Victoria and Clara swim with their friends every week. The cost of parking through the money costs is £ 1.60, in contrast to the £ 1.70 shown via the app.

When Victoria found out from the cheaper knives, he shared further frustration.

She said: “This is absolutely ridiculous. Why should you charge 10p less in the measuring device if we pay for the same time for the same parking space?

“So the Council takes an additional 20-30p for him.

“It may seem like a little money, but in the great scheme of things it adds up not only for me, but for everyone who uses the service.

“I think it's a scandal and the advice takes money under our nose when life in this city is as expensive enough as it is.”

Government statistics from December 2024 show that parking and other fees on the street from April 2023 to March 2024 make up a profit of more than 23 million GBP.

The Council also made 6.128 million GBP in surpluses from parking spaces outside the street, such as: B. Parking parks.

In response to the demands of Victoria and Clara, the city council said Trevor, a member of the cabinet for transport, parking and public area: “There is an administration of 10p per transaction in our app. This is a standard practice for this and other app-based parking platforms and is actually used by several councils that use the park apps throughout the Great Britain.

“Further optional warnings are available at low costs, including sending an SMS, so that people know that their parking spaces are near the process. This is a useful additional service with which people do not drive at the park session and extend parking without returning to their vehicle, hence the low fee.

“These are completely optional and require the user to choose him. The costs for this service are then fully divided into the payment summary, which customers must be satisfied with before payment.

“We are confident that these small additional costs are transparent, but increased drivers have also been increased in recent years.

“That is why we have allowed parking fees and costs in Brighton & Hove for the first time in April for more than 10 years and have reduced the parking spaces in the parking spaces in the council parking lots.”