I received a £100 parking charge even though we’d used the JustPark app

I used the JustPark parking app, after recommendations from friends, to park our car in Edinburgh during a visit to our daughter who lives in an area of strict parking restrictions.

On the morning of the visit, we contacted the parking space owner at work to check the requirements, and were told by text to “park in any spot available”.

On returning to collect our vehicle in the early evening, we found a penalty charge of £100 on it, stating that we did not have the requisite parking permit. There was an option for early payment at a reduced £60.

We informed JustPark immediately on that day, and were eventually advised to pay the £60 reduced penalty charge, and to send proof of payment for reimbursement.

Since then I have not received any further response despite repeated requests for the money.

JH, York

JustPark is one of a number of peer-to-peer websites offering private parking spots for rent, and the company claims to have more than 100,000 spaces on its books.

As ever with these sites, the service received by customers is only as good as the person with the space, who, in this case, was clearly a bit useless.

JustPark had a responsibility to resolve this – and it wasn’t replying to you. Happily, it responded swiftly to me.

It has now apologised, paid you the £60 and has delisted the parking space in question “to ensure no other customers are affected”.

It says the delay was caused by the fact that the host was not engaging with its staff.

“We understand the frustration caused and are reviewing our internal processes to ensure more timely responses and resolutions moving forward,” it says.

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