A WOMAN in Towyn has told of her disbelief after she received a fine having parked in a car park in Rhyl to change and breastfeed her baby.

The woman, who asked not to be named, used the car park by the Vue cinema, which Denbighshire County Council (DCC) is responsible for, to see to her 18-month-old daughter on November 3.

She checked the pay machine when she first parked and the parking charges implied that costs were only in effect between March 1 and October 31.

This was not the case, but the woman said that signage on the machine had not been updated to display the winter charges.

The woman then took her baby to tend to her needs and came back to a parking fine of £25 if paid within two weeks, or £50 if not.

She said: “I immediately quizzed the parking attendant, who admitted the sign on the machine should have been changed to the winter charges and that the signs were very misleading, and that I should contact them (DCC) to challenge it and it would be cancelled.

“I followed his instructions, but received an email in return refusing my challenge. I was told I should have checked every sign in the car park before leaving my vehicle.

“Unfortunately, the signs contain different information and are very misleading. I followed the instructions on the machine I was going to pay at, and didn’t purchase a ticket because of the information it provided.

“I’ve asked to challenge it further, but they are making me wait for my parking fine to double in price before I can do so.

“That means if they refuse the challenge again, I’ll have to pay the higher fine, which is very unfair and I am financially unable to do so.”

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The woman is aggrieved at feeling “forced to pay for something that I shouldn’t have to”, and said she will not park there again from now on.

Instead, she added, she will look to use public transport, or ask for lifts from family and friends, when in the area.

She added: “I followed what I believed were the rules and yet I’m being punished for that.

“Money is tight for most people right now and the car parks seem to really be desperate to steal every last penny they can from their once-loyal customers.

“I will not be returning to that car park in the future. These businesses should be looking after their locals not punishing them. This situation has really affected my confidence and trust.

“I’m very put off using public car parks in Rhyl and will likely look into using public transportation or asking family and friends to drop me and my baby off.”

The council’s “Free After Three” initiative is seeing it offer free parking in its car parks, such as that where the woman parked to see to her baby, after 3pm from until December 31.

This is part of its “#lovelivelocal” campaign, encouraging more residents to shop within the county and support its own traders and businesses during the festive period.

In response, a DCC spokesperson said: “DCC’s winter tariff came into effect on November 1, with a reduction in price in comparison to the summer months.

“Despite not all signage being updated across the car park due to staff shortages, there is a large sign indicating parking prices for both winter and summer seasons between both pay-and-display machines for users to purchase their ticket.

“Parking over the Christmas period will once again be ‘free after three’, but it is clear that parking charges do apply and that winter prices are on display year-round.”