A MAN from Bodelwyddan was told he must pay a fine after he believes he was wrongly accused of “failing to pay for the duration of stay” when he parked by a pub in Rhyl.

James Bellis said he was issued with a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) of £100 by Premier Park after he parked at the Sun Verge pub, on East Parade, on November 22, 2022.

It was Mr Bellis’ impression that those who use the Sun Verge’s car park and then visit the pub are automatically refunded their parking fee.

Though, Marston’s, the company which runs Sun Verge, has said it “will clear this up immediately” should Mr Bellis contact the chain.

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Mr Bellis said: “On November 21, 2022, I had an operation under general anaesthetic and was told I could not drive for a few days.

“On November 22, my wife took me out for a meal at the Sun Verge, where she drove and paid for the parking. When we ordered, the staff took our ticket to refund the parking cost.

“My wife then handed the ticket to the staff when ordering, to have the cost of parking back.

“I went into the Sun Verge to ask for my original ticket, which they couldn’t find. The staff member promised to cancel the fine, but didn’t.

“As I don’t have the original ticket, I cannot prove how long we paid for as we cannot remember. This makes it difficult for us to fight our case.”

Due to his operation, Mr Bellis said he had to repeatedly use the facilities at the Sun Verge as he was passing blood, so he estimates that he and his wife were at the pub for “well over an hour”.

Some days, he received the parking fine, so returned to the Sun Verge to ask for his ticket to prove that his wife had paid for parking.

He received the fine, rather than his wife, as the car is in his name.

“I pointed out what table I was on and what day we were there, and they promised to cancel the ticket, as they could not find my ticket,” he added.

He said he never responded to Premier Park as he was left under the impression that the ticket was being cancelled.

But by the time Mr Bellis has realised the ticket was never cancelled, his window of appeal had expired – subsequently, he said, “the costs kept spiralling”.

Mr Bellis added: “Premier Park have said that we had a ticket for one hour but went over by 34 minutes, but when they have searched for our registration on the day we parked, there is no record of our ticket.

“Therefore, if we don’t have the physical ticket and Premier Park don’t have a record of our ticket, what evidence is there?

“We won’t be giving any Marston’s our patronage going forward, which is a shame as we love the Talardy (in St Asaph) and used to go frequently, as we had our wedding reception there.”

Mr Bellis said he has also obtained a doctor’s note to confirm that he could not drive on the day in question due to him recovering from anaesthetic

In response, a spokesperson for Marston’s said: “We are sorry to hear about Mr Bellis’s experience.

“We have been in touch with Premier Park and will clear this up immediately and Mr Bellis will not be liable for the fine.”

Premier Park was also approached for comment.