A parking firm is investigating claims that several Asda shoppers have been wrongly fined.
Charlee Hann is among those to have received penalty charge notices after visiting the supermarket in Folkestone town centre – despite paying both times through the National Car Parks (NCP) app.
The mum-of-three says the experience left her in distress and worried about the financial impact during the school holidays.
After being contacted by KentOnline, NCP cancelled the fines issued to Mrs Hann and apologised, saying it was due to a “misunderstanding” about how she had paid.
The firm is now looking into whether others have been affected and said: “Anyone impacted will be contacted directly.”
Mrs Hann, from Hawkinge, had paid £1.70 for an hour on July 24 and £2 for two hours the following day at the Bouverie Place store.
The 30-year-old said: “Both times, I was back at my car well within the time limit. I even sent NCP screenshots of my payment confirmation and the session ID as evidence.”
However, the letters she received claimed she had “parked without displaying a valid permit”, citing clear signage in the car park.
The skin therapist and nail technician was told she faced fines of £100, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.
The Asda car park allows customers and visitors to pay via the NCP app rather than displaying paper tickets.
NCP wardens are supposed to verify payments digitally through a handheld device, but shoppers claim this process is not always followed – leading to fines being issued in error.
Mrs Hann said: “I’ve spoken to so many people, and it’s bizarre how often this is happening.
“I’ve heard of people who bought and displayed paper tickets and still got fined. It just doesn’t make sense.
“One woman told me she was still sitting in her car after paying when a ticket guy took pictures of it.
“She confronted him, but he just walked away – and she still got a fine.”
Mrs Hann described the stress the fines caused as “devastating”.
“That’s £120 or £200 that could have gone on my children or our holiday,” she said.
“Times are hard enough for people without this happening when they’ve done nothing wrong.”
Mrs Hann posted about her experience online and says she was shocked by the number of similar stories she received.
Laura Callow commented: “The same thing has happened to me.
“I paid on the app, and they still gave me a ticket.”
Lynette Marshall says she also received a fine and had her appeal rejected, leading her to take her case to Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA).
She added: “NCP said I was parked in a staff parking space, but I definitely wasn’t.”
And Sarah Scott Hutchinson said: “The same thing has happened to me. NCP customer service is a joke.
“They told me to take it higher – I’m still waiting for them to get back to me.”
In response to Mrs Hann’s fines, NCP said in a statement: “We have looked into this case and have cancelled both penalty charge notices with immediate effect.
“We are very sorry for the worry caused.
“This was due to a misunderstanding on how the customer had paid.
“We will look into this to ensure no one else has been affected, and we thank you for highlighting this to us.
“Anyone impacted will be contacted directly.”
But Mrs Hann still feels frustrated.
“I’m glad mine were cancelled, but what about the people who’ve paid these fines when they didn’t need to? How many others are out there who won’t fight it or who can’t prove they paid?” she said.
“It’s disgusting, and I want people to be aware so it doesn’t happen to them.”
