A man has been left feeling ‘pinned into a corner’ after receiving a letter telling him to pay a £170 fine or go to court, due to a ‘car park mistake’.

Lewis Edwards from Westbury said he regularly uses The Shires shopping centre car park in Trowbridge and has no memory of ever not paying for parking.

“Every time I go there I always pay for parking on my phone. I’m actually quite anal about always making sure I’ve done it,” the 24-year-old explained.

So when a letter came through his door from Direct Collectors Bailiffs telling Mr Edwards he owed £170 and could be taken to court after not responding to three previous parking fine letters, he was in disbelief.

The debt letter from Parkmaven, who manage the car park, claimed that Mr Edwards didn’t pay for parking at The Shires car park on August 29, but the letter didn’t arrive at the man’s house until three months later.

“I genuinely have heard nothing from them, and had no other letters through the post before this one, but now they’re saying it’s too late to dispute it,” he said.

“It came completely out of nowhere and I didn’t even realise I had done anything wrong."

Mr Edwards explained that he has never not paid for parking, but he has experienced issues with the ‘pay by phone' system before.

“Sometimes it says that it’s gone through but it hasn’t, and you pay but a receipt never comes through,” he said.

He is not the first to fall victim to payment issues at The Shires car park either.

Wiltshire Times: Jenny Mosley was hit by the same fine earlier this month.Jenny Mosley was hit by the same fine earlier this month. (Image: Trevor Porter)

Earlier this month, 73-year-old Jenny Mosley tried to pay a £1 fee at The Shires on her mobile phone using Apple Pay, but failed to complete the purchase.

She received a parking charge notice from Parkmaven which demanded she pay £100.

Like Lewis, she insists she had not received the company's first letter demanding a £60 charge.

Several others have also come forward to share the same story.

“I just feel sort of pinned into a corner now, with this letter saying ‘pay £170 or go to court’ and if I don’t pay it it’s just going to keep going up and up,” said Mr Edwards.

On its website, the Parkmaven company states:

“Our BPA approved signage is clearly visible throughout the car park. This outlines the terms and conditions under which a motorist is authorised to park, and that a PCN may be issued if these conditions are not met.

“We don’t hide our signs in the hope of catching people out and we offer motorists ample opportunity to read signage, obliging them to comply.”

The company have been contacted for a further statement, but are yet to respond.