Opinion: we must force firms to be honest over double charging

We shouldn’t have to rely on legislation to get firms to treat us fairly, writes John Fitzsimons.

MPs from across the House of Commons are battling to bring forward legislation that would prevent businesses from unfairly double-charging customers, meaning they can no longer fine people if they can prove they have already paid for a specific service.

The Bill has been backed by the consumer champions at Which?, who highlighted a host of cases they have pursued on behalf of members who have been double charged in this way.

These include:

• A man who entered the wrong parking area code on a parking app, but paid the same amount to the same council as they would have done with the correct area code. They were issued with a PCN but this was dropped after a successful appeal'

• A driver who bought a car park ticket, which then fell from their dashboard. Despite the parking company having evidence that they paid for the ticket, the company have still issued a penalty charge.

Another example raised by one of the MP’s involved with the bill covers a woman who was handed a penalty fare because she did not print out her train ticket for a journey that was completed with e-tickets up until the final train. 

Even though she was able to show proof of purchase and the card used to buy the tickets, she was issued with a penalty fare.

To rub salt into the wound, this penalty was issued metres away from a ticket printing machine which could have been used to resolve the matter.

My parking mistake

This drive struck a chord with me because it’s something I’ve fallen foul of in the past.

Some years ago my wife and I went to stay with some family friends in Sussex, and drivers were required to pay for a ticket in order to park on that road. 

I had to purchase a new ticket each day of our trip, with tickets required from 6am.

So every day I set an alarm, ran out to the machine to buy a new ticket, and stick it on the dashboard. On the final day of our stay, I made a daft mistake. In my sleepy state, I put the ticket in the dashboard upside down, so the date wasn’t displayed.

Lo and behold I ended up getting a penalty charge notice, and even though I had already bought a parking ticket, I paid up. I just couldn’t face going through the rigmarole of appealing.

Punishing innocent people

Whacking people with what is in effect a double charge is not only grossly unfair, it can also lead to some serious problems down the line.

The first, and most obvious, is financial.

The cost of paying a penalty charge notice issued for supposedly parking without paying is going to hit you in the wallet and could lead to some money worries if your finances are particularly stretched.

There is also the stress and upset that comes from the notice, even if you can afford to pay it. Let’s be honest, there’s a certain amount of guilt and shame that comes from being fined, no matter what it’s for, and that feeling is only going to be ratcheted up if it’s unjustified.

Now, you can battle back against these charges and appeal. I

n fact, here at loveMONEY we’ve put together comprehensive guides on how to appeal against penalty charges. But there’s no escaping the fact that this process in itself can be stressful and time-consuming, and all through no fault of your own.

A question of technology

Often normal people are being offered more efficient ways to purchase the tickets they need, and that’s obviously a good thing.

The days of having to ensure that you have a couple of pound coins in the car are on the way out, given so many car parks now allow you to purchase a slot through a mobile phone app.

But trouble occurs when the businesses and organisations policing those tickets don’t seem to have similarly efficient technology at their fingertips.

If they did ‒ for example, a parking attendant being able to check properly that a driver has bought a parking slot for their car, even if the ticket has dropped from the dashboard ‒ then we would avoid this bonkers situation where innocent people are being pursued unfairly for additional cash.

Is honesty too much to ask?

It’s really encouraging that politicians from all sides have recognised this problem, and are taking it sufficiently seriously to attempt to get legislation through the House of Commons which will prevent firms from double charging innocent customers in this way.

Frustratingly, it would appear that the bill may not make it into actual legislation however, due to a lack of parliamentary time.

But let’s be clear, there wouldn’t be a need for legislation if firms and councils behaved in a more open and honest way.

Train travellers with proof of purchase but not necessarily a printed ticket should not be treated as if they are trying to get away with a free ride ‒ it comes down to firms being overly officious and frankly all too often trying to get away with shady behaviour themselves.

Similarly, councils and parking firms are far too trigger happy in issuing tickets even when drivers have paid for their spot, albeit perhaps having entered the wrong code on an app.

Technology can obviously play a role in cutting out the unnecessary double charging that occurs, but it should also be a question of attitude.

We shouldn’t have to hope this legislation makes it over the line, there should instead be just a shred of decency among the businesses and organisations that issue these fines which compels them to try to do the right thing from the off and avoid double charging people for no good reason.