A mother from Sheffield has successfully challenged a parking fine of £170 that she received following a visit to a hairdressing salon in Banner Cross.
The penalty arose from problems with an electronic permit system that local businesses subscribe to for £150 per year.
Sophie Culf parked at a site near Ecclesall Road whilst having her hair done at Carla Hackett’s salon.
The location serves nine businesses that have paid for the e-permit service, which should allow their customers to park without charge.
However, technical difficulties prevented the salon from registering her vehicle on the system during her visit.
Following her visit, Sophie Culf was sent a parking charge notice for £100 from Vehicle Control Services for “not being a valid permit holder”.
The situation escalated when DBL Solicitors, representing VCS, increased their demand to £170 and warned of potential debt collection proceedings, legal action and a County Court Judgement.
After making her case public, VCS withdrew the charge, acknowledging her visit was “genuine”.
Sophie Culf parked at a site near Ecclesall Road whilst having her hair done at Carla Hackett’s salon
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The company initially alleged that salon owner Carla had incorrectly entered the registration details, but Carla disputed this claim, maintaining the system had malfunctioned for two days.
Documentation seen by local outlets revealed VCS was arranging new access credentials for her following the June incident.
Sophie, who lives in Lowedges, expressed relief that the legal threats had been withdrawn but dismissed VCS’s explanation as “utter rubbish”.
She told The Star: “We have the email that they were looking into the fault. They are trying to pass the blame on to the salon owner rather than taking accountability.”
Lynda Eagan, who advocates against VCS and its parent company Excel Parking, assisted Sophie with her case.
She emphasised that customers bear no responsibility in these situations, explaining: “The hairdresser is the only person who can enter the VRM (registration number).
“The system locked her out, so she kept emailing VCS to get her back in again. Meanwhile, they are issuing PCNs to her customers.”
Eagan outlined the system’s fundamental flaws, noting that businesses paying for the service should have the ability to cancel their customers’ penalties.
She explained: “If the businesses here are paying for this service then they should be able to get their customers’ PCNs cancelled. The very last person responsible here is the customer.”
The e-permit technology relies on tablet terminals for registration entry, but offers minimal confirmation.
“But the big problem is that you have to take it on trust that the system is working and you only get a message on screen to say it has been recorded. There’s no paper ticket, no SMS message, no email,” Eagan said. “We would always advise taking a photo of the confirmation screen.”
Paul Hood, who runs Fellas hairdressers nearby, described the website as a “shambles” and disclosed he has covered parking penalties exceeding £1,000 for his clients to preserve business relationships.
The mother eventually had her fine cancelled
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A spokesman for VCS said the site is for the “exclusive use of e-permit holders only” and the adjoining salon (Carla Hackett) has an online portal to create them for customers.
They added: “Despite claims, the portal was not working on the day in question, we can confirm it was working.
“The salon e-permit portal was used to enter a vehicle registration that resembled Miss Wilson’s vehicle, but did not match.
“We are however satisfied that Miss Wilson’s visit to the site was genuine and have withdrawn the charge.”
