IT glitch sees driver charged £320 for parking

Gareth Price says he "felt a bit sick" when he saw £320 come out of his bank

A commuter was left feeling "sick" after he was charged £320 to park his car, when it normally costs £7.90.

Gareth Price, an IT consultant from Neath, goes to work in Cardiff once a week, and was hit with the bumper charge last Thursday.

He spent the next four hours trying to get through to the parking firm and "felt a bit sick because the money was taken without approval".

NCP, which issued Mr Price a refund on Monday, apologised and said a computer error was behind the problem.

"We have a discount code with my company that gives us 12 hours of parking for just £7.90," Mr Price said.

The code is entered via an app on his phone which then automatically debits his bank.

But, after his most recent day at work, instead of the regular charge as he exited the NCP on Greyfriars Road his phone pinged with a £320 fee, claiming he had been parked there 42 days.

"I tried to contact them when I got home and it took me four hours to finally speak to someone," he said.

"They passed it on to the discount team... so from looking at the website I thought I wouldn't get my money for 14 days.

"It’s a lot of money and, like anyone, I've got bills to pay."

NCP said it was investigating why the error occurred.

It added: "We have also offered [Mr Price] a week’s free parking as a further gesture to acknowledge the inconvenience experienced, along with our most sincere apologies."

But Mr Price said he knew of other people who have had the same experience and, as an IT expert himself, he had questions of NCP's computer system.

"They need to look at their IT system because it's a bit of a joke."