A PENSIONER says he would rather go to jail than pay parking charges which he feels have been wrongly issued.

Ken Davies is a regular visitor to Custom House Quay car park in Falmouth, but is furious that he has now received four penalty charges from Creative Parking Solutions Ltd.

The 77 year-old told the Packet: "I'd love them to come round and see me, because I'd tell them what I thought of them. I'd be willing to go to prison if there was a chance I could have their licence revoked.

"It's an absolute racket that they're running and they would be very unwise to take me to court, because I'd tell them exactly what they are. They think they can bully people, but they're not going to do it to me."

Mr Davies, of Goldenbank, had to pay the first charge of £56 as he had not kept his ticket as proof, but thereafter he retained his tickets in order to appeal the following three charges.

"I always buy a ticket for an hour and on the last occasion my wife and I were gone no more than 25 minutes, but we still received a charge about a week later."

In a letter to the charging company, he added: "Thank you for your fourth threatening letter demanding payment of £56 which seems to be becoming a bad habit with your company.

"If you wish to see proof of my having a ticket, send a return stamped registered envelope as I'm not prepared to spend my money yet again on your request."

As reported in the Packet back in December, charges are often issued if the registration number is incorrectly input by the customer.

That error then triggers a charge letter from Creative Parking, stating that users are "in breach of terms and conditions".

The letter requests payment of £100, reduced to £56 if paid within 14 days.

Customers can appeal the decision and can enlist the help of Falmouth Harbour Commissioners, who own the car park.

Harbour master Mark Sansom said: "Anyone who feels that they have been given a charge in error should send us their appeal correspondence. We do not want those who have bought a ticket to be penalised, but we do not have a magic solution to all the problems.

"In most cases it is an incorrect registration that produces the charges but if they can prove they have a valid ticket, we can help them."

Referring to Creative Parking Solutions Ltd, Mr Sansom added: "As one of our contractors, we always monitor their activity and if there are any areas of concern to deal with, we will do so on their merits."