A COUPLE celebrating their wedding in the South Lakes had their honeymoon ‘ruined’ by a parking company seeking a £100 fine for a ‘simple keying error’.

Nicola and Vince Tether enjoyed a break in Cartmel but five days later received a parking charge notice from HX Car Park Management Limited demanding payment of £100.

The couple had paid £4.20 to park at Cartmel Racecourse but had inputted the license plate of Mr Tether - and not his new wife.

The couple had appealed unsuccessfully to operators HX Car Park Management but, after being contacted by The Mail, the company has agreed to wipe the £100 fine.

Mrs Tether said: “We have been visiting Cartmel for a number of years so it was the obvious choice to visit after our overseas honeymoon had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“At first, we couldn’t understand why we had received a fine when we knew we had paid the £4.20 parking fee, and thought a mistake must have been made by HX Car Park Management.

“However, it transpires that my husband, who made the payment, accidentally entered his car registration details instead of mine.”

Mrs Tether wrote to the parking company to explain the error, expecting to have the parking fine cancelled.

However, she was advised by HX Car Park Management that it does not accept errors where an incorrect car registration is entered, and that the fine must be paid within 28 days.

She said: “We couldn’t believe the response from the company for what was an honest mistake.”

Mr and Mrs Tether had been planning their wedding for more than three years when the COVID-19 restrictions suddenly came into force.

Mrs Tether said: “Just as we thought we had managed to get through what has been a very difficult six months, we have suddenly been hit by a £100 fine for what was an honest mistake.

“It’s disgraceful, that at this very difficult time for everyone, there are still car parking companies out there who look to seek exploit vulnerable people when all they have done is made a simple keying error.

“Unfortunately, this reflects poorly on Cartmel, and local residents.”

A spokeswoman for HX Car Park Management Ltd said the car park’s signage states drivers must input the full and exact vehicle registration number.

However, every PCN issued is manually checked by the team to look for human error.

The company has voided 3022 PCNs for human error on that site over the years HX Car Park Management has been managing it.

The car park also has a live chat available 24/7 from their website.

Should a driver make a mistake if they communicate it to HX Car Park, they can resolve it prior to a PCN being issued.

A spokeswoman for HX Car Park Management is urging drivers to read the signage and said they do everything possible to ensure motorists comply to the terms and conditions.

They added that they would remove or cancel the couple’s PCN free of charge once they have the details.

A spokeswoman for Cartmel Racecourse and the Holker Group said: “We are aware of issues being raised around the management of the Cartmel Village Carpark by HX Car Park Management Ltd and we understand these concerns.

“As we are currently under contract with HX Car Park Management Ltd it is not possible for us to make any further comment at this time.”