A SHOPPING trip to Braehead ended in a £60 fine for a dad who parked his car in the RIGHT place.
Parking attendants slapped the fine on Chris Payne's car claiming he'd parked in a "trolley bay."
In fact, Chris, who had his two children, aged 11 and 10, with him, had parked in a parent and child space.
His fine was eventually cancelled after he complained and bosses admitted they'd made a mistake, but the incident has left Chris unimpressed.
Chris, 40, from Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, said: "Despite our complaints, Braehead management told us there was nothing that could be done and that we would have to appeal in writing to the carpark operator, Town and City Parking.
"We were one of at least three cars parked in 'green bays' who all got £60 fines.
"Interestingly, on the Town and City Parking website they promote their services by saying they are, 'one of the most flexible, experienced and technically innovative parking companies in the UK.'
"There was little flexibility, experience or innovation shown by them.
"They couldn't even tell the difference between a picture of a shopping trolley and a children's buggy.
"Interestingly, when we complained earlier on the Braehead Facebook page, our postings seemed to be deleted from public view.
"We are appalled at the behaviour of Braehead and Town and City Parking and wish to be heard rather than deleted from public view."
However, Braehead's manager said no Facebook posts were deleted, and says they "very quickly" cancelled Chris' fine.
Braehead general manager, Peter Beagley, said: "We immediately investigated Mr Payne's complaints about receiving a parking ticket from Town and City Parking.
"We then very quickly cancelled the parking tickets given to Mr Payne and another motorist when we discovered the tickets were given out in error.
"We have spoken to Mr Payne several times over the weekend and have apologised to him and the other motorist who received a ticket.
"No posts were deleted from our Facebook page. We replied to four posts from Mr and Mrs Payne on Saturday night apologising for Town and City's error, and Mr Payne has 'liked' one of our replies.
"All the posts can still be seen on the Braehead Facebook page."
In a statement, Town and City Parking said: "Our Regional Business Manager has spoken with Mr Payne this afternoon. We have apologised unreservedly for the service he received from one of our staff during his trip to Braehead.
The parking charge issued to Mr Payne has now been cancelled. We have taken steps to ensure this situation does not happen again."."
ewan.fergus@ eveningtimes.co.uk