'It's a totally filthy business'

Claims payment machines are 'set up to trap people' as 'thousands' of motorists are sent parking tickets

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DRIVERS across England say they are being sent demands for up to £170 from private parking companies because of faulty machines.

The PA news agency has spoken to motorists in several regions who received parking charge notices (PCNs) they claim were unfair. One campaigner believes 'thousands' of people have been affected.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the issue as 'a problem that needs to be tackled', while the RAC called for a Government-backed code of conduct to be reintroduced.

Many car parks require users to input their vehicle registration when buying a ticket from a machine.

This is supposed to prevent them being sent a PCN when their vehicle is detected by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.

But PA has uncovered numerous cases of drivers who insist they entered their registration correctly, but still received a PCN.

Each had initial appeals rejected, despite submitting a photograph of their ticket, which shows an incorrect registration was printed.

Matt Chambers, a 35-year-old business owner, received a £100PCN from Excel Parking after using a car park in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in February.

He said: "They say I only registered the letter B for my number plate.