Parking glitch firm loses council contract

A parking machine company that overcharged drivers by almost £400,000 has lost its contract with Worcester City Council.

Flowbird, which runs the payment machines in 14 car parks on behalf of the authority, has had its contract terminated.

In September 2021 there was a delay of up to 49 days in customers’ payments by card being taken, while a year later in September 2022 numerous customers were charged multiple times for parking.

Card payments at the council’s car parks have been suspended since September 2022.

Council joint leader Cllr Chris Mitchell said: “I think most Worcester residents will understand why we have had to take this decision. Thousands of people were affected by these payment problems, with the most recent situation in September 2022 seeing £390,000 in incorrect payments being taken.

“All the multiple payments were eventually refunded, but it has damaged the reputation of our car park operation.

“People who live, visit and work in Worcester need to know that they can confidently use our car parks, so it is vital that the Council acts in order to restore that trust.”

The council has now appointed Metric to supply new payment machines for its car parks.

These are expected to be installed in the next few months, bringing with them the reintroduction of card payments.