Neil Milkins, 74, from Abertillery in south Wales, has been fined five times at the same Iceland supermarket car park and insists he was parking within the rules. He believes other drivers have also been wrongly penalised.
Milkins says he has been locked in a battle with private parking firm Vehicle Control Services Limited (VCS) for 18 months after receiving five parking charge notices for parking at the supermarket between March and December 2025. He maintains the notices were issued while his vehicle was parked in one of four designated council bays within the car park, which he claims offer free parking around the clock seven days a week.
Charges dropped after appeals
Milkins says all five notices were ultimately cancelled following his appeals, with the company's own photographs confirming his vehicle was parked within one of the bays. Despite this, he believes hundreds of fellow motorists have been similarly caught out, with some having already paid £60 to prevent the charge from escalating, reports Wales Online.
"After a lot of quite serious aggravation, they were threatening me with bailiffs, increased charges if I didn't pay, bailiff letters and threats of high court action, the five charges were then eventually dropped as they proved themselves, from still photographs, that they were in one of the four council parking bays," Milkins said.
Other drivers affected
Although his own parking notices were withdrawn, Milkins says he became aware of other drivers facing comparable difficulties throughout the course of his dispute with the firm. He suggested that those drivers who have paid £60 may have done so "out of fear" that it would rise to £270, "which could escalate to bailiff and high court actions, even though they were in the council bays". He added that the company had treated payment as an admission of liability and closed the cases.
A spokesperson from Blaenau Gwent Council said: "The council has raised this matter with Iceland on two occasions, requesting that their parking management company cease issuing private parking charges to vehicles that are parked lawfully within the council-owned car parking bays. To date, Iceland has not responded. The advice provided to members of the public who have contacted the council regarding this matter is that, where a vehicle was parked within a council-owned parking bay and a private parking charge has been issued, the notice should be challenged."
Camera issues and ongoing legal action
According to Milkins, motorists were wrongfully issued PCNs due to a blurred camera lens which allegedly failed to capture the four designated bays correctly. VCS reportedly suggested the possibility of deliberate interference with the camera, before offering a further explanation involving water potentially dripping from moss in gutters above the equipment.
Milkins claimed drivers who successfully appealed received apologies from the company for the stress and inconvenience caused. Despite this, penalty charge notices continue to be issued, with one handed out as recently as September 2026. He is currently engaged in legal action relating to the dispute, with a court hearing anticipated to take place in February 2027.
A solicitor acting on behalf of Vehicle Control Services Limited has stated they are unable to comment further on the matter at this stage due to "ongoing court proceedings." Milkins hopes the forthcoming proceedings will help bring the matter to a resolution, but remains worried about other drivers who could receive notices in the interim.
An Iceland spokesperson said: "We appreciate the concerns that have been raised regarding parking charges at this location. While the car park is not managed by us, we have been able to arrange for the parking charge notices in question to be cancelled. We have shared this feedback with the car park owners."
