to feel miffed that new car park machines require registration numbers.

lona It's because it's park and ride, so you need a bus ticket for each person, but the two ladies in front of us had hopped on the bus and driven off before we realised that they had BOTH paid for the car ticket as well!

The old machine was so much easier. We'd rather they had two machines, one for the car and driver ticket, one for bus tickets for passengers. It would speed things up hugely. Plus we never know our registrations! The timings have also come into play, it's no longer just one price so I presume that too is to stop people passing on tickets.

My friend has a personalised number with the only number being '8'. some ticket machines won't accept that there are no more digits and she has to leave as she can't get a ticket.

Not totally relevant but I think it is interesting that the nearest city – 15 minutes' drive away from where I live – has car parks where you have to pay a charge. They don't charge a vast sum of money (nothing like London or other UK cities, for example) but it is a pain for people who work there, especially if they arrive after about half past seven in the morning, and a complete circus at busy times of year such as the run-up to Christmas. The small town/suburb where I am has a very large number of non-paying car parks. Some have time restrictions but there is no cost. More and more people flock to shops, cafés and bars here, which is good for the local economy and it is very rare to see any kind of car park rage.

janer Do you have to pay for passengers?

Teetime I know exactly which machines you mean, they are dreadful, we used them a month or so ago. We are both quite tech savvy but we struggled. We missed our bus because DBH ended up having to show the queue of older men behind us how to work it, just to save everyone time. Some ladies in front of us, we now realise, were each paying separately for the same car, not as add-on passengers.

I don't mind entering my reg number but it does annoy me to have to rummage for the right change. If only all machines were 'pay by card' it would suit me much better. The other day I had to find £1.30 which admittedly isn't too bad for up to 3 hours nowadays. But it can't be done with fewer than three coins - in my case, four as I had to use two 50p pieces.

I hated this system at first as I was always having to go back to my car to check my reg number. Have now made a note of my number on my mobile phone and have got used to this new way of paying. Much better than having to buy a ticket in advance and trying to judge how long you will be staying.

All the supermarket car parks in our area are free. I'd be miffed to have to pay. I think I'd avoid KatyK's Tesco. What a flippin faff !
The public car parks have quiet recently changed to having to entre your Reg No. Previously I would happily pass my ticket on and gratefully received a ticket too.

It's always better if you can pay when you leave,that way you don't have to worry about time ( just the cost!)
I hate the car reg machines, but you can have it written down on a bit of paper in your bag, or as somebody suggested a pic on your phone I suppose.
Our town has two hours free parking in all the council car parks for everyone.It encourages shoppers.

Surely they do their sums on a basis of usagehours=amountreceived? If they do it on the assumption that people are going to pay for what they don't use and then someone else will pay again for their place, then they are charging twice for the same space - not ethical.

I always pass my ticket on, or stick it to the machine for someone to use. To have to buy a ticket for 2-4 hours, knowing that you're only likely to just tip over the 2 hours is such a waste. Someone else may as well benefit.

One of our city car parks, mainly serving the theatre, is pay on exit. A couple of weeks ago I fed my ticket into the pay machine and nothing happened. The screen display remained the same, 'Please insert your ticket', and the ticket remained inside. Panic. Hit cancel button. Nothing happened. My DD, equally concerned, noticed the 'Lost Ticket' button and pressed that before I could stop her. What she didn't realise is that if you lose your ticket you're charged the All Day rate. She thought it meant ticket lost in machine. The screen display said "Lost ticket, payment due £12". PANIC! I pressed the cancel button again, nothing. Again. Now the screen said "Weekly pass, payment due £50". HELP!!
Then, thank Heavens, I spotted the 'help' button, pressed that and within seconds I had a real person talking to me through a speaker on the front of the machine. It was all sorted then within seconds. Phew!

I use hospital car parks quite a lot and our local hospitals have these machines too, my problem is that I never know how long I am going to be. I might be in and out in 20 minutes or I might be 3 hours. Therefore I tend to have to pay more than I need to just incase. I wouldn't mind so much if I were able to do someone else a good deed by passing on the unused time I have paid for.

I think it is quite telling that the little town where I live has lots of car parks and even some parking space on the main street. There are time limits but you don't have to pay anywhere. The nearest city – 15 minutes drive away with quite a lot more shops – has lots of paying car parks. Apparently the shops in our local mall and high street are doing very well.

Take a photo of your car reg on your mobile as a reminder can help

I agree Nellie. It does put people off shopping there.

I went to the Park and Ride in Cambridge on Saturday which has the most complicated system- must take ages when they are busy. DH only had to pay to park as he has a free bus pass. I don't have one (I married a much older man) so had to do the process again to purchase just the bus ticket for me.! If Mr We're All In It Together Cameron doesn't abolish free bus passes I shall have one next year and then we only have to do one process.

I agree, it is reasonable. But it was nicer when one paid for the time rather than the space. Miff on, OP.

It seems perfectly reasonable to me. You pay to park your car and when you leave, the space is empty for someone else to park their car for which they should pay. What does seem unreasonable is that ticket machines in car parks rarely, if ever, give change so that you often end up paying more, sometimes quite a lot more, than the fee for the time you require. (Of course, some people have the foresight to keep a heap of change somewhere in the car so that they are not caught in this way.)

If I have a lot of time left on my ticket I give it to someone or leave it on the machine. The space has been paid for so I think someone else should benefit. I wouldn't want to faff with registration numbers.

Be warned. We recently visited of of these car parks and paid the right amount as we left. Ten days later we got a strict letter telling us we hadn't paid and demanding £70 to be paid within 28 days. The letter showed photos of our car on arrival and departure.

How many people keep these receipts? In fact the machine actually asks you if you want a receipt. Most people probably say no.

Fortunately I was able to find our receipt after rifling in our recycling bin, so I could take a photo and email it to the car park company.

Thank heavens we had proof of payment. I know it is a nasty scam and may people will be so nervous they might even pay this ridiculous charge.
Please please keep your receipt as I have no idea how widespread this nasty practice is. I am in the process of reporting them to the AA RAC and anyone else I can think of.

If I can't find someone to give my unused ticket to I stick it to the parking machine. Why shouldn't someone benefit from time I have paid for .

At our hospital we pay on the way out, but my daughter`s husband has a blue badge for the disabled car park, which is £1.50 for however long you`re there. She recently passed her ticket as she was leaving on to someone just arriving, but a passing man said to be careful, they were on the lookout for people doing that.

Rubysong Lot's do now. I think in particular it's for the disabled spaces in the council car park where I shop. On several of the other machines there they is a normal ticket machine. It might be to stop commuters etc dridoineake unpthersevaral lothr

I agree with you though No one is really losing out if I choose to give someone the time I paid for.

KatyK That is a ridiculous way of running a car park and it could put people off bothering to shop there. No one wants to faff about like that.
The parking where I usually shop is council run and reasonable 70p an hour £1.10 for 2hrs and it get increasingly expensive from there. They do have to prevent the town's commuters from all day parking or it would not be possible to park for shopping at all IYSWIM.

I would have mega problems because I have no idea what my registration number is.