Bosses at Walsall’s busiest retail park today said they were trying to iron out the problems that have seen drivers wrongly issued with fines.

Dozens of visitors to the Crown Wharf Shopping Park off Wolverhampton Street had been stung with £80 fines despite paying. It comes after a new system was introduced in May.

Drivers have to punch their registration number into a machine on arrival. It is believed the fines were sent out after full registration numbers were not entered correctly. Now one hour of free parking has been scrapped and automatic number plate recognition technology introduced.

John Albany-Ward, at Munroe K Asset Management, which runs the shopping park, said: “Extra signs have been put up to make sure people know they have to pay and have to put their full registration number in.

“Anybody who has paid for the correct time will not be made to pay the fine.

“We are introducing a procedure which means if anyone has made a payment but has not entered their full registration properly we will review it before a fine is automatically issued.”

It comes as a Walsall businessman says he is launching a campaign to fight the parking system, run by private firm Parking Eye on behalf of the shopping park.

John Wadsworth, 66, of Streetly, has sought legal advice after being asked to pay £80. He claims drivers are getting confused by the changes at the retail park.

A statement issued by Parking Eye today said: “The pay and display system at the Crown Wharf Shopping Park is designed to ensure all shoppers have fair access to car parking. The overwhelming majority of shoppers buy tickets without any problem.

“For those people who make a genuine error, we have a clear and fair appeals procedure. Parking Eye abides by the British Parking Association Code of Conduct, and the car park has over 30 signs explaining the pay and display system.”