Initialparking Reviews 

Legalised scam. Was unable to pay due to the machine saying it had no network coverage to take payment. But this is not a valid reason to appeal apparently!

I encourage you to search the Internet to see why you shouldn't use the Marazion St Michaels Mount Car Park.
It is managed by Initial Parking. They have installed an ANPR camera and a 'pay as you leave' machine in the centre of the car park.
There are countless reports of the payment machine apparently accepting credit card payments and then not processing the transaction which results in a £100 demand letter from initial Parking. It happened to me when I paid the ten pound fee at the machine and went through all the steps correctly until the machine said 'Next customer'.
It is Initial Parking's responsibility to ensure their machine is able to contact payment services but they clearly don't bother.
They didn't have any grounds to request my data from the DVLA but it seems the DVLA will hand them out to these cowboys without any due diligence to ensure it is proportionate and reasonable.

As a foreigner with a rental car it was impossible to do it correctly. And having a fine via the rental company makes the payment double!

TOTAL SCAMMERS! MAKE SURE you add your full registration plate when buying a ticket, even if the machine doesn't let you, try again until it does. Otherwise you'll get stung with a £60 fine which POPLA side with them on. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

Confusing signage, payment machines design to obfuscate costs, extremely high fines, aggressive debt collection. These companies need to be either properly regulated or, better still, outlawed altogether. They are disgusting.

If I could rate with no stars I would but it won't let me.
Terrible experience with initial parking car parks total scam artists. Can't believe this is legal. I got fined £68 in Carslile.
I will never hire a car or use another car park in England.
I feel totally robbed by this company and would advise not to use any of these car parks
All I can say is hopefully they will all go bust as karma is catching!!

We mistakenly topped up a car park we'd be in earlier on in the day rathe than the car park we were actually in which was run by Initial Parking. We sent evidence we'd accidentally topped up the wrong car park but they do not accept genuine human error even if there was a willingness to pay. I know this was my mistake but I feel it's unreasonable not to look at the bigger picture. We weren't people who weren't willing to pay the car park fee at all, which was extremely expensive anyway. Terrible service, terrible value. Terrible company.

Absolute crooks. Paid for parking at Marazion. Waited for authorisation and transpired that the payment failed to go through as their machine is obviously unreliable. Reading these reviews. It's obviuously their business model and disgusting. Cornwall Council should be ashamed using them

Very disappointing experience with Initial Parking.
I received a £100 parking charge after spending 20 minutes in the Fistral Beach car park while collecting my family. As we were leaving, my 7-year-old son, who is autistic and has ADHD, suffered a severe meltdown. I had to spend additional time keeping him safe and helping him calm down before we could leave.
I provided evidence of his disabilities and explained that the delay was directly related to his disability. Initial Parking refused to cancel the charge, stating that because I was technically able to make a payment, no adjustment was necessary.
I appealed through POPLA and subsequently complained to the British Parking Association. Neither would determine whether Initial Parking's approach to reasonable adjustments was actually reasonable.
I accept that I will probably have to pay the charge, but I strongly disagree with the principle. For me, this raises a serious question about how private parking operators accommodate non-visible disabilities such as autism and ADHD.

Never going to Praa Sands again! Initial Parking does not have clear signage:I understand that the time is calculated from the point of entry but it is not clear that when you purchase a ticket, the ticket time of exit is not calculated by the ANPR camera and this is very misleading. This is not at all clear on the signage. This is why I hope the British Parking Association can see this and do something about it - I can’t believe they are an ‘approved’ operator.

I also disagree with Initial Parking have said that I accept the liability by paying the £60 charge. I felt forced into doing this because they said that if I appealed to POPLA and it was unsuccessful I would have to pay the full £100. Therefore I felt I had to pay and could not appeal further.

Their whole process is very unfair and misleading to members of the public. Their signage does not say anywhere clearly that the ticket exit time is not calculated by the ANPR camera!!!

Oh, Initial Parkingwhat a delightful bunch! Lure you in with pocket-change prices, then ambush you for overstaying by thirty seconds or using a machine that’s having a bad day. And talk about efficiency: your fine arrives faster than your morning coffee, yet my birthday cards take a week. Try appealing with a crystal-clear photo of your valid ticket? They’ll send back a rejection so robotic it probably runs on Windows 95. Honestly, I’m amazed they’re not on a watchdog special by now. But don’t worry I’ll be taking my custom elsewhere, and I’ll be sure to let every store in their lots know they’re backing a scam. Cheers for nothing.

Lamorna Cove car park Cornwall. The only way you can pay is with coins. No cards, telephone payment or app. No shop to get change from and cafe is cashless. Nearest village (Mousehole) 20 minute drive away. £100 fine for a quick swim. Cash cow rip off.

Appalled to receive a £100 parking fine because we took 15 minutes to park our car in Abersoch village hall car park on a very busy Sunday in August. We needed to use this car park as it's the only one in the area with an EV charge point. When we arrived, we drove round the car park several times, waiting for a space to become available. Once parked, we paid the £3 parking fee for a three hour stay, but because they'd caught us on camera entering the car park 15 minutes earlier and we took a couple of minutes to exit the car park at the end of our three hours in Abersoch, they have issued us with this fine. We have tried to appeal it but received an AI generated rejection. This company is completely unscrupulous and I would avoid using any of their car parks again.

Disgusting fine - the tiniest sign at ground level in a spot where you reverse in. Low lifes!

Absolute scam company, you pay for your parking ticket and they still send out charges. Would advise anyone to avoid using car parks that use this company.

This business is a total scam. They issued a fine for the parking spot where we had paid by credit card, displayed the payment slip in the window, and even left about an hour early. Do not trust them; park your car elsewhere if possible.

I would give 0 stars if I could. I paid for 4 hours of parking at Praa Sands Beach Car Park and stayed less than 3 hours — yet I still received a parking ticket. I have bank proof of payment, but Initial Parking issued a PCN anyway. Completely unacceptable service. The system feels unreliable and unfair, and the whole experience comes across as a scam. Avoid this car park if you can.

State attenti a questa azienda. Sono dei truffatori !. Ti mettono in condizione di non pagare i parcheggi o di pagarli in ritardo per rubarti del denaro. Inutile fare appello. Meglio denunciarli alle forze dell'ordine.

We parked in Marazion Car Park on 14/8/26 for 51 minutes. None of the machines were working….we tried cash and cards. Now we have a fine of £50 if we pay immediately! What are you supposed to do if the machines are out of order? We think it was a money making grab by the company! We’ll keep clear in future!

Be really careful! No goodwill or tolerence for holiday makers. In Cornwall, at their Mousehill Car Park we got a £60 fine for under 3 minutes late despite paying £2 for the £1.40 per hour. No mobile signal and no change. We parked here on holiday on 11/08/2016. We had no way of paying online as mobile network there is really weak. We paid £2 cash in machine and got no change. Left under 3 minutes late on the £1.40 per hour tariff having paid £2.00 and still got fined £60. We appealed and got overturned. Initial Parking aren't following any parking industry guidlines for some tolerence, they are just ruthlessly exploiting their system which is rigged to be difficult. Awful business practice. Avoid!