Newcastle City Council issues warning to motorists over unofficial parking signs

Motorists are being warned by Newcastle City Council to be vigilant when parking following a number of incidents involving unofficial car parking signs.

Over a two-week period, the Council has had three reports from members of the public who have scanned a QR code that they've seen displayed in car parks on Dean Street, Morden Street and Blandford Square - all of which still take cash payments.

It is understood that the three people have made a payment using the QR code, which has seen around £60 taken from their bank accounts in each case.

After each report, staff from Newcastle City Council have gone to check the car parks to remove an unofficial signage but on every occasion, the signs have already been removed.

The local authority has stated that it is continuing to monitor car parks and CCTV, as well as warning members of the public that the Council does not accept payment through QR codes.

A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “We are warning people not to use QR codes printed on any signs in our car parks to pay for their parking.

“The codes are not linked to any official payment website and are not used by the city council as a payment method.

“Unfortunately we have been made aware of a small number of instances where people have tried to use these codes, which has resulted in them being left out of pocket.

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“Following each reported incident we have immediately gone to the car park in question to check for and remove any unofficial signage, however on each occasion we have found the signs to have already been removed.

“We have reported the matter to the police and we will continue to monitor all car parks and CCTV.

“Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of fraud should contact the police.”