The controversial change to the RingGo app for cashless parking was raised in Fermanagh and Omagh District Council with a councillor claiming that the app is “full of flaws", “technical issues” and “stealth changes”.

The district changed from the JustPark app to the RingGo app provided by Marston Holdings on April 1, and residents have faced issues, with councillors detailing that tickets and fines have been handed out in recent days.

Discussing the “unsatisfactory state of the RingGo app”, SDLP Councillor Adam Gannon told the Council meeting on Tuesday evening that a “large number” of people are affected by the changes.

He said: “People have got tickets believing rightly they have done the right thing to register for their parking, and I would say it’s the app's technical fault that has resulted in many tickets, and these tickets should not have been given.”

Councillor Gannon described his shock at what he described as “hidden charges which have doubled the cost of parking”.

These charges include charges for SMS text messages for reminders on parking, as well as what is described as a convenience fee for using the app.

Councillor Gannon hit out at these charges, claiming: “At no stage in the registration process were extra charges explained. There is no clear explanation for additional charges for SMS messages.”

The Council heard that a constituent with a disability had contacted Councillor Gannon as they felt that the convenience fee for using the app was discriminatory.

He said: “They found it difficult to walk or travel to pay using cash, and they are being charged extra to use the app, that is unjustified for cases where people might struggle to access the pay point.

“My proposal is to that all fines from April 1 are overturned, and if they have been paid, refunded by Marston [Holdings]. In addition to that, I would propose that all fines are suspended until a solution is reached."

Councillor Gannon further suggested that the Council write to Marston Holdings and ask for additional charges and the convenience fee to be removed.

Director of Environment and Place, John News, detailed some of the action that the Council has taken.

He said: “These [issues] first came to light on the Thursday; the enforcement period began on Wednesday, April 3, and there was a contact made with officers on Thursday, April 4.

"Within 24 hours we were in contact with Marston.

“We raised the issues of the SMS text charges, and Marston have confirmed that at that point, new downloads were defaulting to accepting the additional changes.”

He added that SMS text messaging would have previously been free under the JustPark app, and that the convenience fee on JustPark up until March 31 was absorbed by the Council.

He said that Fermanagh and Omagh District Council was the only council to do this.

Mr. News confirmed that “RingGo have reset [the] app to default those [SMS text] charges to 'Off'."

He stressed to councillors that “parking tariffs had not changed”.

Mr. News stated that the Council have received confirmation from Marston Holdings that there is an appeal mechanism in place for anyone wishing to appeal tickets or fines incurred since April 1.