Radio silence from Lincoln-based Banks Long & Co which promised to refund fines issued at Newark Northgate Retail Park

A company that promised to refund parking fines issued at a Newark retail park has gone silent.

Banks Long & Co made the pledge over fines handed to drivers at Northgate Retail Park because it realised, following an investigation by the Advertiser, that it was having an adverse affect on businesses in the area.

And now, after numerous attempts to contact the firm — who are the managing agents of the retail park — the Advertiser has been met with radio silence, and so have people subject to the fines who the newspaper is in contact with.

The company admitted people had been fined unnecessarily for more than a month because an instruction to support local businesses in difficult trading conditions was not acted upon by UKCPS — which was employed by Banks to enforce fines on its behalf.

Banks Long changed the restrictions at the park to allow people a three-hour free stay, which allowed them to walk off-site to shop elsewhere, but UKCPS did not change the signs.

The Advertiser was inundated with complaints, mostly from people fined for leaving the retail park on foot.

Now, a lot of those people who were promised refunds have said they too are being ignored, having made contact on several occasions.

One person said: "Unsurprisingly, UKCPS website email link doesn’t work.

"I will write a letter but to be honest, I don’t hold out much hope of recovery my two £60 payments after reading some of the shocking feedback reflecting this company."

Parking enforcement was originally brought in without consultation or notification. Banks Long said it would refund all fines issued from April 1 to people who had specifically been penalised for going off-site.

The rule on the signs that states no one is allowed to leave the retail park once parked up has been blanked out.

Banks Long & Co and UKCPS have been contacted for comment several times.