Families life 'made hell' by 'complicated' parking app that 'makes everyone sad'

RHONA MACKINNON HAD TO WRITE OFF HER CAR IN EARLY APRIL AND ADDED HER NEW CAR TO THE MOBILE APP TO CONTINUE USING HER RESIDENT'S PERMIT - BUT IT SOON REVERTED BACK TO THE OLD CAR

WITHOUT NOTICE 10:45, 01 Jun 2025 Residents have taken aim at RingGo for its 'complicated and unfair' parking rules that have residents feeling 'stressed and absolutely fed

up'. Locals are giving the parking app, which manages permits for the council, a tough time over the system they say keeps them ''constantly on edge''' and

drowning in ''unnecessary stress'' due to worries about potential unwarranted fines. They argue the RingGo setup is putting constraints on how often their loved ones,

including elderly relatives, can drop by for visits. Rhona Mackinnon, whose car was written off early April, updated her new motor details on the mobile app to keep her resident's

permit active. READ MORE: SINGLE MUM 'BREAKS DOWN' AFTER £100 RENT HIKE AND SAYS 'IT NEEDS TO STOP' Yet she discovered that after 21 days, the system switched back to her

old vehicle without any warning, leading to her being ticketed. Article continues below She alleges she's hit a wall trying to get assistance from either the firm or Glasgow City

Council and now lives in fear of further fines. Her frustration was palpable when she recounted: "I asked them to prolong the car that I have now. RingGo said: 'You need to speak

to Glasgow City Council', the council said: 'You need to speak to RingGo'." She continued to express her predicament: "It just doesn't allow me to add it to

resident parking for whatever reason." Highlighting her constant worry, she added: "Now, my car is out there and I could quite easily get a ticket anytime. "When I'm

working from home, I'm constantly on edge, I'm looking out the window." Rhona expressed her exasperation: "I'm at my wits end, they just make it as difficult as

possible." Conveying the distress it's causing, she concluded: "It's an unnecessary stress that I shouldn't have to deal with. I should be able to park outside my

front door. "It's literally affecting my quality of life." Her neighbour, Victoria Ulph, concurred as she detailed her problem with visitor vouchers. This is a document that

requires her guests to record their visitation hours to park in front of her house. All residents are allotted five booklets, each containing five vouchers. This limits friends and family to

25 visits annually, all within a designated time frame. She elaborated: "This means I have to tell my 85 year old parents that there is a maximum 25 visits per year. "I enquired

and they said they can't provide any more. That's the cap. There's no logic or rationale to this. "On one occasion, my parents were five minutes late. Descending the

stairs, they received a ticket which I've had to foot the bill for." She also mentioned that the system prevents cleaners, babysitters and gardeners from parking in front of the

houses while they work. Moreover, she believes Glaswegians are deterred from patronising local businesses due to the scarcity of affordable parking. She added: "It's hindering

jobs, commerce and it's infringing, quite frankly, my right to a family life. "I'm absolutely fed up with worrying about mum and dad. "Can you fathom the number of people

who avoid coming here to shop locally because of this? It's madness. "It induces anxiety in everyone. It's dreadful." Parking concerns are also a common topic at North

Kelvin Community Council (NKCC) meetings. During the previous North Kelvin Community Council meeting, Chair Douglas Peacock raised ongoing issues: "This has been on the agenda a couple

of times. "I have had a real big problem getting my RingGo to work for this year. "The council and the company were telling me different things about when to renew my

resident's permit. "It's terrible. So many things don't work, the council has been no use. "On the RingGo site, there was a blank page." Another participant

echoed the frustration, stating: "It doesn't work the way it should, it's very annoying." A representative from RingGo acknowledged the issues, confirming that they will

work with Rhona Mackinnon to address the concerns. Adding their commitment to user experience, they remarked: "We are committed to making parking as simple and stress-free as possible

for all users in Glasgow. We take all feedback seriously and are constantly working to improve our service and support." The spokesperson also mentioned: "We work closely with

local councils to deliver parking solutions that meet community needs." Highlighting policy matters, they noted: "It is important to note that some policies, such as visitor

voucher limits and parking durations, are set by our local authority partners. We support standardising a ten-minute grace period to ensure fair and consistent treatment for motorists, and

welcome government efforts to enforce a unified code of conduct across the industry." RingGo reinforced their lines of communication, saying: "We have a dialogue with North Kelvin

Community Council and would encourage council members to share any feedback that can improve our service with us directly." A spokesperson from Glasgow City Council explained: "The

Ringo App allows a vehicle, such as a courtesy car, to be added on a temporary basis. "After 21 days, the app will revert to using the original vehicle identified on a permit.

"However, further temporary changes lasting up to 21 days at a time can be easily arranged by logging on to permit holder's account on the parking app. "This information has

been communicated directly to Ms McKinnon by our staff. Article continues below "Up to 40 vouchers are available initially and more can be requested as required. "A voucher lasts

for six hours and more than one voucher can be displayed at a time, which allows for a longer parking stay."