Toowoomba Regional Council blames third party for its faulty app

Drivers have been warned by businesses against using the Toowoomba Regional Council’s parking app after it started double charging users.

The Toowoomba Regional Council’s Smart Parking App is charging users twice.

Anyone who has used the Toowoomba Regional Council’s Smart Parking App should check their bank account after an apparent glitch appeared to charge motorists twice.

Dozens of users have expressed their outrage on social media while the Chronicle has spoken with several small business owners who say their customers have been affected.

The app charges users when they first park and then again when their term expires.

The glitch appears to have been in place for at least a week.

Bling it On Beauty Bar owner Biannca Hill said she has been double charged several times, and so have her clients.

“It’s bad,” she said.

“It seems to be early last week, the app charges you at the beginning and the end of your parking period.”

Miss Hill made several complaints to the council and in emails cited by the Chronicle, a council customer service officer said the error was the fault of a supplier and not the council.

“As such we cannot put a time frame on when a resolution will occur as there are multiple software programs that need to be assessed to determine which someone has been charged more than once.”

“Any declined/duplicate transactions should disappear from online statements after five working days, (including funds). Please contact us after this length of time if this has not occurred.”

The council collected more than $3 million in parking fees in 2022, the year it launched its Smart Parking App.

“A key element in Toowoomba Regional Council’s City Centre Car Parking Strategy is using the latest technology to improve customer experience to make finding and paying for parking more convenient and efficient,” TRC Infrastructure portfolio leader councillor Melissa Taylor said at the time.

The Toowoomba Regional Council and Mayor Geoff McDonald were contacted for comment

They were asked how much the council, and by extension ratepayers, paid the developer to build the app, and how much it will cost to fix the error.

The council refused to answer these questions and instead told users to lodge a complaint with its customers service centre while it liaises with a contactor to solve the issue,

“These payment-related inquiries will be referred to the relevant team for more detailed investigation, including processing any subsequent refunds,” Environmental and Regulatory Services portfolio spokesman councillor Bill Cahill said.

Originally published as Toowoomba Regional Council blames third party for its faulty app