Motorists are urged not to pay for parking by credit or debit card as Worcester City Council continues to investigate a technical issue with its card payment machines.
It was initially thought that the issue had just caused the late processing of card payments, but it has since become clear that some customers have suffered from duplicate transactions, resulting in multiple payments being taken from their bank accounts.
It is not yet known how many customers have been affected by this issue, but today council officers are covering the card reader section of the payment machines and seeking to have the function disabled until the matter has been fully resolved.
In the meantime, customers are asked to pay for their parking with cash, or by using the RingGo app.
A spokesperson for Worcester City Council said: "It has now become clear that in addition to the problem of the late processing of card transactions, some customers have also suffered from duplicate transactions, meaning that multiple payments for the same ticket have been taken from their bank accounts.
"We would like to apologise to anyone affected by this and to assure the public that we are doing our utmost to resolve the issue as swiftly as possible. Customers who believe that they have had multiple payments taken from their account in error should contact their bank immediately, as the bank will have processes in place to deal with such situations, including providing refunds.
"All other queries should be directed to
