How does the car park know my name?!!

[Useruserdoubleuser]

I am away at the moment. Used a car park in the town I am visiting.
It is a pretty rough car park. Unmarked ‘spaces’. Really just a fenced off area in the town. There are clear signs that it’s a car park and notices to pay and display. Definitely no ANPR equipment on driving in or out. No barriers at all. The pay machine takes only cash.
When I bought the ticket it printed out and has my first name printed on it. Twice. Spelt correctly.
Not a very unusual name but definitely a female given name that has spelling variations. Think ‘Clair’.
How did the machine know my name? !

It must be connected to the DVLA database which will match your car to your name perhaps?

Thanks. That’s what I thought but there is no ANPR. Plus I didn’t put any information in to the machine when I paid cash.

Magic 🪄 ✨

The machines have come alive and that one took a shine to you.

There may well be ANPR that you haven't noticed where it is.
Didn't it ask for your Licence plate when you paid?

Maybe that's the name of the machine? Clair the Car Park Machine.

Like Wayne the petrol pump?! 🤣

If you tell us the name someone might know if it's the name of the software or company behind the car park. Or send someone else in and see if it knows their name too.

Is it saint Clair's carpark on Clair street?

Cameras 👀

No it wasn’t on a street with my name.
I know it’s really annoying not to have the information so I will out myself. My name is Kathy. The car park is Broad street car park in Hanley (Stoke).
Even if it was ANPR the machine just took my coins and didn’t know who was paying.

Are there cameras which have followed me across the country to a town I’ve never visited before, to a sketchy car park and accidentally revealed they know who I am?
I should really go outside and take a picture of the sticker or nobody will believe me.

Maybe the machine is called Kathy?

If its a pay and display card park have you looked at the tickets in other cars tosee if they say the same?

Ringo Starr has made many a similar complaint whilst paying for parking here in the UK.

I was helping someone set their website up once & they were a bit freaked out because their surname was visible in the source code.

The reason was that their surname matched the name of some software we were using - total coincidence.

🤣🤣🤣

That made me LOL!!!

It must be the name of the machine or car park company maybe? I bet the other tickets say the same. There’s no way it could know.

I should have but too late now.
But this is mumsnet. I fully expect to have someone join this thread and announce they use that car park every day and it’s the name of the woman who cleans the machines or something.

You need to go back tomorrow and check the other cars, freaky! Xx

Seconded. Please go back at some point and let us know!

Brilliant!!

Pixies ...

Did you get a ticket when you arrived and then inserted the ticket when it was time to pay?

If not.. it absolutely did not happen!