A SOUTHAMPTON businessman says he is “upset and frustrated” after claiming he was fined £50 as card payments at city council car parks were down yesterday.

Users discovered that O2’s 4G and data services were down all day across the country, and as a result, machines at Southampton City Council car parks were unable to process card payments.

Phillip Olivier, managing director of Spectrum IT services in Southampton, was fined £50 after parking his vehicle at Queens Terrace.

He said: “I left a note in the vehicle saying the card machine wasn’t working.

“It is upsetting that I got a fine as I did everything I could in my power to do the right thing.

“Why should I bother doing the right thing and leaving a note when it gets thrown back in my face, it’s not nice.”

Phillip has appealed the fine online and he added: “I don’t think it’s fair.”

James Best, 32 also wanted to pay by card in Wilton Avenue car park in Bedford Place.

He told us yesterday: “This is a total pain, I have a tattoo appointment and I’m now late because of this.

“I have been driving around for ages trying to find a car park with a working card machine.”

Courtney Varie, 18, who was also trying to park in Wilton Avenue car park said: “It has been annoying because we have had to go and get money out because we are worried about getting a ticket.”

Mrs A Merrick said: “I always pay by card here, I haven’t got the right money and now this could make me late.”

It was reported that a fault with Ericsson equipment was behind mobile network outages across both the UK and Japan that left millions without smartphone coverage.

Ericsson said yesterday that it was aware some of its mobile operator customers were suffering outages and it was working with them to solve the problem.

Mobile operators O2 in Britain and Softbank in Japan reported disruptions to data services on Thursday affecting millions of customers.

O2 said the problem was caused by an issue at one of its suppliers.

A spokesperson from Southampton City Council said: "Southampton City Council offers debit and credit card payments at its machines as a convenience for customers.

"We are sorry to hear some customers have had problems paying for parking at some of our pay and display machines today due to issues with the 02 network.

"There will be occasions when these payment systems do not work, such as [Thursday].

"When this happens, customers should make payment with cash. This is why our pay and display machines ask all customers to ensure they have enough coins for their stay in the event that credit or debit payment is not accepted.

"Anyone who has received a Penalty Charge Notice for any contravention is entitled to make an appeal through the council website."